John Hegarty an ad guru said "The creativity bit in advertising is really a guerilla one. It comes in, makes a hit and zips out". Well the great adman did talk about the unbeatable ideas that make a hit in the mind-space of consumers but didn’t strike the chord about those grotty ones-on the darker side!!
Today we are living in a chaotic fray world where making a unique identity is a
strenuous task. Every product in the market holds everything for the target audience and to differentiate its identity, the ad world grants maverick ideas. But the deceptive practices on the part of this small screen glamour world with subliminal messages are on high spirits to inveigle the 'smart' consumers.
Taking into consideration the two famous controversial ads 'Lux Cozy' and 'Amul Macho', who played havoc during family viewing time by creating an embarrassing silence and an uncomfortable situation triggered by those curious questions asked by children. Though very soon the bell of "BANNED" was rung at their doors, yet the obstinate Amul Macho is crafting for fantasies and this time taking a flirtatious monkey going mad over its product. On the same track, Rediff's "BIG" ad captured eyeballs of spectators as few found it cheeky and others called it a creative idea! Now that’s a cool tool with our ad buddies as they title anything offensive as creative.
Among the paragons that fit the situation is the press ad of Unibic Cookies which came with a tagline "Why have a good day when you can have a great day."
Is GOOD DAY even not a popular biscuit brand? Now if our hard line creative teams entitle this one as a product of true creativity, then they might need to recall the lessons taught by ASCI. But for Unibic it was all about hitting the nail on the head and receiving publicity. Even Metro(A Shoe Brand) had jumped into the pond of deceptive ads by running a print campaign "The Incomplete Man", copying the sidelight and misusing the tagline of Raymonds "The Complete Man". How about this brand, diabolically making a paradigm shift into the darker side!
Advertising has become ubiquitous, virtually surrounding us all the time. By marching towards the wrong front these waspish ads might be able to create prodigious effect on the sales of their brands for sure, but are losing the grounds of "ethics and morality". If the ad industry believes trickery, skulduggery, obscenity to be the new mantras for growth, then let’s all bid farewell to I & b ministry and ASCI. Without an iota of doubt, it can be said that one mistake on the part of the advertiser, can lead to disastrous effects which can be easily seen in the case of I-pill. By not flashing the warning during TVC's that the pill is not a substitute of condom (though it was in print ads) had encouraged so many youngsters to try it again and again, presuming it as a protection after sex.
William Bernbach once said "Advertising is worth a civilization, depends upon how it is used." Hope someone will put a bug in the ears of our frisky ad gurus to set their sight on this sidetrack, rather than perfunctorily chortling by calling this write up as another "creative attempt"!!
