Don't be a balti. Review on Goibibo

Bomb squad TV Commercial Ibibo’s Sawaal TV spot drives home the fact that a consumer can get responses to any of his questions from ibibo community and hence engage with a community that freely shares and expresses itself! The basic idea at ibibo.com is to enable one to find and discover new people across India. It’s the site’s intention to make people talk, share and connect through Sawaal. If you have ever experienced in real life or seen in the films how bomb squads try to defuse bombs, it must have been quite tensing and nerve wracking. But this situation is a perfect setting for ibibo.com’s brand new launch commercial. It features the now ubiquitous antithesis character called “balti”. A Balti that does not respond, express or even act! The ad spot is structured on the plot of a “bomb squad” trying to defuse a bomb in a busy market.

The bomb squad man who has been entrusted with the task of dismantling a live bomb emphatically asks his senior over a walkie talkie : “Sir there are two wires – One red and the other blue....Which one do I cut….”..Sir please jawaab dijye….The time is ticking and there is no answer! Sir please Jawaab dijye! And finally: The bomb continues to tick but no answer is forthcoming.

The tension builds up tremendously. As the stop watch ticks away and the man’s and the viewer’s panic rises as he screams out for an answer. But he still does not get any answer! And why? Because all this while he has been screaming and asking the question “Sir which wire to cut?” to some one who does not answer or express themselves and is thus, eponymously, a BALTI! The bomb goes off! And the last frame shows: “Kuch Log Balti Hote Hai Aur Balti Nahi deti Jawaab”; SoDON’T BE a BALTI- the BALTI’s can all wait in their own worlds of silence while the majority of India, log on to ibibo.com to ask questions and get answers! “How can I contact bomb squad in Mumbai”? The TV spot reinforces the point that on ibibo.com you can find people who are NOT “Baltis”.

On the other hand there are people who freely express themselves and connect with others! Ibibo.com is alive with hundreds of thousands of Indians expressing themselves and bonding with others. People can interact, ask and answer questions, upload photos, create blogs, create and vote on polls and give their opinions on products, and make new friends.