Bad Thinking ...Wrong Timing... Review on Ten Worst Television Commercials

When Pumpkins start thinking, When ghosts emulate choreography, When BOZOS get paid for being a creative director, When Ekta Kapoor ventures in Ad Film making covering 2 secs of a 10 sec commercial with a prologue of “Balaji Telefilms”, When nonsense & mindlessness hovers making a thing called a T.V. Commercial, When some one uses one’s mind to no use & just creates something just for the sake of doing it. It is this time when disasters of a short span of time happen known as Television Commercials or Advertisements

Trouble is there’s lot of money, time & brains troubled & wasted on this catastrophic creative ventures. Advertisement as I can define is a “Paid form of non personal presentation” which is meant to reveal a product as a brand to its target audience in a effective way via increasing the recall value of the Ads and the brand value of the product reflected through sales. BUT some how the trick or two goes wrong and the outcome is either embarrassing, or it turns into a laughing stock in everyone’s mind i.e. we tend to make fun of them whenever it is aired or simply change the channel.

• Here are 10 Creative Mishaps in no particular order.

1) Fair & Lovely – Beta Ek Coffee Milega : The commercial shows a girl is earning for her family meanwhile her dad asks for coffee. The mom says don’t waste daughter’s money by drinking coffee which doesn’t goes well with dad he says * “Kaash hamara beta hota”. Suddenly using F&L the daughter becomes fair & gets a Air Hostess job .everything is fine. VERDICT: The Ad shows nothing but…Negativity….Gender Bias…use F&L become fair & your family will praise you. What a shame. **PS: Most Ads of F&L are provoking same things. My Advice to HLL would be to start selling F&L in AFRICA <>.

2) Chutki Mouth Freshener : Some people Don’t STOP once they POP, same goes with Arshad Warsi. I remember we went in a electronic shop for our flat TV, suddenly during the demo Arshad Warsi POPS out.He wont STOP once he POPs. This time in a television commercial of Chutki singing a song * “Chutki mein Chutki se pyaar Ho Jaaye”VERDICT: The song can be related to the product but it could have been in serious contention if shot in a better way & excluding no stopping Arshad Warsi.PS**: Watch him swirl & laugh with a side face…….eeeeekkkks…absolutely Yuck.

3)Reliance India Mobile- Pappa Pappa Kahan Hai Aap : * “Beti Kahaan Hai Aap” * says father searching for his little cutie….Infact it’s a memory lane that the father goes into while seeing off her daughter after her wedding ceremony, he gifts her RIM from which daughter calls up after that the famous punch line * “Karlo Duniya Mutthi mein” *.VERDICT:All this wasted wedding ceremony just to show that you can communicate with our services. No connect to USP just plain brand promotional leaving no impact whatsoever on the viewers.PS: Although girl seem to be cute but guy in the car was Lallu.

4)Himami Shaving Cream: A guy is in his bed….OK uptill now …Suddenly from nowhere a girl comes on top of him … First look at this it seems like a condom ad involving all erotic ingredients.but then girl shaving men with his eyes tied up.is hopeless and excitement dies down.VERDICT:A simple looking shaving cream ad will do but not this one, remember Kapil Dev in Palmolive Da Jawaab Nahin…PS: Creativity-My FOOT…Ad cannot be watched with Family.

5)Nippo Battery : Yuvraj Singh misfields, drop catches. A girl comes up and says * kya hua Battery Down hai kya *…Yuvraj gets excited and punches in Nippo Batteries in his Walkie…Power gets generated.he starts doing like a livewire in the Field.VERDICT: Listen to walkman & you wont misfiled….I would give NIPPO filled walkies to all the players if something like this can happen. Useless commercial that just makes you laugh.PS: Might go well with the kids.

6)Swagat Baniyaan: A bearish kind of man…I call him that coz of hair on his body, wears swaagat and a lady in b/g says ”Peheniye Swaagat Shriman” VERDICTThis Ad doesn’t deserve to spent on…Pathetic EXRTAA hairy model.seems like a human form of gorilla or a bear.

7)Chevrolet Forester: Remember the campaign. I am your light .sunshine …Prayer and all.It went for over 3 months before Chevrolet was actually shown.VERDICT Misleading…Confusing etc… Many people thought it is a Engineering Co.some thought it is a Mutual Funds Co. BUT it turned out to be a out of reach Rs.16 lakh SUV…fallen with a thud a waste.PS:Song was ok though.

8)Rupa Macroman: A guy accidently lands in ladies loo. what happens well girls come in and out …The guy is shown mouth picked by all of them with lipstick all over his body…VERDICT This is a Haaa. Advt., guys just too much superficial …also the fact its kind of Vulgar .PS: Just notice where all the lipstick marks were.

9)A.C.Black Apple Juice: Stripping by drinking apple juice….well it can happen once you sip A.C.Black Apple juice.*Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta hai * VERDICT:I just didn’t get this Ad.kindly comment if you did….I mean why they chose this punchline.

Apart from all the above a not so practical Ad

Airtel-Incoming Call Free : A guy is in the middle of the Jungle listening to the Airtel aka A.R.Rahman tunes hummed by the insects…a voiceover follows explaining the scheme that incoming calls are free.VERDICT: There’s no problem with the Ad as such but timing was wrong & producing this was not practical. Mar’03 all GSM providers made all the incoming calls free. This Ad was aired on May’03 thus no Impact. You don’t advertise something that is common to all as your USP.PS:The Ad without the guy leaves more impact.

Cticize’s Quote: There can be countless commercials that can be included here but I selected the one’s which were made with much efforts but still failed. Just RATE & do…do…do… Comment OK, whether you read it today or 1 yr. from now coz I will reply all of them.PRAS

© cticize 2003