Keegan Pinto, head of creative (West) and NCD, branded content, FCB Ulka (KP): Real nice innovation to see both sides of your city. Real nice initiative and a powerful, intelligent solution to show the most beautiful visuals of an urban jungle to the viewer to shock him and revive his faith in the beauty of a city. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the city we live in and how beautiful it is. Sometimes, we need advertising and a film to give us a view of the rare, hidden beauty that lies around us, that the common person's view cannot reach. So while seemingly a simplistic film of beauty shots, no, it is way deeper than that and if one really gets it, it is truly a commendable idea. That topped with a sweet little innovation. Very special this one, for me. Maybe the trash film could've been shot as beautifully and dramatically to depict the extreme pathos. In this avatar, it seems like the trash film was not given too much importance, while I understand one wanted to make it look like trash and didn't want it to look too pretty. It is a microsite innovation, so people can best enjoy it only on the microsite, and this I think doesn't make it a full blown digital film or a social media film. This renders it slightly smaller. But I acknowledge that there aren't too many ways to pull of this innovation. Despite all this, real nice.
GSS: NA
Gokul Krishnamoorthy, managing editor, Campaign India (GK): Two facets of the city portrayed beautifully using cutting-edge technology. Loved the common soundtrack too. Coming from a newspaper brand that is expected to tell both sides of every story. Brilliant. GSS: NA
Dr Sharada, programme director, Laadli (Population First) (ALS): Gender neutral. GSS: 5
(KP): I really like it. Seems like a very simple, basic brief was converted into really interesting creative, with some good old repeat value. It seems like the director’s input, but the seamless rotating camera device adds richness to the story versus doing it in simplistic cuts. Even the little mention about ‘Eye contact hua toh iski tip’, is a ‘great catch’, a true insight from the world of waiters. Nicely done. GSS: NA
(GK): Exploring the mind of a cash-crunched bloke, before pitching a solution. Well done. I love the lighthearted treatment and comic touch. GSS: NA
(ALS): Gender neutral. GSS: 5
(KP): Nice attempt. For Nivea to have some fun and go to the extent of 007 is good to see. But bear in mind that the world of ‘digital creativity’ is tragically marred by the perceptions of: ‘Let’s do it for cheap, it doesn’t need to be produced well, it’s smaller screens anyway, it doesn’t need to look good, it isn’t the product we are going on air with or spending large amounts of money on etc. etc.’ In such scenarios, one should put the right resources together to end up making something that always comes out respectable and looks as rich as possible (which this film does largely). The first and most important resource is the idea, therefore. Ideally, do not write something that needs too much money to produce. Surely write something which reaps from the ‘world of digital’ where more fun can be had creatively, so top marks for attempting that (have fun technologically too with a possible innovation; one can go interactive, for example). Surely do something as unorthodox as possible. If your camera format is not a top-of-the-line format which is used to shoot ATL films typically, always get the raw material right. The actors and the story. If the story is kickass, it happily covers-up most challenges and apologies one is forced to face in the 'digital world'.
GSS: NA
(GK): Good idea. Agent Double-O(dour)-Seven fits perfectly for the brand. It could have ended up being even better than the earlier #BanBodyOdour film, but for the comic delivery by some of the characters. It could be intentional, but comes across as shallow at some points. GSS: NA
(ALS): An amusing and interesting ad on body odours that does not rely on scantily clad women to sell the product. GSS: 6
(KP): Great fun to review this one. Although, I noticed that a static shoot was done to execute this and one could yearn for this to have a been a ‘moving picture’, it moves you well enough simply with the power of the thought. Well-articulated. True to the glorious ‘Army community’. Truly, these are the guys who’ve lost limbs and lives, but they will still have more to give.
GSS: NA
(GK): Profound message that salutes Indian soldiers' unending sacrifices for the nation. 'They have lost all they had, yet they have more to give - what about you?' will also make viewers want to donate their organs. GSS: NA
(ALS): Gender neutral. GSS: 5
(KP): Mast! Really nice! To borrow from a true, fun pop-culture phenomenon - full marks. Nice simple hook, nice track, great lyrics - full marks. Less monies, still shot well, great visual ideation in every frame - full marks. The fist-bump which is such a bro thing used as a transitionary device - full marks. A campaign for men’s day on the bro code for a men’s deo brand - full marks. I want to hire these guys. They could make an agency more fun and ensure some kickass work too. GSS: NA
(GK): Emami deserves credit for introducing us to Men's Day and trying to keep ownership of it with something interesting year on year. The #BroCode is a very interesting concept. I wonder why it didn't make more noise than it did. GSS: 4
(ALS): Focuses on male bonding though inadvertently reinforces some stereotypes like the man going broke because he is dating a girl, getting a rakhi tied by a girl etc. GSS: 4.5
(KP): Beautiful film. Simple and almost a direct depiction of what might’ve happened in the case of Kushboo. The cause itself is truly tragic and unusual, but very, very real and ‘everyday’. A cause so powerful needed a nice, simple, ‘not-overdone’ film and it got just that. Public service films typically don’t have the best budgets, but seems like the little moneys were not pressurised by an extravagant, reckless or an indulgent script. So as another feather in its cap, the film looks aesthetic and sort of rich too. Nice input of the old-school song. Beautiful input of the father who seems like he is patting her to sleep and then he starts trying to wake up her dead body. GSS: NA
(GK): The gravity of the situation and how lack of toilets affects young women, is not often realised by menfolk. That it can drive them to suicide is understood by one father, far too late, in this film. The fact that this is based on a true story accentuates the impact of the film. GSS: NA
(ALS): An emotional ad which makes no sense. If the girl has committed suicide just because her father has not constructed a toilet, it is not right to highlight such acts of immaturity. If she is scared of going to defecate in the open in the morning because of harassment by the sexual predators, then the communication could have addressed it differently rather than focusing on the suicide. Passing a law making a toilet in every house mandatory is not the solution. Many toilets which are constructed are not used because there is no water available in most villages during summers. The burden of fetching water and cleaning toilets inevitably falls on women who are already overburdened with household work. Unsanitary toilets are a major nuisance for families than open defecation. Lack of toilets is the tip of the iceberg. The problem lies deeper down in the poor infrastructure and gender equations in our society. GSS: 2
(KP): Nicely and simply made. But I think a simple brief ended up with a a hyper-profound manifestation (with a narrative that’s slightly difficult to understand in just one viewing and with a tad unnecessary ‘poetic-ness’ maybe). Such a potent stimulus of cashlessness/demonetisation etc. could have had the most fun manifestation for a new-school product/brand that caters more to the youth, versus a hyper-dignified manifestation that ended up a slightly dry yet complex ‘montage film’. GSS: NA
(GK): Beautifully rides the 'cashless' mood saying, "So what? We're here." What better way to pitch the cashless Ola ride without rubbing people the wrong way?GSS: NA
(ALS): Balanced in it's projection of men and women. GSS: 6
(KP): Nice, fun idea. Could’ve had a little more fun, a little more edge, given the idea and the context. Seems it got a bit sanitised by ‘we know who’. And it’s ‘an Italian’, not ‘a Italian’. GSS: NA
(GK): The premise of 'Where food is fun' is brilliant, and it has been brought alive in this series of spots. I wish the idea had been maximised, though. GSS: NA
(ALS): The ads use the stereotype of a suspicious housewife and an accident-making woman driver. GSS: 4
(KP): Started simplistic and functional but I didn’t think it would’ve ended that way. I thought at least the colours of ‘open routes’ and ‘clogged routes’ would’ve been used creatively as a visual pun or something. Sorry but expected a little more. GSS: NA
(GK): Simple premise, interestingly told. Our headline 'Google Maps zooms in on traffic snarl truths, says #LookBeforeYouLeave' almost says it all. But those truths are also inherently Indian and abundantly interesting. A wedding procession and a crowd outside a TV showroom watching a match can keep a viewer interested until the pile up they create is shown. GSS: NA
(ALS): Gender neutral. GSS: 5
(KP): I love Ranveer. Just for the record, Ranveer was trainee-copywriter under us at Ogilvy, Mumbai, and now he is a big famous hero and the hero of this ad film. The track is great. There’s nothing wrong with the film really. But I don’t know if there are too many awesome things about it either. Shot really nicely to give a technology brand a premium image. I’d rather hard-sell the product and add a tinge of (or more than a tinge) of charm around the product. Simply put, I’d rather make a product film. The ideal is the Macbook Air film which was shown to be as thin as a pencil. Mac/Apple won’t really make an emotional film. Emotions are to be derived from the product experience. They’ll try and achieve the slickest possible product story first. With a hint of charm around it. Basically, huge amounts of head, and the just right touches of heart. GSS: NA
(GK): Handset brands haven't really managed to weave the product proposition within an engaging story. This one is an exception. A last night under the moonlight, captured by a Moonlight Selfie Camera, and two pictures to get the girl on her way to the airport to stay on. Filmi and far-fetched? Yes. Engaging and effective? Oh yes! GSS: NA
(ALS): The ad presents a man and woman in a romantic relationship where the woman seems to be having an equal choice. GSS: 6
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