Hi Msians…. I am back (don’t know if with a bang or not), after a short break from writing reviews….. Hope you enjoy this one.


Jab mein chhota ladkaa thaa
Badi

sharaarat kartaa thaa
Meri chori pakdi jaati…. Jab roshni to Bajaj !!!


Does this take you down memory’s lanes? It definitely takes me… So why not start by looking at how television ad has evolved over last 2 decades?

If I go back to mid eighties, when I started watching TV (DD was the only channel), the advertisements were simple and to the point. There was not much of endorsement or star power. Leaving out Palmolive (Kapil Dev), Dinesh (Gavaskar) and Seema Bulbs (Sridevi), I can not think of any ad which had a real star of that time.

And the typical advertisements included simple and cute ads like Hamdard Ka Tonic Sinkara and Vicco Vajradanti. Also it was full of heart touching and social messages like “The greatness of this man was in his simplicity” or the numerous helmet commercials.

Late eighties saw some nicer and more memorable advertisements coming in, some of whom are still existing with minor modifications. These include Nirma (Washing Powder Nirma..), Rin (Uski Saree meri saree se safed kaise) and Surf (Lalita Jee..). Also the number of endorsements started increasing.

Early nineties brought the shocking change with the economic liberalization. With this started the war of the giants…. Indians had never seen so many varieties of soaps, detergents, tooth pastes, bikes, mopeds and of course… Cold Drinks.

It was the Cola war of early nineties that taught us what is competitive advertisement. And with mushrooming cable TV Channels, the scope for ads also increased.

From there on, we have seen the art of advertisements being mastered and the customers are approached from all angles. Some are hilarious (Lays Campaigns) and some are heart warming (ICICI Prudential), some claim to understand the customers (HDFC) while some try to sell as an icon (Mostly Cars and Mobiles). But most of them depend on star endorsements.

Anyway…. Now let me come to my favorite 10 advertisements. As usual, I’ll look at a count-down.

10. Liril

Many people may be surprised by the inclusion of this in my list. Like one of my professors once quoted, “I won’t buy a soap because a good looking girl in green bikinis is taking showers using Liril soap”… fair enough. But just look at any Liril advertisement at the peak of summer. Somehow, just looking at the concept of beating the heat with a Liril Soap and shower presented so nicely (hey…. I am not talking of the lady alone… ok?), brings a totally refreshing feeling. One of my personal favorites.

9. Mastercard

Good concept. Personally I am totally against hard sell of credit cards. But this one is designed to touch your hearts. Like the ad line goes, “There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there is MasterCard”. The scenarios are from real life and happens to every man.

8. Literacy Campaign

I wish this ad were not mixed with politics….

This was a masterpiece, delivering a social messages. It talks of young kids going to school voluntarily. Nicely picturised and nice score. I enjoy it every time… either TV or Radio. One of the very few genuine social ads we see now days.

7. Saint Gobain

Again… very creative…. Each one is uniquely different with same underlying concept. I’ll call it as height of creativity. Every time it brings a smile to the face.

6. Cadbury’s – The Stadium Ad

How can somebody make a list of Best TV ads and miss out on this one… not possible, right?

The ad was simple, the method was simple, the message was simple, but the impact was massive…. Just like the stadium they filled with people. How can one forget the “involuntary dance that the lady breaks into ….

5. Pepsi – Nothing official about it

There have been several Cola War advertisements. But nothing was as direct and as effective as the “Nothing official about it” advertisement. Pepsi lost the sponsorship to the world cup, but made up for this with their ad campaign. Simply ingenuine.

4. Fevicol

Zor lagake haisha…; the chicken in the kitchen (pun intended), Chhodna nahin, the ad with the truck in Rajasthan…. Every ad gives us the same impression. But have the campaigners told anywhere about the Product? Just think about it. Everywhere, the message is hidden. The ad makes the audience to think and get message which they are not saying!!

3.Raymonds

I must be in my Class VIII/ IX when the Raymonds ad was aired the first time…. A group of school kids bidding farewell to their teacher. It was a nice ad.

Some 15 years after that, the campaigners were back. The ad was back. The teacher was back…. As a guest to his student’s marriage and we saw the old advertisement flashing again as a flash back. Really heart warming.

2. Aaj Tak

I believe this ad got a few awards as the best Channel Promo. And why not? Through various scenes and situations, resembling the early Indian Talkies, the channel spread the message very effectively… “Badaa hi tej channel hai yeh Aaj Tak”.

1. Adidas

No other ad had the impact on me as the Adidas ad where Tendulkar is batting and the world stands still. If any ad has done justice to his iconic stature in India, then it is the Adidas advertisement. Every moment is gripping and every moment is spellbinding.

1. Cricket

Well well…. I have a tie at the top. Anyone remember this advertisement picturised with Dil Se re at the background? It was an intense and thought provoking ad, with the simple message, “Khelo Cricket dil Se”. The ad came at the height of match fixing controversy and tried to restore the lost glory of cricket. It was a splendid effort.

I would like to make a few passing mentions in the end of other ads that I liked….

Aditya Birla Group
Airtel
Asian Paints
Bajaj (Buland Bharat Ki)
Hutch
Lay’s
Nerolac
Sundrop