By Malay Desai
From: O&M Mumbai
This 90-second film is a seasonal tribute to the tourist attractions of Madhya Pradesh. Showing guests and locals being sprayed with Holi’s powders and coloured water, the slow-mo visuals portray the sprayed colours taking shape of the state’s destinations such as the Sanchi stupa, Kanha’s tigers, Mandu’s Jahaz Mahal and the Khajuraho sculptures. The Hindi lyrics interspersed with a rustic background score correspond to the visuals and the spot ends with the MP Tourism logo, tagline and website mention.
Do we like?
It’s a flurry of colours bursting on our screens this season, and even though the last of the Holi pink from behind our ears is wearing off, here’s a film that could be savoured through the year. We thought last week’s IPL spot was neat with its slow-motion play of colours, but the same concept has been applied here with relevance, an original soundtrack and some awe inspiring visual effects.
MP Tourism ads are like Aamir Khan films, in fact sparser; they take their years to arrive but leave a defining impact. In 2006, the ‘bioscope’ spot was a surprise entrant to tourism advertising, but three years later when the ‘roving eyes’ arrived (our pick of the lot), they created a class of their own. Come 2010, Ogilvy’s ‘ombromanie’ or shadow play grabbed attention like no one else and now this.
Released a week prior to Holi, the film is purely seasonal and has flavour in every frame. Taking the metaphor of ‘being coloured’ simply by splashing hues on unsuspecting faces (again, in an Incredible India way), the simple idea assumes a stunning shape with the desi trance of a soundtrack and earthy lyrics.
The hands-down winner here is obviously the visual effects. ‘Creating a monument out of splashed colours in ultra slow-mo’ reads great on the storyboard but has been executed with deft brilliance. The monuments being rendered in front of our eyes make for an alluring sight, without revealing too much about them. And like in all MP ads, the call-to-action is to the official site, which in itself is quite pretty too.
The film is also an art director’s dream, the canvas being real locations and textures beautiful to indulge in. Heck, if you don’t feel like playing Holi after this, you must be blind.
As comparisons with any other tourism campaign would be unfair, we’ll equate this film only with its own predecessors. In terms of longevity, this could be the lowest scorer but does anyone mind YouTube-ing it in HD? Also, what about the ‘makes you want to visit’ factor? Oh wait, that happened in 2006 itself. Shame, this writer’s booking tickets to Bhopal right now.
To watch this film or the previous campaigns, visit Youtube.com/MPtourism
