5 Best Ambient Ads from around the country

Ambient media has probably not yet got the recognition in India as it does abroad, but over the years, there have been several creative attempts by advertising agencies to get their message across in a smart way. Here are 5 creative endeavors by Indian agencies to promote products via ambient media.

Knowing your place- Advertising and the Bollywood Connection

The year was 1973. The concept of liberalization was nonexistent. Western brands had yet to reach Indian shores, but a western idea had found its way in India. The highest grossing film of the year, which would go on to be the second highest grossing movie of the decade, Bobby had its producers smiling to the bank. But it was not just them who were eating a share of the Bobby craze. A well known motorcycle company of its era, Rajdoot, had made a killing thanks to the movie.

The Unfair Sex- Women and Indian Advertising

 In late February this year, up and coming phone brand Micromax launched a campaign for its new model called Superfone Ninja. The campaign showed a man telling a woman about him going out with another woman, proclaiming that he will sleep with her and not marry her. At the end of the ad, the man asks: “Are you jealous?” to which the girl replies: “I am not programmed for that”. This is where we find out that ‘Aisha’ is actually an Artificial Intelligence software in the said phone.

Threading the Line- a look at Controversial Indian Ads

 In the latter half of March this year, advertising agencies in India were in for a rude shock. The celebrated creative director of JWT, Bobby Pawar and his team were given the sack from the renowned agency. The reason behind this move was a series of scam ads created by the team for the leading car brand Ford, which did not go down well with the audience.

Mother of Invention- India and the Rise of Mother’s Day Campaigns

 On Saturday morning, a good chunk of Mumbai and Delhi woke up to a small surprise (and for many a reminder) when they glanced their newspaper. Clinic Plus, one of Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) leading hair care brand gave a small heart shaped card with every newspaper so that people could write a note to their mothers on the occasion of Mother’s Day. This campaign was carried out in leading English and regional newspapers.

This cute but impactful campaign gives us a perspective into the changing Indian consumer market and their rising acceptance of International culture. But it’s not just the customers who are changing. The rise of spending power coupled with the rising number of tech savvy people has led to many brands turning to the digital spectrum, especially social media.

 Social Media as a brand building tool has been on the rise since the past couple of years in India and many innovative marketing campaigns have been created on various social networks like Facebook and Twitter. 

On every occasion, it has become a staple for digital agencies to put up a small, informal greeting for their followers, but yesterday, many brands went for full blown campaigns that were both unique and interactive.

For example, the Proctor and Gamble (P&G) child care brand Pampers had a dedicated Facebook application called Mother’s Day Tribute that let its fans customize a greeting card for their mothers. The application provided a variety of templates and other editing tools for creating a card. Pampers will be giving away prizes to the people who wrote the best messages to their mothers.

The Pampers India Facebook app

 But it was not just established brands that were diving into full blown campaigns. International brand KitchenAid, which shall be launching its products in India soon, wanted to create a buzz on the social spectrum. Their application called as Mother of the Year plays on the mother- child bond. The app lets its fans upload their mother’s favorite recipes. The entry that shall be judged as the best recipe stands a chance to win a KitchenAid stand mixer and earn the sobriquet of ‘Mother of the Year’.

Though it seems to be the popular opinion, social networking websites were not the ones who got to eat the whole Mother’s Day promotion pie. Traditional media channels, especially television, capitalized on the Mother’s Day bandwagon as well. Leading Indian FMCG brand TATA Salt launched a campaign that speaks of the values inculcated by a mother in children on the eve of Mother’s Day.


 All in all, Mother’s Day has become another date that has been earmarked in the diaries of advertising agencies. With many more such globally celebrated events coming up in the near future, it will be fun to watch whether traditional media or social media shall win the tug of war for being the leading medium of promotions.


Sources:

Lighthouse insights

afaqs

Campaign India