I'm sure by now we've all seen the Google advertisements that
depict the story of two friends that got separated during the Partition and how
they finally meet after several years through the popular search engine. The
advertisement along with having the obvious emotional appeal, also very
effectively conveys the varied uses of Google. From reuniting long lost friends
to finding the translation for 'fennel' it has very successfully capitalized on
the sentiments of people. That is what embodies intelligent marketing. Apart
from accomplishing the goal of reaching a wide range of consumers, it also increases
its brand value.
However, such commercials as many might argue, uses the audience's feelings and preys upon
it to achieve its purpose, they also make, if not sizable, but noticeable
contributions to the society's outlook and perspective.
As an example, let's take go back a few months and we would remember
the Idea commercials really well. Why? Because they struck a chord. An
intelligent move on their part was positioning these ads at the time of some
major festivals. The ones with Eid and Diwali as the theme show and convey the
beautiful message of living in harmony and peace to one and all. It would've
touched hearts everywhere to see people from different communities excited
about celebrating the other's festivals with equal enthusiasm. Then there were
the Cadbury commercials where a foreigner whose just come to work in India spends
a few awkward moments and feels like an outsider before the ad culminates in
traditional Indian style with one of the protagonists giving 'Steve' a
jadoo-ki-jhappi on the eve of Diwali! A very recent brand to lead the scene of
effective advertising would be Tanishq. In the beginning, we see a demure bride
getting ready for her nuptials and there's a little girl prancing around her
throughout. It is only as the ad proceeds towards the end that the truth is
revealed. A very important message so carefully put across. A brave theme about
a woman remarrying handled with subtlety and an attempt that proved to be quite
successful too.
While some advertisements handle sensitive topics with the
right amount of thoughtfulness required, some are inept at doing so which
results in people not getting the message or the point to be made being twisted
into something that is just the opposite. An example of this was the recent
Dove Canada's "Real Beauty" campaign which aimed at hitting out at
all the people involved in projecting unrealistic beauty standards that
eventually leads to an inception of body and image issues in women.
The main target were the unsuspecting graphic designers worldwide
who were shamed for their Photoshop skills that distort images and result in
severe complexes in women. While a huge faction of people lauded this attempt, there
was the obvious backlash from the designer community who cited various reasons
that proved their 'innocence'.
"They were making a point. The point was that the self-image that we are bombarded with is one that is unattainable for the majority, and is unhealthy (emotionally & physically). I applaud the marketing, the particular advertisement and Dove as a company for doing so…"
"As a designer, my greatest frustration is that I have so little influence of the final product. And so, when I am made a scapegoat by an ad campaign like this (an ad campaign created by an agency that knows full well who makes the decisions!) I am outraged…"
Hence, we see how a good intention can go awfully wrong
sometimes if it was not conveyed or executed properly.
Then there are some advertisements where the point to be
made is simply not given any thought at all. There are a string of commercials
for men's deodorants that simply fail to make a valid point or maybe that is
what they're meant to be - pointless. Many of us may concur when I say that
watching them only proves how hollow and fickle can a human mind be. I wonder
who conceptualizes these abominations in the name of advertising and who does the
final 'okay'. Or are they even 'okay-ed' in the first place?
Because when we speak about the world of advertising making
an impact on the minds of people and on the society as a whole, one does wonder
what good does these commercials do?
By dEEV Sana Shaikh
