Satbir Singh, Founder and CCO, Thinkstr (SS): भाई, ऐड तो बड़ा अच्छा बनाया है, बस learn English भी हिंदी में लिख देते तो और भी साइन... नहीं नहीं... शाईन करता ।
(A very well-made ad. If only they had written 'Learn English’ in Hindi, it would sine.. sorry, shine even more.)
GSS: Woman learning new skills. Good marks.
Gokul Krishnamoorthy, Managing editor, Campaign India (GK): Delightful set of films that bring a smile to your face without trying too hard, drawing from everyday couples. Life jhingalala. Pyar jhingalala. What next? GSS: 7
Some might contend that a non-English speaking housewife learning the language to impress her husband, while she awaits his return, follows a stereotype. Taking the other side, I’d say it’s nice to see the lady learning English, trying to level up to her husband.
Dr. AL Sharada, director, Population First (Laadli) (ALS): The ad showing a woman learning English through Tata Sky Actve... It captures the romance between the couple though her first tentative communication in English with him has her saying, “You are my knight in shining armour’. This sort of once again reiterates a very cliched expression. The ad still wins because of the way it is made and the chemistry between the two. GSS: 6
SS: Thinking of the many more things that we Indians love and rofling at the prospect of Amazon using some of those. All in all, they’ve mostly been doing good work. Chalo kuchh aur dikhao.
GSS: Isme? (For this one?)
GK: Insight. Insight. Insight. Reasonably well translated onto film. Stays with the slightly over-the-top tone the brand has adopted here. With good effect. GSS: 5
ALS: It shows how Indians across class and gender double check everything before buying it. Gender Neutral. GSS:5
SS: Tanishq and their agency have been relentlessly creating some good stuff. Even I related to the ad (No, no, not because I'm a woman but because I run a startup too).
GSS: Full marks
GK: Hats off for presenting yet another understated woman who has arrived. Great stuff, just the kind we have come to expect from Tanishq. Maybe that’s why, we expect even more. GSS: 8
ALS: Shows in a flashback how a young woman entrepreneur achieves her success by making many sacrifices and missing out on many commitments. What is endearing is that she says it is time for thanking everyone who made her success possible by supporting her aspirations. The ad subtly suggests that pursuing aspirations is equally valid for women. GSS:8
SS: It’s good to see baselines surviving agency change (I was at Euro RSCG when Zidd Karo Duniya Badlo was created for DB). This one is a lovely little film. I get goose bumps every time the girl gets up. #Applause. GSS: Topper
GK: At Goafest 2016, this film was played before Arjuna Ranatunga took stage with Rajdeep Sardesai. The cricketer-turned-politician said he would like to see more like this one. We agree. More manifestations of achchi zidd is what the nation needs and this film resonates with the pulse of the country. The little girl's vulnerable voice in the soundtrack amplifies the power of resoluteness. GSS: 8
ALS: An interesting and inspiring ad that touches upon the discrimination against girls and the mindset that says girls do not need education. It touches our hearts because it shows the other girls and boys of her class with their sheer will power and stubbornness freeing her symbolically from the societal norms that deny education to girls. It conveys a positive and optimistic message with girls and boys driving the change. GSS:8
SS: There’s an old family planning slogan: Ek ke baad abhi nahin... (After the first, no more). What is the age gap between the two kids? Having said that, anyone who ever babysat will tell you that this happens. The kid sleeps with great difficulty and you stop breathing for an hour lest you wake it up. What doesn’t happen is the promised internet speed though. Keep a book handy. Like most Vodafone work, nice and understated. GSS: Hmmm
GK: Super. GSS: 7
ALS: An ad that shows a brother willingly babysitting his much younger sibling. He is watching videos while doing so, careful to not disturb the baby. A great role reversal where most of the times an elder sister is the one who is expected to baby sit her younger siblings in many families.No dramatics, a simple ad that shows male sibling looking after a baby, without parental supervision. GSS:7
SS: Wasn’t it one of the ads from this campaign that got trolled online? Good thing they didn’t show a girl having all these snacks. Would’ve got killed again. The ad makes me want to order an Ola to go have pav-bhaji. Pretty decent, I think. GSS: Showing freeloader boy having gol-gappas, 10 points. With freeloading non-boy, would've been -10.
GK: Simple, effectively gets the message across, and a tad funny. GSS: 5
ALS: Gender Neutral. GSS:5
SS: I like that line: nuts, guts, glory. And the ad’s very different from the usual selfie shooting hordes. GSS: All characters are equally nutty.
GK: I like the spirit of rebellion and energy. The copy reads like a statement of intent aimed at the competition. But I am guessing the youth TG identify with their phone brand as much as this film suggests. For Micromax’s sake, I hope they do. GSS: 5
ALS: An ad that talks about a phone and its virtues. Has an equal representation of men and women. An aggressive anthem; though showing women it is very macho in its tone and feel. GSS:4
SS: Har Housing.com kuchh kehta hai ki isme kaun rehta hai. Haina? GSS: Neutral
(Every house tells a story about its inhabitants. Sounds familiar?)
GK: If the objective was to create a warm film that creates an association for the brand with homes, not houses, this works. But does it manage to own that space? Perhaps not powerful enough to do that. GSS: 6
ALS: An ad that shows how a house turns into a loving home. Reinforces the gender stereotypes in a very subtle manner. In a country where where a small proportion of women own property, it would have been so much more appropriate to show a girl putting her name plate above her parents’. GSS:4
(This article first appeared in the 13 May 2016 issue of Campaign India)
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