The Daily Star: Monday, August 24, 2009

Bangladesh’s Advertising: Gazing into the Crystal Ball

This article appeared on the supplement commemorating Bangladesh Brand Forum's

Commaward (Communication Effectiveness Award) August 2009

I unfortunately do not own the Back to the Future’s DMC DeLoren that allows me to time travel.
Neither do I have a crystal ball. But that has never stopped anyone from trying to predict the
future. Especially me. !

The global advertising industry itself is at crossroads today. It is taking a hard look inwards, re-
evaluating itself in the post recession world. As usual, global clients like Unilever, Coca-Cola
and P&G are leading the charge in forcing the change onto the agency fraternity. What is
expected from advertising agencies, the compensation models, and even what constitutes the
very definition of an agency is being challenged. The automotive and financial sector clients who
used to be the bedrock of the developed world’s advertising markets are re-looking at their
relationship not only with the consumers but also with the agencies themselves. No longer is it
adequate only to rely on the usual suspect of TV spots or massive campaign role outs. Clients
like GM have learnt that the massive money spent on advertising has not insulated them from
global fall out of the credit crunch. Some of their once formidable brands like Pontiac and Saturn
have seen consumer’s disappear. And the brand custodians in their advertising agencies are being
questioned on the efficacy of the “business-as-usual” communication they created. This, coupled
with the fragmentation of media vehicles and emergence of social network sites, means that only
brands that take up the challenge of connecting with consumers on a daily basis will survive, and
if lucky, come out stronger. Bob Lutz, the new Chairman of GM has said the two areas that he
will spend most of his time and resource behind are advertising and the actual product itself. And
he is not alone, CEOs in the boardrooms across the world are increasingly adopting similar
stand.

This will have a huge bearing on where we are headed in Bangladesh. We are not reinventing the
wheel here. Change is happening across the world and it will happen to us. We need to be ready
for it and proactively prepare for this. Resting on what has worked in the past will not mean it
will work in the future. Writing on the wall is clear. To borrow from Jack Trout - differentiate or
die! I will add here that brands can no longer find product differentiations. They need to find
emotional differentiations. They need to find, what Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi
calls “Lovemarks”.

Here are few predictions I’ll bet my reputation on.

Global Brands vs. Local Brands

The largest battle over the next decade will be between Global Goliaths against Local Davids.
Don’t for a second think that the result of that slugfest is a forgone conclusion. We will see a
match up between vast knowledge base of brand building honed to near perfection and huge war
chests that global marketing giants have at their disposal; versus the agility and local consumer
understanding that local brands have.

These “wars” for the consumers wallet have already started, points being won by both sides. Lux
and Close-Up winning early battles against Aromatics and Fresh Gel. On the other side Mojo and
Ispahani scoring over the Pepsi, Coke, Tetley and Lipton.

As an advertising agency head, I fight the battle everyday from both sides of the divide. In my
mind the edge is currently with the local boys. Not burdened by global roll-out, heritage and
need to confirm with regional dictates, local brands are finding indigenous insights. Some of the
most interesting and compelling works done over the last few years have come out of Grey,
Mediacom, Cogito, Bitopi and my agency Adcomm for our local clients. I can’t see a Protom
Alo Bodlay Dao, Ruchi Chanachur, or Mojo being replicated by any foreign brands.

But that doesn’t mean that MNCs are sitting back idle. A superb counter-attack example is from
Marico. They have taken the lessons of their duels with Unilever in India and are putting behind
the local Camellia and Aromatic brands that they have bought.

Throughout my 15 years in advertising I’ve seen one thing, that this march towards
regionalisation of advertising is a cyclical one. Every few years the trend inverts itself. We move
towards regional harmonised communication and then kaboom - localisation of regional insights.
Unilever is a master in this field. As our economy moves ahead, we will see them bringing in
learnings from South-East Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and India to the battlefields at
home.

Emergence of New Media

More has been written about this than any other topic in advertising in recent years. Currently
what is termed as “New Media” - Internet and Mobile, is in its infancy. Though because of
grameenphone the access to internet is vast (their estimate puts it over 20 million), only a small
fraction of the consumers actually log-on on a daily basis. That I reckon is because there isn’t a
distinct “reason why”. An internet surfer in, say Bhola, has very limited use of the world wide
web. Literacy, especially English proficiency is a barrier to usage. But still the numbers are not
to be laughed at. One study puts Bangladesh at number 8 on traffic on Facebook. The figures
will only grow. With drop in bandwidth cost and the introduction of WiMax this figure will grow
exponentially.

Brands need to be ready for this. Today if you log onto FB you will see Citycell Zoom, Mentor
and Cellbazaar ads. But these are still predominantly banners. Brands need to evolve much
beyond this. They need to get onboard Bangladeshi oriented sites like hottdhaka.com,
pipilika.com, 2funmail.com, amadergaan.com, bdjobs.com to give example of only a few. The
relationship needs to go beyond just visibility on site to building co-branded offerings.
grameenphone has done a lot in promoting Cellbazaar. This is unfortunately the exception rather
than the rule. Larger brands like the telcos and the FMCG giants need to start spending
substantial development money in this field. It is still relatively cheaper to get into this medium,
and experiment now before it becomes expensive both in terms of money and in terms of
potential mistakes. Somewherein.com, published in Bangla, offers unparalleled opportunity for
brands to start their own blog and start interacting with consumers. Similarly brands in, say the
financial sector, can use this tool very effectively to differentiate themselves in a cluttered
competitive market.

I’ve not even gotten into the power that mobile phones give advertisers. With phones getting
smarter and cheaper it’s a matter of time that we can start pushing advertising down to
consumers. Even to those who are “technologically challenged”. Think of it Sharbet-e-AP
sending Ramzan alerts to those who subscribe. Or say Peninsula Hotel sending discount
vouchers to everyone who has booked a ticket on that day’s United Airlines flight to Chittagong.
I am not even getting into location-based advertising. It is a matter of time before say all dJuice
subscribers near Roll Express during lunch time get a free drinks voucher sent to their mobiles.
The technology already exists for things like this to happen. We just need more tech savvy
marketers!

Rebranding of Old Media

Don’t count out Old Media as yet. There will be growth in this area as well. The easier example
is FM Radio. It will be a matter of months before coverage for FM moves beyond Dhaka,
Chittagong and Sylhet. With focused localised advertising, this media will entice till now
advertising shy or smaller brands into spending. Say the Garden Bistro Restaurant at Nazimgarh
Resorts can offer listeners in Sylhet a value meal on a slow day. And only at a cost in the region
of a few thousand takas to the company

The bigger challenge will be in the TV medium. Currently they are besieged by what I call a
“photocopy syndrome”. Channels do not differentiate between each other as such. The station id
on top right of the screen is so easily changeable. Evolution in this sector will be in two areas.
Firstly viewers will become program loyal as opposed to channel loyal. I know this sounds so
obvious. But the channel owners somehow have forgotten that there exists a thing called a
remote control. Why else will they be subjecting viewers to mind numbing programming and
never ending ad breaks. Lowe does a regular study across the globe called “Ad Avoidance”. The
result is predictable. Given shorter adbreaks, viewers are less likely to channel surf. Advertisers
who pay premium to be on short breaks benefit in the long run. TV channels’ adsellers and
brands’ media buyers will soon have to realise that instead of getting 10 ads for Tk 100 each, it is
better for all concerned to get 2 ads for Tk 500 each.

The more interesting will be when TV channel owners realise that they too own brands. And
principles of brand marketing apply to them as well. They need to differentiate themselves from
the rest of the crowd. Just look at the station ids of Zee Cafe and Star World. Both the channels
show more or less similar programming but they have a very distinctive look feel. While I still
watch programs as opposed to channels, one has a bigger appeal to me than the other and when I
don’t have a specific program to watch I am on that channel. Similarly between BBC News,
CNN and Al-Jazzera. And by successfully branding day parts. For example Comedy Mondays, a
channel allows me to remember to switch on that day. I try not to miss Jumbo Movie Sundays on
History Channel.

If Digonto TV was selling shares, I would buy. They might not have the biggest viewer shares,
but they have a larger mindshare of a niche group. Advertisers who follow Sirius’s rating data
will eventually put their money hoping to win the loyalties of this group of consumers. Niche
will not only be in Islamic programming but also in music, movie, sports, news, youth segments.
And this list is in no way exhaustive.

Rural Activation

Despite urbanisation and growth of media exposure levels, a large part of the country is media
dark. And there lives C.K. Prahalad’s “Bottom of the Pyramid”. And its a huge market! If 80%
of the populations live in non urban space then we are talking about a potential market of 128
million people. Say we can get 50% of this market to spend Tk 2 every month on a Pepsodent
mini pack, then annually Unilever takes in approximately Tk 150 crores more! I am lead to
believe that Unilever made more money last year from reaching out to those living beyond their
distribution reach than Square Toiletries made on their total sales volume. Which National Sales
Manager will not be awed by figures like this? And which Brand Manager can ignore this
market? This is where the big money of tomorrow will be spent. Likes of Unilever already spend
more money on what used to be termed as BTL (below the line) than they do ATL (above the
line). Other companies regardless of market segment will follow suit. This is where the lines
between agencies, distributors, implementers, and clients will begin to blur. Already
implementers act as agencies; Agencies like distributors and distributors like implementers.
Those outfits who can offer the client the perfect strategy and immaculate execution coupled
with the best value will be the Titans of advertising in the years to come.

My agency, Adcomm for one is betting big on this. In the recent months we he have started not
one but two separate ventures to address this market. And we are not the first ones. Interspeed
and Market Access are already big and serious players in the field. And as we speak, boardrooms
across advertising agencies in Bangladesh are planning and strategising their own foray. How
much longer before regional and global giants like O&M, Lowe and Grey enter?

Content

My favourite area. The place where the most excitement and glamour will be - content creation. I
am not the first to tell you that the 30-second ad is dead. But what will replace it? The 30-minute
ad. Yes, instead of taking 30 seconds to get your message across advertisers will create branded
content like Close-Up 1 and talk to a targeted audience over a longer period of time. Already TV
channels have a bevy of shows like this. From Horlicks Future Force to Meril Prothom Alo
Puroskar to Shah Cement Nirmanay Taroka brands are rushing to get their names on the top bill.
But this isn’t anything new. Where the difference between success and failure will lie is how
tightly the brand experience be built. Just having the brand name in bright lights is not enough.
Consumers will need to be immersed in the totality of the event. Brand essence will need to
permeate through. Brand like Farm Fresh Milk cannot leave advertising at a 30 second spot
calling the young to “Agiya Jao” (Stride Ahead) but will need to get into programs like the
Maths Olympiad or having TV program where they teach fun science.

An interesting development here will be on the content owners end. Earlier content was created
by TV channels or by clients. But now third party production houses will take the development
work and finances on their shoulders. While they will still create brand specific events and
programs, because they still own the content they will get a more comfortable margin. Say today
the “owner” of the Citycell Channel I Music Awards can drop the title sponsor and go to the next
highest bidder, for example Sony Ericsson.

Advertising Agency

The haziest part of the future is predicting what the future Advertising Agency will be like. One
thing it will not be is the Advertising Agency of today. Already agencies have to a great degree
lost a lot of their media buying function. On the other side the citadels of creativity is being
attacked by boutique creative shops. The top ten players in the market at one time ruled over
90% of the market. These days it’s a different picture. In almost all the major pitches of last three
years, small (and often new) agencies have been invited with the big boys. Also, media now
going directly to the clients have made profitability margins for advertising agencies disappear.
New compensation models other than the usual 15% media commission is being experimented
with. From retainers, to fee based work, to rate cards, nothing is beyond acceptance.

This year Adcomm celebrates its 35 years. Starting from a small outfit in a sub-let premise, today
we are amongst larger advertising agencies in the country. But the debate within is for how long
can we sustain the revenue model of our business. The consensus seems that for not too long. We
are evolving. We are moving away from being an “agency” to being a brand consultant. We aim
to provide the thinking and strategy behind the brand. Not necessarily its implementation, nor
even, shall I dare say, the creative output! Yes, even creativity is not sacrosanct. In the future it
maybe outsourced. In this case the part the advertising consultant will play is to see that a
brand’s personality and messaging is not schizophrenic. Just as brand owners are outsourcing
their manufacturing, sales and distribution services, so too will they with communication.
Dynamics of brand relationship is going to change beyond recognition. As will Adcomm (and
other agency groups) offerings to their client. No one in the advertising world in Bangladesh
missed Asiatic 360’s ad recently. It showed how they have grown beyond mere advertising to, as
the name suggests, an all round resource. Clients can either call upon them to provide a complete
solution or cherry pick those interventions that suit the brand the best.

Adcomm Group is now more than just advertising. We have over the years formed a “best-of-
breed” offering between associated companies. You can either come to Adcomm or brand
solution and strategy and the full package. Or go to any of our other associates who specialize in
their respective areas, namely, Adcomm Media in media solutions, Signage indigital print
solution), Screaming Girl Productions in TVC and content production), AktiVision inevents and
advertising, AktiSales in direct consumer contact and distribution, AktiGram in rural activation,
Northbrook Consultants in PR, Art of Noise in music and radio program production and a soon
to be launched design shop. This does not even take into account close associates with whom
while we don’t have equity relationship, we have seamless working relationship.

Another area that I believe will grow is outsourcing of advertising and graphic design services
(GDS) for the global advertising market. Basically GDS is another name for Desk Top
Publishing or Pre-Press work that used to be dominated by the graphic bureaus in Purana Paltan.
In 2005 Adcomm formed a joint venture with a Danish advertising group AdPeople to take this
to a different level altogether. The baby of that marriage, GraphicPeople has fast matured into a
world-class studio for GDS that services global advertising requirements for Dell. The success of
this company can be validated by the fact that they are experiencing almost a doubling of
business every year, and by the fact that one of world’s largest advertising holding companies
WPP has recently brought out our Danish partner and merged GraphicPeople with Y&R Brands.
Interestingly WPP is very bullish on Bangladesh and GDS. Their O&M has recently started its
GDS studio called RedWorks. Do you think the other advertising holding companies haven’t got
their eyes on this development? I feel that representative of global holding companies will be in
Dhaka over the next 18 to 24 months to forge out partnerships with local entrepreneurs. And
these companies, along with existing players like Trade Excel, Graphic Associates, Click House
and others, have the potential of turning GDS into the next garments industry for Bangladesh.
Advertising agency of today has the option of abandoning the local market altogether and
concentrating on the more lucrative overseas market.

These are fascinating times we live in. Advertising is more exciting now than ever. Next three
years will shape the future of our world! Advertising agencies, practitioners and marketers need
to be ready to ride the storm with the agility of a Bondi beach surfer or becompletely wiped out
by the next big wave!
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
BFF: Critique 9: Ads that I don't like

Appeared in the June 2009 edition of the Bangladesh Brand Forum magazine.

A criticism of my critique column that I sometimes get is that I hedge my bets. Basically it seems
that I don’t come out and say out right that I don’t like a TVC. As a person pointed out to me, I
put in a lot of disclaimers! Well it is somewhat true. I guess that is the hazard of working with
the people whose work I write about. And that too in an industry where you are only as good as
your last work. I cannot honestly put my hand on my heart and say that I make better ads. I
don’t. There are far more talented people in our industry than me. Far more. And the aim of these
writings is just to put down my own personal opinion about things that I like and I don’t. As with
anything where a value judgment needs to be made, the opinions are subjective. As the great
bard had said so truly “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” Just because I like Kachchi
Biriyani, everybody doesn’t need to. So today I’ll talk about a few recent on-air TVCs that I
don’t like at all. Mind you, people who I work with, or for, might even have created few of these.
But this is not a reflection on those persons but rather on these works themselves. Did I just put
in another disclaimer? Oh well here goes…

Black Horse: Those who read my column regularly (I am told there are one or two out there)
will remember that in last month’s column, I had already crowned Black Horse as the tiger of the
Energy Drinks with speed that would leave the big boss in a wild brew! (Puns, of course,
intended). How could anyone, I argued, go wrong with James in a TVC about a product he was
born to sell? All you needed to do is put him in the same 30 seconds as the product and voila we
have a winner in our midst. Boy, o’boy was I wrong! I fancy that I am too much of a gentleman
to elaborate what WTF! means. But that’s the exact thing that went through my head when I saw
the new Black Horse TVC for the first time. Actually come to think of it, it still does every time I
see it. Well they did what I had hoped they would do, put James in a macho music video singing
the virtues of a product. But the production quality of the ad was so poor that it degraded the
whole TVC and the brand into a third grade rubbish. I happen to know how much James was
alleged to have been paid for this endorsement and ad. Even if you spent a small part of that
amount with a professional director, you would have gotten a great ad. What the brand
custodians have done is just like buying a 7 series BMW and then giving it to the apprentice
mistiri in a garage in Dholaikhal to ensure it runs smoothly! What a waste.

The TVC started with James emerging from the sea and then through out the rest of the 40
second ad, walking against huge landscapes like a desert or a mountain! In what is obviously a
production, shot in a hurry against a green croma screen, James did not have the expressive
allure that was needed. He looked tired and not too happy about drinking the product. As a
matter of fact while there was a drink shot or two, the product itself wasn’t the hero of this
introductory TVC. A big failure when it comes to the communication angle of it all. I thought the
jingle was the only redeeming fact of the whole incident.

I believe this TVC was shot in India. Why? The values that it showed was akin to a poor
Bangladeshi ad from 5 years back. A local new up-and-coming director would have done a much
better job at it. It is evident that our directors have reached a level of maturity that puts them at
par with rest of the sub-continent. It only goes to show that just because you’re taking your
production to India doesn’t mean that you’ll get a superior product.

A bit of free advice to the client, drop the TVC and just run the jingle on Radio and use static
billboards to bring in the James connection, while you re-shoot it using an actual production
company and not my fifteen-year-old nephew!

Production value: 0 on 10. (that’s a first!) Insight: 2. Originality: 2. Overall: 1 (Ladies and
gentlemen, we have our bottom of the barrel.)

Shagufta Housing: I think I’m loosing my touch. I need someone to explain to me some of the
ads that are running on TV both locally and internationally. I just don’t get it. Like these two
Shagufta Housing ads that are getting air time these days. Unfortunately no one could explain
them to me.

Let me explain each of the ads and let’s see if you can enlighten me on what was going through
the mind of the creative director who thought of the script or the client who approved it. The
usual plate of Kachchi to the first person who can crack this. The first ad opens with a baby
picture of a mother and son, who grows up, marries and has a son of his own. The grandparents
are seen seating in the living room while the grandson plays at their feet. Ah bliss you might
thing but no wait! Next door the father and the mother are having a heated argument. “What do
you want me to do? Abandon my parents?” asks the father. “You stay with your parents!” comes
the angry reply as his wife storms out of the room. Absolutely true, I’m not lying! This is what
happens. Next scene is the inevitable walkout of the apartment by the elderly couple while the
helpless son looks on as the little boy begs his grandparents to stay on. “Not far, keep your
parents close” declares the pay-off line. What in the world were they trying to say? That their
target group, presumably the husband, is a spineless twit? Or that Shagufta housing makes
apartments so small that a family of 5 cannot stay together peacefully? Or maybe you need to
buy your wife an apartment so that she has all the space in the world to yell as much as she
wants?

The second TVC is just as confusing. It shows

a young little girl going through the day missing her busy parents. She is restless and depressed,
trying desperately to contact her parents. Even the hapless phone call that she makes to her father
goes unanswered. Having only a nanny, albeit a very well attired one, as company, she is
miserable. At least her mother calls home but unfortunately doesn’t have the time to talk to her
daughter. Poor girl cries herself to sleep. In the evening the parents return carrying gifts for the
daughter. “May your daughter grow up with her parents engulfed in love and care!” Huh? What
just happened? Did we see parents exhibiting love and care? Maybe the subliminal message was
don’t worry if you ignore your child through out the day, you can buy affection with a big teddy
bear later! Of course it couldn’t be that Shagufta housing makes apartments that don’t have play
area for the child or they are so expensive that both the parents need to work. I am truly
confused.

Though it isn’t often followed in our market, scripts should always be pre-tested. After all what
we think we are trying to say might not be what a consumer hears. And often we make mistakes
in the darnest of small things. I am not sure who the Agency was on this particular campaign – I
dare not try to find out. But I am sure they aren’t going to win Bangladesh Brand Forum’s new
Effectiveness Award!

Production value 3 on 10. Insight: 0 (I just didn’t get it!). Originality: 5. (well I’ve never seen an
ad where the wife shouts at the husband and gets away with it) Overall: 2.5

Pran Masala: I am going to cheat a bit. This particular TVC has recently been changed. But I
couldn’t write about ads I don’t like with out mentioning the one I love to hate. We have all seen
this one. And till date I’ve not found one person who likes it. And trust me, I’ve looked around.

Yup, I’m talking about the infamous “raantay toh shikhlay na” (“haven’t even learnt to cook”)
TVC. A man shows his anger at his wife as he storms of the dining table huffing the above
quoted lines! The wife in tears is in the kitchen when a pack comes dancing in and tells her not to
worry anymore because the powder is the only thing that will give the taste in the food. The
swaying housewife is absolutely in a trance with her new found secret recipe.

Oh, on how many levels do I hate this TVC!

Most of all I think it is for berating the target audience. I can’t believe someone thought it was
alright to insult the user and then turn her into a speechless, mindless bimbo was a great idea to
sell your product. I have an idea for a rival’s TVC. We show the same starting sequence when
husband says those lines and tries to walk off. The wife grabs him by the collar and gives a tight
slap across his face and then makes him cook. The voice over comes on and says “xyz powder,
now anyone can cook!” I hope someone gives me the money to make that one.
Production value 3 on 10. Insight: 1. Originality: 2. Overall: 2

Nazim Farhan Choudhury is the Deputy Managing Director of Adcomm Limited and still
doesn’t get some of the ads. He recently heard his hero John Hegarty of BBH say that
advertisers are the most creative of the creative people. After all while a musician or an actor
could go on creating a particular type of music or playing a type-cast role, in this trade we need
to re-invent our idea for each of our creations. We cannot repeat even a single idea. Or I think
he said something like this. If you have comments, feel free to write at farhan@adcommad.com
or visit his blogsite http://nazimfarhan.blogspot.com

Links to the Ads

Black Horse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KowllZkU5_A
Shagufta http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5kYAvmD-pU
Pran Masala http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N-ODYVlzw8

posted by Nazim Farhan Choudhury at 7/01/2009 02:30:00 PM | 1 comments links to this post

Thursday, May 21, 2009

BFF: Critique 8: Energy Drinks

Appeared in the May 2009 edition of the Bangladesh Brand Forum magazine.

It’s a jungle out there! Specially between Tiger, Dark Horse, Shark, it’s a “Wild Brew” (pun of
course intended!). Throw in Crown, Big Boss, Mountain Dew, Speed, and the Energy Drink
market is really crowded. Being a very profitable segment of the market there is a mini war
going on. It’s currently a small-volume-high-margin segment of the drinks market but growing
like a runaway cattle high on Red Bull. To be absolutely clear, there are two sub-variants. One
being the high-caffeine, sugary, carbonated drink that is the bulk of the segment, and the other
being a pseudo beer defined as non-alcoholic malt beverage. Neither, ironically, are what is
referred to as energy drinks in the internationally. There it is an isotonic, salt-reinforced, lemon
based drink, like those of Gatorade and Locazade. In the local market the spurt of activity
recently has seen quite a few TVCs fighting out for consumer’s mindshare.

Tiger: This is the brand that started the battle. Using Ayub Bachchu as the brand endorser, it has
proved to be a runaway success.
 While the original launch ad lacked the punch
and the polish of a good production, the follow up ad took the two best things of the first, namely
AB and a catchy song, and did a better mash up. It showed all the correct target audience. It had
all the required elements - a good jingle, the youth gathering shots (concert, sports), it even had,
what seems to be fast becoming essential, a cricket match shot! On originality of the idea it does
nothing for the brand. It doesn’t add on the values of the product too much. But the sheer
presence of AB and the massive media buy behind the TVC I am sure will ensure the success of
the brand for some time to come.

Production value 6 on 10. Insight: 4. Originality: 2. Execution of the Idea: 3. Overall: 3.5

Speed: After a forgetful and illogical launch ad that showed a jockey having the drink thus
making the horse go faster, Akij did a much anticipated re-branding exercise. Grey has given the
brand a great do over. With invigorating pack graphics Speed’s new pay-off “Heavy
(pronounced HeaBee) Energy”, I believe they positioned the brand for success.

Its use of humour was an attempt to distinguish

itself from the rivals. I saw the static executions before the TVC. I was disappointed with the
latter. I think they did no justice to the insight. After such a strong footing and a powerful pay-
off, the TVC was a let down. It showed a man who has lost his memory being jolted back by a
stray carom striker shot from a distance by a Speed drinking protagonist. Phew. A stretch to say
the least. Not that reality needs to play any part in it. But come on, you could come up with a
much much stronger execution. In the static itself, the broken cement I thought was a great lead
in for the TVCs. Could have built on that. Production wise it was well shot, having all the
required values. But overall it didn’t leave a lasting impression. I thought even the attempted
humour was trying to katu kutu (tickle) you into laughing.

Production value 5 on 10. Insight: 6. Originality: 5. Execution of the Idea: 4. Overall: 4

Wild Brew: another offering from Akij, this is the malt beverage side of the portfolio. The brand
name and premise is that it unleashes the “beast inside”. Interesting! The ad was different. It
showed various animals in the African jungle running off scared. (Running from, I thought in the
first few viewing, the cheetah. But no. Apparently everyone -including the cheetah - was running
from the drink). Ok. Did it excite non Animal Planet watching crowd? Not sure it did. Yes, it did
set up the brand as this wild untamed man’s drink but then they fizzled out. I would have thought
this was only the launch ad and they would follow up with a proper theme ad that showed a
macho wild man who drank this brew. Or even a James Bondish suave character who had this
wild excitable side. But they left us hanging. I hope not for long though. Grey who handles the
brand usually does a more stronger brand-consumer connect.

Production value 5 on 10. Insight: 6. Originality: 5. Execution of the Idea: 5. Overall: 5 (but only
as an “intro” TVC. If this is all they have got then I’ll give it a “2”)

Crown: the original big daddy of energy drink. It started off with Azam Khan - the original big
daddy of the beer chugging set! But then the follow up had Tinni and Fuad. It was shot during an
unflattering phase of Tinni’s life. She didn’t have the sex appeal the director’s intended. Why
didn’t they use Mila or Tishma? Fuad, too, seemed an after thought. What was he doing there
except saying “khub cheena cheena”? And what did he mean by that?

The TVC showed Tinni stuck in traffic, calls into a Radio show to dedicate a song to Fuad. She
crack opens a can of Crown which is carried over the airwaves and starts off a party. A lot of
good looking people, drinking shots and a Fuad mixed jingle aimed at appealing to the young.
But the ad was so average that it was painful. It had a lot of potential but I bet you a case of
Heineken, the powers behind the brand only thought of the communication as a TVC and not as
a big picture. This will not get the brand anywhere.

Production value 4 on 10. Insight: 3. Originality: 2. Execution of the Idea: 2. Overall: 2 (our
lowest ever!)

Big Boss: I wish we could copyright ideas. This script bears a more than uncanny resemblance to
a script I presented to a client a few years back. While I failed in convincing the client, kudos to
Expression for being able to take a similar concept forward. Of course I think it’s a good connect
with the brand. The ad borrows heavily from the sport of “free running”. Basically it is running a
hurdle race where participants, while running, jump over barriers and keep going without
slowing down. While the sport is new and has a little but growing following in the west, it has
been used in quite a few ads in the region already. Including for a dJuice ad locally. In this
particular ad the Big Boss drinker runs off after a thief who just robbed a lady of her handbag.
He goes through various obstacles during the chase. Near the end of the pursuit we see him
crossing the thief to reach for the Big Boss carrying vehicle. As the others including the
perplexed thief look on he opens up a drink and then grabs hold of the purse snatcher to relieve
him of the stolen good. Cut to a bar / disco where the macho hero hands the bag back to the
rightful owner.

Overall the production by Amit Sen is entertaining. Good mix of music and action. However I
thought it failed to create that little bit of suspense. We should have left wondering if the hero
could make those jumps or not. And they needed to be slightly more awe inspiring. Instead we
got too many gymnastic digbaji (somersault). One thing that I didn’t like at all was the last
sequence in the bar. Didn’t think it was required at all. They should have ended the TVC before
this. Let me guess. The client insisted on it!

A point to make here is that while this attempt is much better than a stop gap ad that they ran for
a few months in the middle, it isn’t good enough to win the Energy Drink war.

Production value 4 on 10. Insight: 5. Originality: 5. Execution of the Idea: 4. Overall: 4

Black Horse: And the winner’s trophy of this war. I think, will go to Black Horse. At the time of
writing this piece, the launch ad hasn’t aired as yet. But how do I know this will win? Well it has
James as the lead. Who else can epitomise and bring to life the category than James? The
biggest, baddest rockstar to walk the Bangladeshi stage. After a big bidding war James signed on
and surely that will propel Black Horse to a different stratosphere. I mean how can you go
wrong? All you need to do is put him in the ad and do a music video of him! [What I’ll do is
when the ad is out, put a review of it on my site. Let’s see, finger’s crossed]

Nazim Farhan Choudhury is the Deputy Managing Director of Adcomm Limited and an ardent
fan of edgy advertising. He is of the strong belief that advertising is a medium that can help
shape a society and its culture. We can use it for the better good of the nation. Introduce new
thought, promote new concepts and eventually change the thinking. And if we are lucky, for the
better. If you have comments, feel free to write at farhan@adcommad.com or visit his blogsite
http://nazimfarhan.blogspot.com

posted by Nazim Farhan Choudhury at 5/21/2009 06:22:00 PM | 0 comments links to this post

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

BFF: Critique 7: Prophylactic

Appeared in the April 2009 edition of the Bangladesh Brand Forum magazine.

One of my most embarrassing moments in advertising occurred when, in the mid 90s, I started
out as a junior client executive. I was called in for a meeting with a large contraceptive product
client that we handled. They were going to launch a “ribbed” and “dotted” variety of their
popular condom brand. In the course of the meeting, between strategizing and conceptualization,
Mr. Client turned to me and said “do you know what dotted and ribbed is?” I was dumbfounded.
Now most of you don’t know this but my boss also happens to be my mother! Questioned in
front of her, well you realize my predicament. What could I say but hem and haw! So Mr. Client
grabs into his briefcase and pulls out a few sample. He then goes on to tear the packaging and
describe in details the product benefits - its contours and its consumer benefits. I don’t think I’ve
ever turned redder in my life!

Well that anecdote aside, I’ve always been fascinated by contraceptive advertising. Especially in
a Muslim majority country like Bangladesh, where talking about sex has always been a taboo.
How do you sell a product you can not talk about? Now that did not stop us. Between Mr. Reza
Ali’s Bitopi handling Raja Condoms and Adcomm with Sensation and Panther, we were doing
quite a reasonable job. Condom sales and usage were up and birthrates down. However primary
focus of any campaign was on family planning. Hence sex and the reported pleasure from that
activity was not spoken about. Rather all conversation was based on the benefits of smaller
families. One of the most successful campaigns in Bangladesh’s advertising history was a
Vasectomy ad where they first showed a family over run by kids. Man comes home and talks to
his wife and they decide that he should visit the local clinic where a “solution” would be
provided. Cut to the end-shot of man and wife and their ideal family. Man saying the immortal
line “aagay chilam boka, akhon hoilam budhimaan” (Loosely translated, “Was foolish before,
now I am much wiser!”). One rather obvious hole in the plot - where did all those extra children
before the procedure disappeared to? But that aside I think it got the message across. I am not
sure if it got men to agree to get, well, fixed. But it started a conversation.

Advertising that followed later were walking a very tight line to ensure that the discourse
continues. But all that changed with the launch of Sensation Condom. For the first time we
pushed the envelope. Positioning it on the pleasure principal, the ad showed a couple who were
celebrating an occasion and were using the contraceptive to stay safe. And also for the first time
the concept of prevention from sexually transmitted disease was mentioned. So the condom came
out of the closet. Its role shifted from being only a family planning tool to that of a protector.
Albeit still between married couples.

Since then the company in question has evolved the market along. Especially on the Sensation
brand, the messaging has moved more towards the pleasure side of the business, over the years
adding on pleasure enhancers to the product like contours and even flavours. This growing
boldness has often ran right into a wall put up by the staid censors of BTV. But now with the
proliferation of local satellite channels, consumers are not shielded from the realities of life. Hey
having sex isn’t bad, just make sure you are protected.

In recent days three particular condom ads have caught the attention of viewers. As I’ve directly
worked on one of them (Hero), I will not comment on it. But I thought it would be interesting to
talk about the other two ads

Panther : This brand operates in a very difficult target market matrix. Aimed at the mid-segment
of the consumers who happen not only to be conservative but also budget conscious. It’s difficult
to talk about many things with this group. Compounding the problem is this fear that
contraceptive will be looked down upon as not being macho enough and reduce the pleasure. I
thought the Agency - Mediacom was bang on when they addressed these two issues head on. The
story of this ad is simple. A brother in a joint family in a village comes home unexpectedly with
a lot of fan fare and announces that he is married. And that too, to a very beautiful cinema
heroine. Throughout the rest of the commercial we see how she is utterly besotted by her
husband. At the same time this red-blooded-cinema-actress-marrying man’s cousin is intrigued
by the secret of his success. Only to rush in and ask him how he does what he does. And on cue
comes in the Panther condom pack and the pay off “ashol purush” (real man). The TVC blends
in everything - humour, product benefit, virility. In one stroke they tear down the two barriers to
purchase, while not needing to resort to the usual product story. Well actually they did talk about
the product. It’s intertwined in the plot so ingeniously. All they did, rightly, was not to talk about
product attributes.

On the production front, Kislu did a great job as well. Edits were well done. Acting set the mood
of the ad and the music highlighted it. The reaction of the cousin was perfect. It brought in the
spirit and the intrigue.

Production value I’ll give it a 7 on 10. On originality and insight: 9. Overall: 8.5

Sensation : we no longer handle the brand. Bitopi has taken on the stewardship. Their current
offering is, to put it mildly, very bold in its reach. I believe this is another of the watershed ads
that Sensation has gifted the advertising industry. In my mind they have now moved from only
pleasure to a sexual act itself. Well though not explicitly shown, it explores the fantasy world of
role play. The TVC which was produced by Opus Communication out of Kolkatta shows a very
sexy woman who is dressing up for a night out in the town. And as she walks down the street she
has this feeling that she is being followed. We indeed see that a man in an overcoat, fedora and
dark glasses (yes in the evening) stalking her. The music builds the suspense of a cat and mouse
situation. The hunter and the hunted. She tries to find refuge in a cafe, only to see him sitting
there. Scared, she runs back home. But the man is already there! Cue in drama, suspense, Hindi
serial music and boom… she smiles. It’s her husband. And here comes the twist. As they are
about to embrace, she takes of a wig. If this isn’t the-stranger-in-the-alley role play fantasy that
any Creative Director fantasises about, I’ll give up my subscription to Hugh Hefner’s magazine.
Ok the required married couple photographs are in the background but the whole thing is still
very spunky.
Unfortunately I am not sure if the consumers picked up on the message. The thinking might be
that the sophisticated target for this brand will get it even if others don’t. But I’ve spoken about it
with quite a few people. I am not sure they get it. After explaining it, yes everyone loves it. They
think it’s feisty and original. But they need to see it repeatedly before getting the message. In
today’s fragmented media scenario that is a no-no. It’s a shame that TVC wasn’t smooth enough
to capture the nuances of story-line. We saw the man too early, and his attempt to hide too
feeble. The girl on the other hand did a bang up job. Her expressions were great. Showed her
emotions I thought, quite well. Especially at the end where that faked apprehension turns to the
wicked smile of knowing what will come next.

Unfortunately this seems to be an ad that admen like me will love and talk about for years to
come, while fall flat with the consumers. But this shouldn’t discourage either the client or the
agency. Both, I hope, have embarked on an adventure that will see many such taboo TVCs and
topics being discussed. A strong step in that direction indeed.

Production value 4 on 10. On originality: 8 and insight: 6. Overall: 7

Nazim Farhan Choudhury is the Deputy Managing Director of Adcomm Limited and an ardent
fan of edgy advertising. He is of the strong belief that advertising is a medium that can help
shape a society and its culture. We can use it for the better good of the nation. Introduce new
thought, promote new concepts and eventually change the thinking. And if we are lucky, for the
better. If you have comments, feel free to write at farhan@adcommad.com or visit his blogsite
http://nazimfarhan.blogspot.com