Category: Advertising

Achyut started on a career in calligraphy from Shirodkar School, Parel, Mumbai where he was chosen to write on the board. He later joined J. J. School of Arts. He was mentored by R.K. Joshi. Ulka offered him a scholarship. He did research on the Modi script with the help of D.G. Godase and Ashok Kelkar. In one of the seminars at the IIT, the renowned calligrapher Snider spotted his talents and invited him to Germany. Achyut’s work was exhibited at Germany, London and Netherland. He started Achyut Palav School of Calligraphy. His works will have been exhibited in London between 28th May, 2011 and 5th June, 2011. He also held demostrations and  and workshop in London.

In a typical cost sheet, the expenses of the fees of the artists, cinematography, outdoor location and its recce, studio or bungalow hire charges, props, costumes and miscellaneous costs are shown. Cost of the prints too are factored in. Over and above this, the mark up of a production house and the fees of the director are the two major cost components.Some years back, a typical 60 second ad film used to cost on an average Rs 70 lacs. These days the budget has shot up to Rs 1.5 crore keeping pace with the inflation. A film made lavishly using outdoors will cost Rs 2.5 crore. And if a reputed filmmaker is used the budget may reach Rs 3.5 crore. If  you use a celebrity, on account of the fees charged by him/her, a film may cost between Rs 5 to Rs crore.

To break the clutter, advertisers can convert commercials into small stories to be told and shown in several episodes.Some years ago, HUL launched its White Beauty range in this fashion weaving the story around Saif, Neha Dhupia and Priyanka Chopra. Idea cell phones have gone on similar lines by telling the story of education in rural India through Abhishek Bachchan. The ad capsules take the message effectively to the audience. The story telling in phases is an exciting way to generate interest in the product. Staging the ad in several parts enhances the curiosity among the audience. It hooks the audience to the brand. It also provides an image to the brand.This is an episodic format of communication.

Amritanjan balm is perceived as out-dated grandma’s therapy for pain relief. It was to be connected to youth. It was in need of contemporisation. The love and affection route was used. A young man and his companion board a train. He complains of a head-ache. A young woman follows him in the corridor, and offers to apply balm. As they retire for night, the man ensures his wife sleeps on the upper berth as he reaches out to the young woman across the berth. The agency is Shining Consulting.And the Creative Director is Shombit Sengupta.

As Indian models are reluctant to endorse the lingerie brands, this sector is completely dominated by foreign models. They have a perfect body., and hence no inhibitions. Comparatively, their Indian counterparts do not have the same fitness level. Indian models are not comfortable posing in lingerie. A foreign model charges Rs 30000 for a show, while the Indian model would charge more.Calendar models are accepted, as they are made in a classy way.

According to Laura Ries, the left brain is associated with verbal messages and the right with visual messages. A totally verbal message ignores the right brain. These things have an emotional contect too — your marriage anniversary, your accident etc. A total verbal message is flat and unemotional, which in turn affects its recall value. Most marketing messages are abstract ideas. Many slogans cannot be visualised. There is a lot of evidence, according to Laura Ries, that visuals play a far more important role in marketing than that  played by the words. Though advertising is filled with visuals, very few visuals hammer.

Many products do not have much to say about them. They are familiar products such as cold drink or milk. Here the Extreme Effort tool is used to keep the product in the mind of the audience and make it stand out in the clutter. A milk brand is  seen on an inflight trolley and the pilot feels a strong urge to get it. The trolley is unattended, with no steward in sight. The pilot manoeuvres  the plane downwards to make the trolley roll into his direction. However, a nut thrown in the passage carelessly obstructs its flow. The plane is again turned down dangerously to overcome the obstruction. The trolley approaches the pilot. The object of desire — the milk brand — is just within his reach. That very moment the loo door opens and the trolley bangs against the man emerging out.

The Thums Up ad with Akshay Kumar where he goes great lengths to obtain a bottle of beverage falls into Extreme Effort category. It allows a free play of imagination. A bride whose hands are henna-dyed tries to get a bar of chocolate by making movements of her body and using her mouth to lift up the bar. A service product such as financial paper can show an advisor chasing clients everywhere — from business meetings to vacation destinations. A courier company delivers a packet to a person trying to commit suicide from a high rise building.

In advertising we do find cliches, say a piggy bank symbol in banking ads to promote savings. Such cliches are banal. Sometimes the cliche consists of an extreme promise — a person using a deo becomes so desirable. However, cliches are not credible. Instead, one can use the other extreme called Extreme Consequence. It shows the absurd results of having a product or using it. A toothbrush promises sparkling teeth — in a group photo the head is converted into a sparkling lamp. Here the product benefit is exaggerated. A car chase between the police and the criminal shows him to get out of the car to take his favourite coffee from a cafe and then get into the car again so as to resume the chase. Extreme Consequence is ironic and tongue-in-cheek. It can be both positive and negative. It could also focus on minor trait. A ‘twist-to-open’ instruction can lead to a dance of the consumer.

While selling insurance, a family is shown in trouble after the death of the insured bread winner. There is some vulgarity in this. Instead, we can use inversion. It is an exaggeration that is not credible.Its very incredibility reduces the resistance. A flower wreath with a label ‘they will not forget you’ , even if you do not leave them anything is shown.Sometimes non-realism is used to make the message more realistic. The reader should feel that this would not happen to me. The more exaggerated, absurd and non-realistic the message is, the more positively the message is taken. A couple on a beach indulges in kissing and the body of the boy convulses and becomes lifeless. At this point the medicine for nasal congestion is advertised. Negativity is avoided by focussing on  a relatively a minor trait. Hindi coaching can be advertised by pointing out how the lack og knowledge of Hindi affects the social life, say interactions with a north Indian girl. A gym could be a place to watch TV without any disturbance, or a place to make friends. Minor benefit is focussed upon when primary benefits are too well-known. Inversion also shows generosity and empathy towards the non-user. Advertisements using inversion do not feature a product but emphasise the benefits. It would not suit for a product with undifferentiated benefits. It does not  focus on the brand, and hence suitable for market leaders.

Advertising message can invite a reader to participate in message creation thus leading to greater assimilation and impact.

If the aim is to show the effects of the sunlight on the skin, just  consider an image of a sea beach  that features a picture post-card size bikini-clad girl. There are two gaps near the knees in this picture.. Ask the reader to put his/her two fingers into the gaps. Let him/her see the contrast.The superimposed fingers are knotty and wrinkled.That gives an idea of the deleterious effects of the sun-rays on the body. The effects will be visible say 10 years hence.Here the reader participates in message creation.