Tick hai to Teek Hai - Google Pay Hai - what a Brilliant advertisement

It is IPL carnival time, and brilliant advertisements are being aired. It is now the turn of Google Pay UPI to come out with a 'Sab Tik/TeeK hai'. Online payments, especially UPI payments, have become the order of the day. Come to think of it, two of the best advertisements of this year's IPL have come from two UPI platforms: CRED and Google Pay.

We have always been worried about fraudulent payments using UPI. We use many UPI platforms but are still concerned. Is it safe? Google Pay is used by many, and Google's reliability is rubbed onto Google Pay UPI too. Unlike other UPI payments, Google Pay comes with double authentication: one linked with the QR code scan and another with the entry of the secret six-number password. Without the password, the transaction does not go through. There is no tick (It is not okay), or it is not Teek (Right).

India has grown comfortable with the usage of Hinglish (a mixture of Hindi and English). We see a lot of advertisements using a combination of Hindi and English, and in a way, it is quite remarkable how this lingo has become a part of us.

In the advertisement, Kajol Devgn, the film star is shown using Google Pay, and a skeptical bystander asks, 'Is it okay (Teek hai)?' The waiter who receives the payment says, 'Tik hai to Teek hai'. This, I thought, was brilliant wordplay. The waiter first puts out the tick mark with the thumb and the index finger (which becomes both a tick mark and a smiley face too). The tick mark comes in Google Pay once the payment is done. That is the mark that the Google Pay authentication has been completed successfully. The advertisement ends with 'Tik hai, Google Pay hai'.

This is Google Pay's way of countering CRED's argument about discounts. I would stay with my Google Pay UPI as I feel it is more secure, and Google Pay has never betrayed me. Tick hai tho Teek hai. 10/10 for a brilliant advertisement.

Kit-Kit or Kit-Kat, very confusing Upstox Commercial!

I am confused about Upstox's KitKit ad. Is it Kitkit or KitKat. I know that it is KitKit or yapping but if one is not paying attention it sounds like KitKat. 

I know one company that is not complaining at all. Nestle the makera of KitKat. They will take all the publicity that comes their way. 

The Holy Grail - Protect your Logo and abbreviations - Brand Name could get damaged!

I found this at Ameerpet Metro station. Sri Raghavendra Hotel is calling itself SRH. Clever branding, I don't know. It would be interesting to know Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) view on this branding. 

Come to think of it, did SRH register a copyright itself as a logo? Most Indian companies are very lax about copyrights. Bawarchi at RTC Crossroads gave Paradise Biryani a run for its money and never bothered about copyrighting its name. 

As a result, we have Green Bawarchi, Red Bawarchi, and Bawarchis in all colours and hues. It causes confusion in the consumer's mind.

 

Chaithanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, Gandipet did not copyright its abbreviation (CBIT). 

As a result, we have another CBIT (Chilkur Balaji Institute of Technology) 

And another CBIT in Proddatur. This time there is no play on words, it is the Chaithanya Bharathi Institute of Technology. And Voila CBIT, Proddatur, recorded 100% admission through the convenor quota. The abbreviation CBIT has created confusion in the minds of the students. 

Hyderabad Public School has opened a branch in Kadapa, and, called it "Hyderabad Public School, Kadapa", Does it create confusion in the minds of the consumer? You bet it does!!!

CRED UPI latest advertisement - David Warner and Rajamouli - Deadly Duo and a Deadly Duet!!!

What a wonderful advertisement. It is IPL time and Cred UPI is cashing in (pun unintended). UPI payments have become omnipresent, and the brand has become generic. Cred wants to break the clutter. It wants us to think, "UPI means CRED, and CRED means UPI.".

The clutter-breaking advertisement using Leander Paes was brilliant in itself. Leander Paes, a winner of 18 grand slam titles, flounders when asked to kill mosquitoes with a mosquito bat in a restaurant. Hapless, he turns to CRED UPI for better discounts and better service.

The latest advertisement for CRED, pardon the pun, is a blockbuster. It features a shy Rajamouli, the ace director, pitted against Davis Warner, the star Australian cricketer.

Brash and aggressive David Warner became a darling with the Telugus during his stay with SRH. He loved Hyderabad, and boy, oh boy, Hyderabad loved him back. He was christened Warner Miya.

Warner loved Telugu movies and performed spoofs of many Telugu movie scenes and songs on his TikTok handle. Warner's wife and daughter, too, became part of his goofy spoofs. Warner loved Telugu movies, period.

Warner was one of the reasons why the signature move of Allu Arjun became one of the most popular ways to celebrate in cricket, especially in T2O and ODI cricket. Thus, it was a coup of sorts when CRED roped in David Warner and pitted him against Rajmouli.

The rib-tickling advertisement is worth watching again and again. To get a discount on his non-CRED UPI, Rajamouli faces harrowing times. Warner makes Rajamouli cast him as a hero in his next film. And what follows is a laugh riot.

Warner appears in a song with a bat, dances totally out of sync, roughly asks Rajmouli if it is RRR or Rrrr, brashes up the baddies too enthusiastically, asks for a kangaroo instead of a horse, and has the cheek to tell Rajamouli, "See you at the Oscars.".

In total desperation, Rajmouli surrenders and switches to the CRED UPI. What makes this advertisement effective is its timing.

India has switched to IPL. Warner is a known figure, and so is Rajamouli. My bet is that this advertisement will garner tremendous eyeballs and if shown in the stadiums, will make the spectators roar its approval. Wonderful advertisement, CRED. Way to go. Creative, topical, and hits the bullseye.

Marketing in Action - PVR Passport - Watch 10 movies/month for 800 Rupees!!

 First Published on 1st September 2023

I would say a wonderful innovation. Many like me feel that Rs 200/- for a movie is too much of a cost. This innovation would bring people come back to the big screen.  Right now available only in  Kanpur, Lucknow, Ludhiana. Kolkata, Gauhati, Pune and Ahmedabad. 

How does it work? You pay in advance. Most people will buy 2 tickets. That is Rs 1200/-. Weekdays only. So no problem with footfalls on Friday, Saturday and, Sunday. Most will not be able to watch 10 movies in a month. So they will watch maybe 5 or 6. So that would be Rs 100/- per movie. The concept is akin to loss leader pricing. 

The crowds will be more and money can be made on food and soft drink sales. If the crowds come in WOMBAT might trigger more people to come in on Saturday and Sundays.