Common Sense is not common, Thums Up Should have done this 30 years ago.

Common sense is not common. This we Hyderabadis knew for generations. So much so that Coca-Cola had five zones, North, South, East West and, Hyderabad. 

After a heavy Biryani nothing like a nice "Thanda Toofan". It is not a cool drink it is Tumps Up. Pity that Ramesh Chauhan sold the brand to CocaCòla. It would have given a run for the money both for Coke and Pepsi. 

The point is why wait for so long. This ad should have been released twenty years ago.

"Friends, Indians, Countrymen, lend us your Voice" Innovative e-Mail Campaign by Ola Scooters India!

"Any Publicity is good publicity including bad Publicity". Often used in Marketing, Publicity and awareness is the bloodline for any product/company. “Hate me or love me but don’t ignore me” is the Clarion call of modern marketers. 

Getting customer eyeballs is becoming exorbitant with the fragmented media and falling customer attention spans. Attentions spans are down to 8 seconds! It has become increasingly difficult to get into the customer's mind!

One product that got lot of free publicity, media coverage and enormous goodwill and built up curiosity among the general public was the “Nano” the world’s cheapest car, touted at a price of Rs 1,00,000/- rupees. 

The breakthrough rock-bottom pricing caught the world media attention and reams and reams worth of articles were written in newspaper and many Zillion gigabytes worth of TV shows and reviews were telecast about “The Nano”, All free!

After many years another product category that has caught the imagination of the Indian Public is the e-Scooter range on offer from Ola. 

The same type of hype is being built up and consumers are hungry to hear, see and learn about the new revolutionary scooter that promises to change the way we commute, especially on two wheelers in India.

Ola is cashing in on the hype. Today Ola has sent e-mailers to all its customers (existing Ola users). The first slide of the advertisement says “Friends, Indians, Countrymen” and the second slide says “Lend us your voice”. Does it ring a bell? 

Yes, it does, the words are from Mark Anthony’s speech when he pleads with the Romans to rise up against the murderers of Julius Caesar. Mark Anthony says “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears”.

Coming back to the Ola e-Mail, written below the second slide is the request, “The in-built AI-powered Voice Assistant on the revolutionary Ola S1 frees you from having to manually input instructions on the scooter's interface. 

To bolster this capability, we're collecting voice samples - across age groups, genders, accents, and even pitches. We would like a sample of your voice to make our scooter smarter. Thank you, and welcome to the revolution, for good”.

Wonderful way to engage and keep connected with the present and prospective customers. Valuable lesson to all marketers as to how to stay active in customer’s mind! As they say out of sight, out of mind! 

Look Before You Leap - Myntra and the Logo Change!

First published on Facebook on 31st January 2021

Myntra is in news for all the wrong reasons. Some people have found its logo objectionable. And Myntra was forced to work on its logo with a huge outlay of investments in money and effort.

Without taking sides, it is a lesson for all especially for entrepreneurs about the perils of public discourses about their logos and publicity material and the resultant vigilante activism.

Most smirked when it was reported that the CEO of Eastman company spent a fortune to find a word that does not mean anything (positive, negative, vulgar, offensive, hurting religious sentiments) in any world language. 

And the word finally used by Eastman company "Kodak" does not mean anything in any language. So companies be careful about what you say, what you show and what it means. Each element in the public domain can come back and bite, may I add viciously!

Comments: 

Aparna Vishwanath: One more case study👍

Anil Ramesh: True, life is full of case studies.

Patrick Anthony: Perception by a Consumer, five years after launch. Adds to the list of Communication mistakes.

Rajkumar Selvaraj: Now anything with M will be looked upon with avarice...but tell me what about the alphabet M? Should we remove it??

Fight between Haves and Havenots - A battle for Survival!

First Posted on Facebook on 16th December 2020!

The riot at the WINSTRON iPhone manufacturing facility in Karnataka, India is a huge wake-up call. It is the culmination of the differences between the haves and the have-nots.

Elaborating on the point, the employees are alleging that they were not paid salaries for three months, and what were they making? Apple iPhone the iconic and most sought-after brand in the world.

Imagine the mental agony these employees must have gone through. They are making the most iconic product in the world and they don't have money to have two square meals.

Not for a second is anyone condoning the riots. Pause and think, the company is claiming losses of Rs 470 crores worth of iPhones.

A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that @70,000/- each would amount to a whopping 67,000 + I phones inventory that was held by WINSTRON!

The point of the matter is when you can hold inventory worth Rs 470 crores, why cant the company pay the workers' wages?

This reminded me of a song that the RSU, PDSU student Unions used to sing at Nizam college during our graduation days " సిగరెట్టు చేసేటోడా సిగరెట్టు నీకు లేదా".

Roughly translated it means "O Cigarette worker, you make the cigarettes for the world but you yourself cant smoke it". It was sung as a tribute to the workers of VST and other cigarette-making companies in Andhra Pradesh. It appears as if nothing has changed over the years.

If it was cigarettes in the 70s and the 80s it is cellphones, iPhone no less! Workers continue to get exploited.

But that is only one part of the story. Just like CoVid - 19 has shown, things can change and they can change rapidly. The have-nots will also get a chance and once they get it, the table can change swiftly. Two incidents that showed the power of have nots albeit only for a short duration.

In 2013 The state of Uttarakhand was ravaged by flash floods and many tourists were caught napping and were stranded in various tourist locations in and around Uttarakhand. Totally cut off from the digital world, their mobile phones, the internet, and google proved to be useless. They were like fish out of the water, gasping for air!

The locals were exploited by the tourists who played one hotel against the other by demanding lower prices and got cut-throat rates. The locals extracted their pound of flesh. The locals' cooly demanded and got what they wanted - exorbitant rates for the services that were suddenly in short supply.

The locals charged Rs 1,500/- for two rotis, a little dal, and a bottle of water. A biscuit pack was sold at Rs 250/- and a bottle of water was Rs 100/-. It was the vengence of the have-nots.

The same was repeated by the boatsmen of Kurnool. Kurnool suffered severe flooding in 2009. The boatsmen plying their boats in the city of Kurnool demanded Rs 2,000/- to Rs 5,000/- per person to ferry people across the street to safety. When the hapless stranded citizens pleaded with the boatmen, they cooly demanded that the ladies part with their mangalsutra! Such can be the fury of the have-nots.

A revolutionary writer once wrote " it is the kind-heartedness of the have-nots that is making the lives of the haves cushy. If the have-nots of India were to spit collectively the spit alone would sweep all the haves into the Bay of Bengal" Strong words but certainly, they should make us all think and ponder, at least for a few minutes!

kellog Becomes Desi - The power of Market place!

First posted on Facebook on November 23rd, 2020

What a joke - Amma cheti (mother's recipe) Upma. Really Kellogg! This smacks of opportunism. And at a level, deeply thought-provoking too.

Kellogg came to India, chest-thumping and with a lot of swagger. They had conquered the world and India was supposed to be another notch on their gun, a conquest to be savoured.

Kellogg the market leader of breakfast food in the world thought that they would capture India just as easily as they conquered the US and Europe. Yes, the bland breakfast habits of the Europeans and the Americans were easy to break.

Basking in confidence Kellog made grand plans, it pooh-poohed the Indian breakfast menu. The promotion was clear "your breakfast is not good, not healthy, not nutritious and the positioning was 'ME ONLY"!

The Indian homemaker did not like the assault on their sanctum santorium -the kitchen. They royally snubbed the MNC!

Eating humble pie, Kellogg tried out Indian versions of the cornflakes and changed to a reconciliatory "ME TOO" positioning. Eat whatever you want but please eat Kellogg too!

Even that does not seem to have worked. So if you can't fight them, join them seems to be Kellogg's motto.

They have started selling Indian breakfast items and have zeroed in on the humble upma. Now the positioning is "Try me along with many others".

This is surprising. With all its efforts Kellogg would have created a hard-core loyal customer base (niche maybe).

There is a danger that even that customer base might shy away from Kellog. They bought Kellogg as it is an aspirational product. And Kellogg is selling Upma now. Appears Kellog is caught between a stone and a hard place.

Would amma believe that Kellogg makes better umpa than herself! I doubt it. Now Kellogg has to slug it out with Maggi, Yuppie noodles, MTR, Bambino, and even the humble cart seller at every street corner! What a fall Kellogg!

Right advertisement at a wrong time!

 Posted on Facebook on 10th November, the day the IPL finals was played 

Right advertisement at the wrong time. It is the IPL final and Rohit Sharma the captain of Mumbai Indians is telling Shreyas Iyer who captains Delhi Capitals "Don't go by past performances (watch from 30 to 35 seconds) " and the DC's captain seems to happily agree.

The advertisement is rib ticking funny as Rohi sees,s to be telling Shreyas that he (Shreyas Iyer) should not go by the previous performance of Mumbai Indians in the 2019 IPL finals. Mumbai Indians had won the 2019 IPL trophy.

He would love to prove Rohit correct for once, ROFL!

World's best Promotional campaigns

 

1. Think Small campaign of Volkswagen Beetle (1959): was created by Helmut Krone with the copy written by Julian Koenig DDB agency. It was ranked as the best advertising campaign of the twentieth century by Ad age in a survey of North American advertisements. The campaign has been considered so successful that it "did much more than boost sales and built a lifetime of brand loyalty”.  The advertisement, and the work of the advertising agency behind it, changed the very nature of advertising.

The message is "less is more" message geared toward car buyers. Like the VW Beetle the advertisements were simple and uncluttered, featuring photos of the car against a plain background. Can one sell a car with a headline that reads "Lemon”?  Sure! In the advertisement, Volkswagen was pointing out that the car in the photo didn't make it off the assembly line because one of the many inspectors found a blemish. "We pluck the lemons; you get the plums," was the slogan.

2. The pause that refreshes campaign of Coca-Cola (1929):   This campaign was designed and executed by D'Arcy Advertising Co. With the advent of the great depression corporate America worried that sales would suffer. Not so with Coca-Cola whose advertisements depicted carefree people and an idealized view of American life when real life was rather dreary. During the first year of the campaign, sales actually doubled. The economy may have been depressed, but "the pause that refreshes" appeared to have been just what Americans needed to lift their spirits.

3. The Marlboro Man campaign of Marlboro cigarettes (1955):  The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The image involves a rugged cowboy or cowboys. The advertisements were originally conceived as a way to popularize filtered cigarettes which at the time were considered feminine.

The Marlboro advertising campaign, created by Leo Burett Worldwide is said to be one of the most brilliant advertisement campaigns of all time. It transformed a feminine campaign, with the slogan "Mild as May", into one that was masculine, in a matter of months. Although there were many Marlboro Men, the cowboy proved to be the most popular. This led to the "Marlboro Cowboy" and "Marlboro Country" campaigns.

4. Just do it campaign of Nike (1988):   The founder of Wieden Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden credits the inspiration for his "Just Do It" Nike slogan to Gary  Gillmore’s  last words.  Dan Wieden met a group of Nike employees to talk about a new advertising campaign, he told them, "You Nike guys . . . you just do it." The result was one of the most effective taglines in advertising history. During the first ten years of this award-winning campaign, Nike's percent of the sport shoe market shot up from 18 to 43 percent. Today, the Nike name is so recognizable that it doesn't even need to appear in the advertising. Only the iconic "swoosh" is needed.

5. You deserve a break today campaign of McDonald (1971) Needham, Harper & Steers advertising agency successfully pitched an upbeat, catchy slogan to McDonald but they struggled with the lyrics. Noticing that the word "break" continuously surfaced in focus groups, copywriter Keith Reinhard finally wrote the perfect lyrics for the jingle “You deserve a break today”.  Within the next few years, global sales jumped from $587 million to $1.9 billion. The song was named the top jingle of the 20th century by Advertising age.

6. A diamond is forever campaign of Debeers (1948): De Beers pioneered the iconic positioning of diamonds in the contemporary culture, as a symbol of everlasting love because just like true love, a diamond is forever.

A young copywriter working for N.W.Ayer & Sons  Frances Gerety, coined the famous advertising line "A Diamond is Forever".  Frances Gerety, was working with De Beers and was given a brief to compose a line that encompassed and expressed the physical attributes and legends surrounding the diamond. She came out with a sentence which would later be voted as the most iconic advertising slogan of the 20^th century.  From then onwards the diamond became an integral part of the modern-day ceremony of love, engagement and the celebration of enduring relationships. Through De Beers the diamond has come to speak a universal language, conveying its messages of love, rarity and desire.

7. Absolut Vodka campaign by V & S Group (Pernod Ricard) (1981): Ad agency N.W. Ayer ABH International’s Mr. Broman presented a concepts that would later become a familiar pattern, "Absolute Pure Vodka." The provocatively simple bottle design, inspired by a 19th-century apothecary bottle, bore the brand name as well as a substantial block of copy, explaining the origins of the product, applied directly to the clear glass.

The basic ideas were there from the start: an uncompromising emphasis on purity in name as well as in packaging and a breakaway design that signaled a willingness to challenge the prevalent Russian vodka heritage in the quickly growing vodka market. (Vodka at the time was typically packaged in tall bottles with large crimson labels, an abundance of crests and Russian-sounding names.)

Ayer CEO Jerry Siano got the credit for being the first to recognize the full potential of the name "Absolut." Mostly for legal reasons, but encouraged by Mr. Siano, the Swedes decided to change the name, dropping the "e" from "Absolute" as well as the "Pure," which was seen as redundant. The brand thus became "Absolut (Country of Sweden) Vodka." It is, of course, known by the shorter "Absolut vodka."

8. Tastes great, less filling Campaign of Miller Lite Beer (1974): The campaign was developed by the advertising agency McCann-Erickson Worldwide. This campaign peppered with ex-jocks contained more than 200 commercials, and its lively debate entertained sports fans for nearly two decades. Is Miller Lite good because of the taste or because you can drink a ton of it and still have room for nachos (potato chip)? During the first five years of the campaign, sales of Miller Lite took off from just under 7 million barrels a year to more than 31 million barrels, breaking the all-time record for  beer makers.

9. Does she or doesn’t she: Campaign of Clairol   (1957):  FCB copywriter Shirley Polykoff wrote a simple advertisement for Miss Clairol Hair Color Bath. The headline questioned, provocatively, "Does she . . . or doesn't she?" The answer: "Only her hairdresser knows for sure." With the appearance of that advertisement, the market for hair coloring took off: 50% of American women started coloring their hair, and sales of hair coloring products jumped 413% in six years.

FCB and Ms. Polykoff followed up in 1957 with a campaign that used the slogan, "Is it true blondes have more fun?" Clairol's next hit came with Loving Care, a new hair color designed to cover gray hair. The tagline, "Makes your husband feel younger, too, just to look at you," suggested that it was all right for women to color their hair to please their partners and also that men liked being associated with newly rejuvenated wives.

10. Avis we try harder campaign by AVIS (1963):  DDB the advertising agency came up with one of the most controversial and revolutionary campaigns for Avis. The first print advertisement, designed by DDB art director Helmut Krone with copy by Paula Green, appeared in March 1963. It was headlined, "Avis is only No. 2 in rent a cars. So why go with us?" The body copy began, "We try harder. (When you're not the biggest, you have to.)"

A storm of controversy followed, with criticism heaped upon both Avis and DDB for their tacit admission that Hertz led the field. But the delayed reaction was markedly positive as a series of "We're No. 2" ads issued forth from the DDB idea factory. Avis' share of the market increased by as much as 28%, and Avis came to be considered a co-leader with Hertz in the field. "We try harder" became a pop culture mantra.

 

 

 

 

 

Other new catch phrases used in Marketing of automobiles (cars and motorcycles)

     

      These entire list of catch phrases have been Research and submitted by Madhusudhan Kota a dear friend of mine Thanks a lot Kota for a lovely collection 

1.   TDI: Turbo Charged Diesel Injection used by Volkswagen. TDI allows for greater engine efficiency, and therefore greater power outputs (from a more complete combustion process compared to indirect injection), while also decreasing emissions and providing more torque.

2. CRDI: Common Rail Direct Injection used by BOSCH. CRDI helps to improve the power, performance and reduce harmful emissions from a diesel engine. Conventional Diesel Engines (non-CRDI engines) are sluggish, noisy and  poor in performance compared to a CRDI engine.

3.   AMT: Automatic Manual Transmission used by Magneti Marelli. AMT gives the driver peace of mind of clutch less shifts; something metropolitan dwellers are direly craving for, it is also as fuel efficient as a regular manual gearbox. And it's a cheap technology which doesn't increase the cost of your car too much. Maruti is using this technology and hoping that it will create a differentiator that will be hard to beat.

4.   MPFI: Multi Point Fuel Injection used by most car manufacturers. MPFI  offers operational benefits to the driver of a fuel-injected car including smoother and more dependable engine response during quick throttle transitions, easier and more dependable engine starting, better operation at extremely high or low ambient temperatures, smoother engine idle and running, increased maintenance intervals, and increased fuel efficiency.

5.   DTSI: Digital Twin Spark Ignition used by Bajaj Auto. In DTSI instead of one spark plug two plugs are used. Because of this fuel is burnt completely and delivers more power.

6.   DDIS: Direct Diesel Injection System used by FIAT. DDIS allows the fuel to burn more evenly and  thoroughly. For the driver, that can translate to better mileage and greater power to the wheels.

7.  VTT DICOR: Variable Turbine technology and Direct Injection common rail Engine used by TATA Safari. VVT DICOR improves fuel economy, performance and reduces emissions.

8.  CVT: continuously variable transmission Used in India by TVS group is a transmission that can change seamlessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. CVT allows a small car to have acceptable fuel efficiency at low cost.

Zing thing, PSPO, MSP, EDLP and other catch phrases used in popular advertising campaigns

An advertisement is a story told in 60 seconds. The story has to have a taut screen play and catchy phrases. The sound, the sights and the scenes have to integrate seamlessly to create that memorable advertisement. Just remember “the Zing thing” campaign by Limca. Advertisements use catch phrase sometimes even technical terms to create an aura and mystery around the products It is akin to weaving a web of mystique around the products. 

1. PSPO: Peak Speed Performance Output. This term was used by Orient fans to talk about their products’ USP, a design which can deliver more air to a large area. Orient has designed its motor and blades in such a manner that the fan can cover more area and deliver more air. From a technical term PSPO became a marketing term. A great transition.

2. MSP: Maximum selling Price. A new concept just like MRP which is a concept of maximum retail price offered by the seller, MSP is the maximum selling price is what a customer can get for his products (mostly used and second hand). This catch phrase is currently being popularized by OLX.com.

3. PUF: Polyurethane Foam. In 1958, Godrej was the First Indian Company to manufacture Refrigerators and Godrej has become synonymous with the category. It was a unique selling proposition that customers remember even today.

4. KILB: Kam Insurance Leneki Bimari.  The insurance company Aegon Religare has done the popular KILB campaign. Religare had launched a catchy campaign urging people to guard themselves against the ills of under insurance or 'Kam Insurance Lene Ki Bimari' (KILB). The campaign spear headed by the actor Irfan Khan proved to be very popular.

5. STC: Standard test condition. A term that is very popularly used in automobile sector. For example the advertisement would say “85KMPL” under STC. The standard test conditions would mean a cemented road with a rider weighing only 60 kgs driving at a steady speed and neither accelerating to much not breaking. And to top it all it is quite possible that the driver could drive on 100 ml of petrol and get a mileage of 8.5 Kilometers. That is simply multiplied with a factor of 10 to get a mileage of 85 KMPL. 

6. NTS: Not to scale. Many diagrammatic representations are quite deceptive. They tend to glorify the product. Thus the manufacturer hides under the guise of NTS (not to scale). This way then can get around the tricky issue of challenges from the customers.

7. NQAR Policy: No Questions asked Return Policy. A marketing concept from the USA. It means that the customer can return the merchandise and the retailer would not ask any questions as to why the merchandise is being returned. In simple words the customer should not be made uncomfortable by the probing question of the Customer care personnel.

8. DIY Kits: Do it Yourself kits. A Concept made popular by the Sweden maker of furniture IKEA. The furniture is supplied in knock down condition and the customer has to assemble the same at his house with the help of a illustrated manual.

9. FAQs: Frequently asked questions. A set of question that the customers frequently ask. The salesman has to be well versed to answer these questions to the satisfaction of the customer

10. EDLP: Everyday low prices. A term that is often used by WALMART. Most of the customers tend to procrastinate when buying a product that is not immediately wanted. WALMART dangles the bait so that he/she would buy the product immediately. Every day low prices guarantees the lowest price each and every day.

11. SOHO: Small Office Home Office. It refers to the category of business or cottage industry that involves from 1 to 10 workers. The small office home office has undergone a transformation since its advent of the  internet which has enabled anyone working from a home office to compete globally.

12. ZPTO: zinc pyrithione, PTO or zinc pyrithione is a chemical compound with anti-fungal properties, meant for topical application. ZPTO is an effective and relatively safe treatment for dandruff. It works well on mild and moderate cases  ZPTO also helps in curbing hair fall, where it is caused by dandruff. Used by Shampoo companies.

 13. GSM: Grams per square Metre.  The paper density of a type of paper or cardboard is the mass of the  product per unit of area.

 14. Zing Thing: A brief high-pitched humming or buzzing sound, such as that made by a swiftly passing object  or a taut vibrating string. The Zing thing was popularized by Gold Spot  the soft drink marketed by Parle  Industries. Zing became synonymous  with the youthfulness and excitement.

Iconic and Innovative advertising campaign - An IDEA can change your Life!

Indian Telecom industry is one of the most vibrant, dynamic and market driven sectors on the world. Thus it is not surprising that Indian Telecom especially Indian Mobile handset sector and telecom operators have contributed some of the most iconic and path breaking advertising campaigns that the world has witnessed. Indian Telecom industry has given birth to the now world  famous pug campaign of Hutch – Vodafone (where ever you go out network follows) and Vodafone Zoo Zoos.

Equally path breaking and iconic are the advertisements done for Idea cellular –by Lintas Lowe. An IDEA can change your Life. The series of advertisements mostly done by Abhishek Bacchan have become famous and attained cult image status.

We will be examining 15 of the IDEA cellular advertisements in detail. We will examine the issue/s  tackled by each advertisement

 IDEA – Sarpanch: The first of the advertisements and the one that spawned the entire series. The advertisement is about a village that is riddled with casteism and warring factions who are at each other’s castes. The Sarpanch rules that no longer would anybody be called by their caste. Rather they would be known only by their mobile numbers. This ensures equality in the village. Would people like to be known by their mobile numbers? I don’t think so – people love their names and their individuality. But a great creative!

 IDEA telephone exchange – (Mother and son): This advertisements starts off with a mother and her son having differences of opinion. The lady’s husband cleverly exchanges their similar looking phones for a day. At the end of the day both mother and her son realize that the other point of view and become compassionate.

 IDEA telephone exchange – (husband and wife): This advertisement starts off with husband and wife having differences of opinion. Their son cleverly exchanges their similar looking phones for a day. At the end of the day both husband and wife realize that the other person’s job is not easy and become compassionate.

 IDEA Language barrier:  so how do people from different languages communicate with each other? The advertisement opens with a set of friends who are posted in various parts of India. And adding salt to the wound is that they do not know the local language. The problem is solved by helping each other, for e.g. a Bengali in Kerala helps a Keralite posted Kolkata and gets help from the Malayali friend to get over a problem that she faces in Kerala. And this brilliant idea is given by a deaf and dumb attender in a local dabba. A great concept. Communication has no language barriers.

 IDEA – Education for all: Tackles the issue of educating the poorest of the poor in India. Even though the solutions are too pat and cinematic they touch a cord and are definitely worth a viewing.  

 IDEA – Public service advertisement: Talks about driving and being safe. The advertisement urges people not to talk on mobile while driving. Relevant even today.  It comes as a wakeup call to the generation of mobile phone users who are engrossed in their music, radio, texting or talking. All these are very deadly and could cause serious consequences.    

 IDEA – Raksha Bandan: A smart alerky advertisement. It shows how a young girl gets rid of her stalkers by cleverly using the Indian festival of Raksha Bandan to her advantage

 IDEA - over population: IDEA came out with thought provoking way of reducing population in India. The solution IDEA 3 G.  

 IDEA – Save paper: One of the advertisements that touched on the vital issue of deforestation and losing forest cover. Idea shows innovative methods of reducing usage of paper and thus saving paper and trees.  

 IDEA – Holi:  A clever advertisement that promotes Holi as a national festival. The actual  motivation is to make non Holi playing Indians to play Holi and make more voice calls, send SMSes and MMSes and  yield more business for IDEA.

 IDEA – Diwali:  A clever advertisement that promotes Diwali as a national festival. The actual motivation is to make non Hindus embrace Diwali and make more voice calls, send SMSes and MMSes and yield more business for IDEA.

 IDEA – Number portability: A clever advertisement that drives in forcefully the concept of number portability. 

 IDEA – walk while you talk:  The series of advertisements that were very close to the advertisement agency and to IDEA. Walk while you talk. IDEA wanted to promote the idea of health consciousness. That is if you walk while you talk it would burn calories and make the users healthier and thin. But wise sense prevailed and IDEA has since dropped this tack of promoting its mobile services. Walking and talking is very dangerous as walkers who talk tend to concentrate on talking and might not be very alert to the surroundings. They could become very easy prey to thieves, stalkers and might even injure themselves. 

 IDEA – Valentine day: A heart touching advertisement of an old man who brings a rose to his (heartless) wife on Valentine ’s Day. Romance has no age – right IDEA!

IDEA – Talk for India: The advertisement that created a huge controversy. This advertisement was released on the first anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The advertisement urges Indians to talk about an hour about the attacks on the 26/11. It touched the heart strings of the Indians. The advertisement says that on the fateful attack day entire India fell silent. But on the 1^st anniversary, the advertisement urges all India to talk about the attack for an hour. IDEA promised that the income thus generated would be donated to the Indian Police force for its better safety gear.  Way to go IDEA. 

All in all a great series that very cleverly tell us that there are many ways to promote and make people buy our product or services. The longevity of the series (since discontinued) is a testimony of the creativity of the team at Lintas-Lowe.