Sep 29, 2003 04:16 PM
10830 Views
(Updated Oct 01, 2003 01:35 PM)
I am attempting to do the unthinkable –compile a list of the top 10 “indian” ads of all time! Now this is really difficult, I mean how am I suppose to remember all those thousands of ad films that I have seen in the last 24 years * 365 days * at least 2 hours a day( That’s the amount of time I devote to the idiot box on an average every day!)
But still I will make an attempt as this has never been done before on Mouthshut.
I may miss quite a few good ones and hence your comments and reviews on this topic are more than welcome. So by the grace of god and at the danger of getting a “ low ranking “, here is my compilation .
As I scratch my head trying to think of all those ads that I liked I am confronted with a strange situation.Only the recent ads are coming to my mind . what’s happening? Aren’t good ads supposed to stay in our minds forever? After all that’s the reason why all these money, time and efforts –in this order – are put in by the agencies and also the clients! well, ok, it’s enough . I will go ahead now –
Garden Varelli Sarees This one was one of the very first ads with an international look about it . The ad featured model Peris Khambatta, who went to act in a Star trek film later and was directed by Mahesh Mathai. The idea was simple- put persis in a few sarees and then shoot her, but the execution of this simple idea by Mahesh was great.
Cadbury’s dairy Milk – Cricket match All the dairy milk ads have been good especially the background score that they had –Kuch Khass hai, Zindagi Mein . But this one ad started it all .Previously they used to show only small kids in the film.
A girl comes to the pitch as soon as the cricketer hits the winning run and does an impromptu jig with a dairy milk in her hand. The ad was wonderfully shot and it went very well with the base line-taste of life.
Ericson Mobile phone- Black coffee This was simply a stunning ad . Directed by Prasoon pandey it created history by winning awards at top international ad shows. The brief was to highlight how small the phone was and this ad created this impression perfectly . “ One black Coffee “ became the talk of the town.
Times of India-Football commentary A top class ad, once again, directed by Prasoon Pandey, showed the corruption present in government offices in the form of a football commentary . A wonderful idea excellently directed by pandey.
Pepsi –Tendulkar Mask This ad, probably for the first time showed Tendulkar without a cricket bat .In fact he only makes a small appearance in the end . The highlight of the ad was the background song sung wonderfully by the talented actor Raghubir Yadav. The ad had a brownish ( or is it known as Sepia?) look to it which made it even more memorable.
Coca Cola-Aamir khan Coke, internationally is not known to take celebrities but India is different . Most of the coke ads are pretty boring in spite of spending tons of money. But they have hit upon the right note with these new series of Aamir ads. All the aamir ads, barring the first two –with Aiswarya in chat and jyotika in the rain – have been quite good. Good thing that they are not projecting Aamir as a celebrity. All the new aamir ads are directed by Ashutosh “laagan “ Gowarikaar .
Center Shock –Barber The taste of Center shock is truly shocking and maybe that’s how the creative director got the idea for this ad. This one too is directed by prasoon pandey and it had what you can call as a perfect casting.
M-Seal –will Some people criticized the idea behind this ad as being too unsentimental but what the hell, the ad is really humorous and after one offensive portion( where the son pushes his father back on the bed after he signed the will) was edited out, I guess even the critics loved it . This one, yet again, is directed by Prasoon pandey.
Philips Bulbs – Astrologer This is an old ad where a simple guy with his parents in tow shows his hand to an astrologer who predicts a nice future for the boy. But since the light is poor, he changes the bulb and lo, he sees the lines more clearly and hence changes his mind and say’s “ blackhole “ . A truly wonderful idea with a great cast.
Adidas – Tendulkar I liked this ad because of it’s production quality . Absolutely top class. It basically showed Tendulkar batting and the world coming to a standstill. The ad was directed by Ram Madhvani.
Some other ads which could’nt find a place in my list for no apparent reasons are:
Bajaj Sunny –tribal This one showed a few tribesmen learning to drive a Sunny Scooter. This was Prasoon’s first ad film.
Fevikwik –fisherman Wondeful idea.
Maruti –Kid A cute looking Punjabi kid saying “ Petrol khatam hi nehi hota “. Know anyone who did’nt found this ad cute?
Dhara –jalebi Another cute ad. Infact the kid became a celebrity after this one ad .
NDDB- Doodh A great jingle with a host of models, all of whom made it big later .
- This ad is a new addition in my list as I was reminded of it just now by mouthshut member Kalyani!
Saint Gobain - Cleaning Lady A superb ad, it showed two Japanese guys( or was it Chinese?) inside a restaurant and a lady comes to clean the window pane.the glass - saint gobain - being so good, the guys actually think that there is no glass at all and hence the lady is about to throw water at them instead! A superb idea beautifully directed, if I am not mistaken, by Ram Madhvani.
ok, people that’s it . Your brickbats and bouquets(if any) are welcome. I know I have’nt been very objective but then as consumers are we supposed to be? I mean either you like these ads or you don’t .
