Apr 20, 2006 02:18 PM
11779 Views
(Updated Apr 20, 2006 04:59 PM)
After reading several reviews about Best television commercials, I am surprised that no one has ever mentioned about the'Boomer Wheelie' advertisement! I have been staying outside India for a while and hence not very much updated about the new commercials. But I had come to India in February(2006) on a vacation and this delicate ad grabbed my attention!
That time, Boomer bubble gum was giving away one free gift called'Wheelie' to whoever buying it - a new trick to attract kids. Wheelie is a small wheel which returns(rolls back) to the initial position from where it comes; like a boomerang. The ad was running in the TV channels quite frequently during February and March beginning, throughout the period I was in India. I am not sure if the ad still runs.
The child who appears in ad is small boy, a little shorter than his fellow companions which implies he has no place among the boxers and heroes in the class. He has neatly combed hair that depicts he is good-natured and soft. He is seen in his navy-blue and white school uniform, wearing a black horn-rimmed kind of spectacle which is slightly bigger for his face. He is a dreamer who lives in his own world yet friendly and kind.
He is writing his exam slowly and neatly without realizing that most of his friends have left the exam hall after finishing their papers and that his time is up. Before he could finish his paper, a pleasingly plump nun - probably his strict class teacher comes and grabs his papers without mercy. The papers are gone and they will not come back.
Another day after school, he is out with his friends buying balloons from a balloon man. Before he could manage to get good hold of the balloon, it drifts away from his hand and moves up in the air. Oh! even the balloons don’t seem to favor him and it goes away from him without coming back. He should have been a bit more attentive.
He and his friend sit at the end of a bridge(enjoying a lollipop I guess.I am not able to recollect exactly). He is so indulged in his work that he didn’t even realize that one of his shoes got untied and fell into the river. The shoe floats away and it is not going to come back.
Back at home he got a wheelie(His mom would have probably bought him a boomer) and his pet dog has joined him to play with it. He rolls the wheelie and the dog runs after it. But doesn’t this unintelligent dog know that wheelie returns back? Look, the dog is still searching for the wheelie and he has yet not returned back.The boy takes his wheelie with lot of care and fondness and thinks himself.'Other things may return back or may not return back.but my wheelie will always come back to me.'(I saw the ad in my regional language and hence have translated the last monologue. Actual English version may contain different words)
Even though I have explained quite a lot, the whole ad takes less than 20 secs. The person who directed the ad is an undoubted mastermind. He chose the most innocent kid in the whole world to be part of his ad and the choice was just brilliant! He has enwrapped in his camera to the fullest, the innocence of a small child which is not corrupted by sophistication or worldliness. He has conveyed the whole message of wheelie as something that always returns back, without diverting the attention to others things like for eg. advertising the bubble gum itself. He has well understood the fact that making a kid buy a wheelie is easier than making him buy bubble gum which in effect serves the purpose of selling the bubble gum as well. Also, the jingle that runs in the background is just perfect. promoting the whole message without any oral communication.(There is only one oral speech which is the Interior monologue at the end.which I mentioned earlier)
I have no words to explain how good this ad was. The ad has been developed in an exquisitely fine and refined manner. Nothing more, nothing less. It is absolutely faultless. I could not find more information regarding who directed the ad, who composed the jingles and about the cute kid who gained intensely felt affection of everyone. I think the ad ran only for a short period and that could be a reason why many people didn’t notice it well. Otherwise, any person who takes note of ads cannot simply ignore this ad from the best 10 commercial list. This is one of the best commercial that I have ever come across in my life.
