Best advertisements

It is said that only three things are definite in this world. Two of them are death and taxes. And the third one is advertising. We are continuously bombarded with advertisements. Then came in thick and fast. Some of them are almost like the sleight of hand of the magician. we don't even know that we have been stung by an subliminal advertisement. Many find advertisements to be a big drag a waste of time,  simply put a pain. Many other disagree and call them "the maximum fun one can have with their clothes on!" 

It is very difficult to pick up five best advertisements when you have  a list that run into more than a hundred.  But I would bite the bullet. To make things simple I would pick up 5 best advertisements from India.

1. The best advertisement that I can think of is the "Liril" advertisement that was created by Alyque Padamsee for HLL. I remember sneaking into the cinema hall in the seventies and breathlessly waiting for the wildly exhilarating Liril Ad. The girl in the bikini, the locale and the music meant that for  more than two generations liril girl was the ideal wet girl. (pun unintended). Padamsee explains that the five minutes that a Lady of the house gets when she is bathing is the only private time she gets in the entire day. The ad made her feel special. 10 out of 10 Padamsee!. 

Incidentally when one watches the later liril ads the girls have become more and more prudent and they started  wearing more and more clothes. A mirror of the present society - we have become a nation of hypocrites. If the Liril ad is to be made today I am sure the liril girl will be wearing a six yard saree.  

2. The second best advertisement that symbolized the coming of age of Indian advertising is the ad that was made for "Bajaj Scooters". Hamara Bajaj stood the test of time and regularly tops the list of the best advertisement that were made in India. The most impressive thing about Hamara Bajaj was the not so subtle message saying that India is Bajaj and having a Bajaj scooter is the most patriotic thing. And Bajaj was the most secular of the products that was available.

Sadly for a product that was so prided that it was offered as dowry, Bajaj scooter fell in bad ways. The scooter was very old fashioned, it had to be bent and cajoled and then KICK started to life. So boring!. Bajaj  did and could not anticipate the changing tastes of the customers. Recently Bajaj scooter was given not so decent burial by a tearful Rahul Bajaj. Sorry to see you go Bajaj Chetak- you were our darling. The burial of Bajaj Chetak is a reminder that nothing is constant and that companies should keep up with time and not be bogged down by Marketing Myopia. A classic case of falling in love with your product and not keeping track of changing  needs of the customer. 

Sorry guys could only cover two of the best. The next three best in the next sunday posting.