Read Between the Ps

Got my Summers at ITC . First perception of the company? Cigarettes, of course. Since the beginning of my reading on Marketing, I have always associated “ Smoking ” with ITC …until.. I visited Jim’s Burnt Offerings . A unique collection of Cigarette covers, Advertisements, packets and covers, this website entails an “ awe ” for the passion that the author has, for cigarettes. Jim has been compiling the photographs since Jan 1998 , and his collection traces back to as early as the 1880s. His collection spans across the globe, including Turkey, Egypt, China, Britain..etc with a reference to all the International Brands, and their corresponding Advertisements. Click here for all the International Ads. He also has a unique collection of promotional cards issued in the 1880s in America. It is one of the best, rather, THE BEST, collection I have even seen, for any one product. Just a glance through the website is an experience in itself. Kudos to the effort Jim. It is an indeed an inspira...

The Latest episode of “ All about Ads ” at NDTV Profit featured an interview with Gavin Heron , CEO and MD, TBWA, China . Though he was interviewed on various aspects specific to the agency and the industry, but an interesting piece of the conversation included a comparison of the Indian Advertising Industry with the Chinese Advertising Industry. He emphasized on the following points – 1) Outdoor Advertising – Billboards in India promote offers and discounts, and are more oriented towards tactical marketing , whereas in China, it is more of Brand Building that is done, to ensure that the brand remains at the top of the consumers mind! 2) Rural Advertising – India has moved aggressively towards the Rural Sector, whereas China is yet to venture into that. Advertising is presently focused in the business zones, which includes Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou 3) Distinctive Style – Indian Advertising industry has matured and has developed a particular style of Advertising. In a press ...

Looks familiar? Yup, it is Taj Mahal, our very own contribution to the " Wonders of the world "! And no, this is not yet another initiative of Mayawati on the Agra beauty, but a part of the latest campaign by Lewis Berger , renamed from Berger Paints. This Ad reflects the extent to which one can imagine, and subsequently painting the imagination with colors. Thus, reinforcing the tagline.. " Paint your Imagination ". Definitely, a colorful Taj Mahal gives a picturesque view, compared to the "Marbel-lous" original version. And why not? After all, it is the age of Remixes in India ;-). Why should Taj Mahal be left out? Berger Paints has re-branded itself as Lewis Berger , named after the founder of Berger Paints. According to a press Release , the re-branding has been done keeping the festive season in mind, with the premium segment as their primary target. The umbrella brand ‘Lewis Berger’ retains the respectability and equity gained by Berger over the ...

An association with Tourism Australia has prompted Shoppers’ Stop to launch “ Down Under Fest ” – a promotional campaign to increase the purchases during the festive season. With a few selected Artists from Australia scheduled to be “ available ” at select Shoppers’ Stop outlets and special items being sold, like “ Perth Mint Coins ” and “ memorabilia from Sir Don Bradman Museum ”, giving a pure Australian Flavor. Just an afterthought : Is it promotion of Australia Tourism or is it a move to increase the footfalls at shoppers’ stop? Probably, it is both. But I doubt if there would be a marked increase in the footfalls because of “ Australian ” touch during this festive season. A logical inference is that the “Diwali” month in itself promotes higher ticket sizes and customers, and maybe the Aussies wanna take advantage of this time. The Aussie flavor could be simply a gimmick, since neither is there any prominent personality in the Australian troupe visiting the outlets across the...

is a new invention. It is talk of the town. It is the thing that everyone everywhere is excited about. It is what makes you feel important. It is what you want to have. …. It is that and it is this. You can never stop talking about it…. So WHAT IS IT ? This new teaser viral campaign by eBay finally launched on the 20th of October with the answers Created by BBDO , the campaign covers different parts of the globe showcasing the buzz created about “it”. Omnicom Group’s BBDO is the new agency hired by eBay, and has made its debut with this campaign (Source: Adweek ) It starts with the “ Yahoo ” or “ Google ” style invention, with two guys inventing “ it ” during their experiments. This invention, with some coloring, goes on to become the most talked about thing “ buzzing ” in the market. It becomes the craze amongst all the generations (the videos make a conscious display of all the generations and the cults). Different segments interview the “ creators ” of the concept and ask them the ...

It is always gratifying to be appreciated, especially when it comes from a person who knows his line pretty well. Katherine, of Decent Marketing has put a post on her blog on " Marketing in India - Read Between the Ps ", and has some nice words to say for my budding blog! Katherine is a former Director of Experiential Marketing at the Coca Cola Company and is on the Board of International Experiential Marketing Association. She is considered to be one of the best in her field, and believes in delivering the BEST in Marketing to her clients in organizations across the US. The best part is ... She owns a consulting company called Engage, and is involved in developing strategies and concepts related to Experiential Marketing! [Thats the most inspiring bit :-) ] Thanks a lot Katherine. Its always a great learning to get inputs from Fellow Bloggers. Keep watching this space!

Delhi is buzzed with the Hutch Half Marathon , which is due in less than a week from now. But, much before that Hutch has started milking the cow . Saw this billboard from Hutch on my way back home to NOIDA! This is not a normal billboard, with an extra-large font size to enhance readability. There is a man , on a jogger , who keeps on running next to the hoarding. In the photograph above, it is not visible, since I took this photograph during the day. But, during peak hours, to ensure high visibility, and in turn, high recall, there is a big man jogging his way up, on the jogger! Interesting concept! And the brain behind this creative is Oglivy ! In an article in Exchange4media.com , Pratap Bose, President, Ogilvy Activation, commented on the origin and objective of the campaign, “Marathon is all about movement. We wanted to show an element of movement on a billboard. Hence, the idea originated.” He continues to be enthusiastic - “One thing that really makes the campaign stand out i...

Well, the name does sound to be wierd, but when I went to the website by that name, they do offer some neat product. Considering the fact that a major part of North India, and Pakistan have met with a major tragedy, killing more than 3,000 people, and devastating the entire region, it does feel appalling sometimes, that no matter how much you rise in the Global Business, no matter how much strength the world perceives out of you.......you are still under the Nature's purview! Thats besides the point, and more so, beyond the scope of this blog :-). An interesting piece I found was Earthquake Marketing , with a product called as "Earthquake Whistle" ! Tagged as EQ , I am not sure how successful it has been in its Market, but I liked the product. Just a normal whistle, but branding it as a "Life Savior" is what Marketing is all about! The page on Uses mentions almost all the ways in which it can be crucial for human beings - Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Fire , etc....

It’s called the “ Birds ” commercial in the Business circle. The latest Ad from Visa, as part of it’s “ All it takes ” campaign, features Richard Gere in a Jodhpur , Rajasthan-based commercial. According to a press release by Visa South East Asia , it is currently being aired across countries in the Asia Pacific, and is considered to be “ a blend of Hollywood and Bollywood ” Though most of you would have seen the ad, just for the records, it involves a small girl looking to purchase 5 birds to bring good fortune to his brother, who was going on a journey. But she is told that she can only afford one bird. Like most of us, her natural reaction is dejection. But unlike most of us, she is noticed by the “ Runaway Bride ” star. A little while, he was told by his guide, “ If you free the birds, you give good luck ”. After the girl leaves, he takes out his Visa card and buys all the birds from the stalls. The tagline appears “ Special Gift? ” As the little girl is about to bid her brother ...

Ever since I have started looking at Ads, I have realized that they are so addictive, that you simply cannot resist admiring the kind of Innovation and creativity these Ads illustrate. I bumped into this Site Ad Awards http://www.ad-awards.com, and noticed that the site contains nominations for the best Ads of September. Have a Look http://www.ad-awards.com/home.php. Though it contains 6 nominations, could not resist myself in linking to 4 of them specifically. The Movie Network Creative : It shows a women's cell with ladies bathing. After a short quick clip, the Jailer inquires if we saw something, some nakedness, some...Even if we did...there aint any way we can check that, can we? :-) " Movie on Demand. The Movie Network " Link : Click Here The Nike Shox Creative : With every person jogging, there is a different music playing, which somewhat suits the personality and the look of the jogger. Gradually, all of them meet, and a combination of the different pieces of music...

Whenever an Indian Ad figures in some international Site, I can't resist myself in finding out more about it. This Ad is designed by Lowe ,Mumbai , for Rexona Deodorant . Took this entry from " I have an Idea " via Frederiksammuel’s blog A compelling reason to perceive the message " People Move Away When you have Body Odour ". Generally, if one would have seen this message, the natural reaction is indifference , since we feel it does not relate to use. But the movement of the people on the Glass door gives me a reason to believe ...they do move away ;-)! Incidentally, the Ad has been Awarded Bronze in the Asia Pacific Ad Fest in the Outdoor Cateogry. A new way of Advertising, and a different tool for a change! Nice work, Lowe!

If you are in India, chances are that you would see a lot of hoardings today, and a lot of fanatics shouting slogans for Gandhiji, pretending to be his followers for life, and following his principles. Don’t worry, they are just celebrating a birthday.. In the list of Holidays given, it is called “ Gandhi Jayanti ” - 136th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi Incidentally, very few of them realize that they have become the brand ambassadors of a long-term marketing campaign for “ Brand Gandhi ”! Every year, an attempt is made around this time by many companies to piggyback on this mega-marketing campaign . Most marketers intend to leverage the Brand Image garnered by the Legend, most of which he earned after his lifetime, elevating him to “ celebrity ” status and trying to cash in on the Recall value associated with him, by co-branding their brands with Brand Gandhi. But does a simple cut-and-paste job like this always work? Can Mahatma Gandhi brand anything? Even if he can, does...

When I saw the inputs from India during CLIO Awards a couple of months back, there was comment by the organizer - " India holds a large potential market for Advertising, and we expect a lot of entries from this region pretty soon ". The reporter in " All about Ads " covering the Awards mentioned that " India lacked the innovation and creativity in comparison to other countries " and this argument was substantiated by Prasoon Joshi , who had attended the Awards. I did not buy the argument at that moment. But, today, when I was searching for my next entry, I came across some of the campaigns by European Countries. I must admit, the only reaction I can think of ... "Awe" some! India needs a lot more creatives than there are right now. The whole Advertising process has become so cluttered, and the only way out is INNOVATION ! The only way Indian neophytes are learning is within the limited scope of Indian advertising (and lately, Ambushing seems ...