Desire...

There is other things I want to write about, India's plan to host a F1 race, the pressures of work and some more ad reviews and so on....but for some reason I am not.

I will, instead, post a song. This song is sung by Ryan Adams.You can listen to it here.

Two hearts fading, like a flower.
And all this waiting, for the power.
For some answer, to this fire.
Sinking slowly. The water's higher.
Desire

With no secrets. No obsession.
This time I'm speeding with no direction.
Without a reason. What is this fire?
Burning slowly. My one and only.
Desire

You know me. You don't mind waiting.
You just can't show me, but God I'm praying,
That you'll find me, and that you'll see me,
That you run and never tire.
Desire

Song credits:

Artist/Band: Adams Ryan
Lyrics for Song: Desire
Lyrics for Album: Demolition

Lyrics courtesy: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/

Ad review - 1: The maggi mania

The first ad to be reviewed in this review series is of a product that has been around for many years, and is a very popular snack. I am talking about Maggi, a brand that faced a virtual wipe-out from the Indian market till a few years ago when it reinvented and re-positioned itself to grab leadership in this segment. And once Nestle had things going for their Maggi brand, they started to experiment.

The rice flavoured noodles which this commercial tries to sell is a new member to Maggi's expanding portfolio. The ad features a teenager bringing the new rice-based Maggi noodles home, and the mania that follows. So has this ad worked? Lets find out.

As with all maggi ads, the message is very clear in this ad. The target consumer group is also shown from the teenager to the grandmother, which is quite vast. And with the noodle pack being shown as a replacement to Rice(that it targets to replace) the relevance of this ad is spot on.

Relevance: ****

Now, there isn't much of a head required to understand what is going on in this ad. It is a simple and clear message by Maggi to its consumers that a new flavour is launched, and it must be tried. Simple, effective and easily understood by the consumer.

Acceptance: ***& 1/2

With the earlier Maggi ads showing the entire family going ga-ga over a pack of noodles, this one isn't much different. There is a family, and one by one everyone is driven to a "mania" by a pack of noodles. So as far as freshness of concept goes, this ad scores poorly.

Freshness: * & 1/2

The ad makes sense for the product it is trying to sell. But to me, it does not make a lot of sense making a noodle ad with people shouting mania mania all over the place, and doing a pathetic dance around a pack of noodles. It must be noted here that I am not a big fan of the Maggi "Sambar" flavor ad either, where a Sardarji goes nuts over a pack of maggi. The only Maggi ad I liked was not in the noodle segment, but in the soup segment. Very silent, and very very relevant. If you are going to make a noise, either have a lot of nonsense around it, or try to be a little quiet.

Nonsense Factor: ***

Of course with the so much mania being shouted around the place, the audience is expected to retain a little bit of it in their heads when they go out to buy a pack of Maggi. It must be said that out of the ten odd times I tried to watch this ad completely on TV, my hand switched the channel instinctively as soon as the ad came on. This ad is really irritating, and completely forgettable. The worst part is though, it manages to stick around in my head convincing me that this is a product I should skip.

Recollection Factor: ***

So, has this ad worked? No. Maggi could have had a better job done with this ad. The ad is boring and drives the guy watching it nuts. Most people would like to change channels the moment this ad comes on air. Like I do.

The verdict for this ad? Well, it doesn't seem to work the way it should. In my opinion, consumers won't be drawn to buying a pack of rice Maggi just by this ad. And so, the ad does not serve the purpose it is made for.

Overall Rating: **

Do let me know your opinions on this ad, and which ad would you want reviewed next.

Till then...

P.S. Find the maggi ad on youTube here

Ad reviews!!!

Finally I find time to write, after a few weeks of back breaking work. And I am glad to introduce a new review series, where I will be reviewing the various advertisements that rule the Indian telly.

Earlier on this blog, I had started a review series on blogs, called Breview, that went along for a few posts, after which it suffered a premature closure owing primarily to my being distracted with a lot of other things. Bringing Breview back is a tough ask, but if you want me to breview your blog or a friends', do let me know.

Now, on this new Ad-review. I will be reviewing ads based on the following parameters:

1. Relevance: How relevant is the advertisement to the product that it is trying to sell?
2. Acceptance: How well accepted/understood is the ad in the Indian context? This because there are several global firms that use their international ads in India without much of a context change. So, is the ad accepted?
3. Freshness: How fresh is the ad? Is it a use of the same old boring concepts that were always used to market that category of product, or is it something totally new?
4. Nonsense factor: Does the ad have a lot of nonsense in it? And does the nonsense in the ad make any sense after all?
5. Recollection factor: Do the audience watching the ad remember it when they go to buy a product? Or rather, will the audience buy a product based on this ad?

Based on these factors, and a lot of coherent rambling as always, I will be reviewing a lot of ads in the coming days. So watch this space, and do comment to tell me which ad goes under the scanner next, along with your views on the ads reviewed.

Watch this space for more....