After a certain age, a weak back, pain in the lower back and allied aches seem to be almost par for the course. Suddenly, bending over seems to be an effort. And this is particularly irksome in a culture like ours. Yes, we bend or bow deeply for a lot of things. And this is the insight TBWA has grasped for its TVC for Haier BMR. No, this has nothing to do with Body Mass Ratio, thankfully. It is a bottom-mounted refrigerator. A rather long, clumsy and confusing name for a very simple yet great idea. A fridge that has the little used freezer down, and the more frequently used refrigerator on top. I would have thought this would have been the most natural way to design a fridge, yet we have bent low to take a bottle of water out of the fridge or something from the lower rack, ever since I can remember. Well this very practical idea has been transformed into a competent film by TBWA. OK, I know I am not being complimentary when I say “competent”, but I am not panning it either. The TVC brings out clearly the problems of having to bend, and the solution in the form of the Haier fridge. Who says you need to be creatively excellent every time?

Banking on many branches

What happens when two banks merge creating the fourth largest bank in India? I think the marketing team and everyone associated with Kotak Mahindra Bank (into which has merged ING Vysya) would be turning cartwheels with joy. So, that bad pun has Cartwheel, the communication company owned by Ramki, rolling out a high-decibel campaign announcing this important fact. And so you have a rather well thought-out and crafted TVC which alternates between well scripted shots of different places and quick cuts of Kotak signage being rolled out. And the film quickly covers the little and not so little towns and cities of India where Kotak will now have its branches. I like the TVC. Its script is tight and thoughtfully written, it is slightly subdued, which is good for the serious business of banking and definitely conveys the message of a greatly enhanced national footprint. And the tag line Kona Kona Kotak is catchy, evocative and very informative. Karthi Marshan continues the good work!

The customer is watching

So now advertising has a racist charge against it as well. So far there were allegations of mental manipulation, sexism, elitism and so on. Recently, social media erupted in outrage at the visual depiction of Aishwarya Rai in a full-page print advertisement for Kalyan Jewellers where she is shown as a “fair-skinned” (not my words) member of royalty and a digitally introduced little dark child with a slightly distended belly holding an umbrella above her. The charges by activists range from showing and possibly encouraging child labour to outright racism. The advertiser has withdrawn the advertisement and apologised for unintentionally offending sensibilities. The actor’s agent has said that the actor did not see the final print-ready artwork. We are not opining on this matter. We are, however, observing the power of the consumer when it is fuelled by technology. Earlier, a complaint would have been lodged with ASCI and a month or so later, a decision would have been given. By then the life of the advertisement would have been completed in any case and the apparently chastened advertiser would have “agreed to withdraw” the advertisement, sniggering quietly in the background. Many of the biggest advertisers have been guilty of this. Now, the ire of the consumers snowballs due to social media and batters down the gate of the advertiser demanding instant attention. The message: You are on notice. The customer is watching, and she now has a loud collective voice. Mind it! Dear readers, may we have your views on this ad, please? Are we too touchy these days? Are we justified in our indignation? Tell us. We want to know.

Addendum is a weekly column that takes a sometimes hard, sometime casual, sometimes irreverent yet never malicious look at some of the new or recent advertisements and comments on them.

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