With its latest ad campaign, Idea has come up with a new offering, that of letting you share your data with anybody you want. Reviewing the ad in ‘From Logo to IMPACT’ on Bloomberg TV India, Jagdish Acharya, Founder & Creative Head, Cut the Crap, says despite the start being cheesy, the ad has succeeded in hitting the right chords with the audience
Reviewing the recent ad campaign of Idea in Episode 32 of ‘From Logo to IMPACT’, on Bloomberg TV India, Jagdish Acharya, Founder & Creative Head, Cut the Crap says that he would give full marks to the brand for having coming up with a differentiated offering and benefit that was fairly simple and easily replicable by others. “After the less talked about and more joked about IIN campaign, Idea has really got a sweet spot with its latest ad. For the last few campaigns, they have concentrated on this area of Internet. ‘Internet through Idea for India’ is the kind of space they want to occupy. But they have been generic in terms of benefits; it was just their exaggeration of the promise, which is their signature,” Acharya says.
Talking about why the offering, along with the ad, might work in favour of the company, Acharya adds, “At the end of the day, they were the first ones to come out with it and it looks fairly handy and very useful. They win half the battle right there itself.”
However, looking at the TVC with a critical eye, Acharya says that the plot feels a little forced. “In terms of creative execution, it does justice to both the idea as well as to THE Idea – the idea of the story of the script as well as to the brand, because Idea has always been about relatability, about masses, about India. The same saga has been carried forward even in the new commercial. I like the way it has been stitched together. It’s a montage. There are two golden rules – each of the episodes must work independent of the other and they should end on a high and the ad does get a tick in the right box for both the factors. It’s been done well – the montage, the acting, the casting. If you look at it a little more critically, I found the first sequence to be a little cheesy because the plot itself was a little zabardasti with the guy reacting off the headline of a newspaper. But that is how it ends when the lady says it’s not the money but an idea. Like a Bollywood masala film, the plot could be cheesy, but as long as you can land emotionally, I think you are excused. The film does its job pretty well.”
About the campaign
The latest TVC by Idea opens with a couple reading a newspaper story that says a man has donated his life earnings for a good cause. The couple wonders when they will be able to start earning enough to do something good. The woman says that it does not take much to do a good deed. She calls out to an office boy who is in need of help for his son’s science project. She shares 100MB data with him to help him out, much to the surprise of the man.
The ad is a montage that shows four different stories. The second story shows an old man trying to transfer money to his son’s college on the last day that the fee is due. Much to his disappointment, the bank shuts down due to rain. However, he is helped by a man from the bank with data to help him transfer the fee on mobile.
The third story shows a delivery guy transferring some data to a new boy who has joined as a pizza delivery guy, and is also new to the city, to help him figure out locations.
The last story shows a man desperately looking for AB group blood for a relative. He is helped by a nurse who shares Internet with him.
The next shots go on to depict how these small good deeds help each of the people in the stories, spreading smiles and relief along the way. The ad ends with a voice-over saying ‘India share karega, India care karega’ thereby ending with the premise that the ad began with - all you need to do a good deed is an idea (along with brand Idea) and not a huge fortune.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Each week, the half-hour show ‘From Logo to IMPACT’, co- produced by exchange4media and Bloomberg TV India, brings together top CMOs, ad gurus and agency heads to provide an in depth analysis of the hottest trends and news in the ad-media-marketing space. Its focus is on the new age economy and new entrants in the advertising space. The show is aired on Bloomberg TV India at 10.30 pm every Wednesday, with repeat telecasts at noon on Saturday and 6.00 pm on Sunday.
