The spirit of an advertisement whether it is on print, in form of a viral video, on television, on the rear of an auto or on a magnanimous hoarding on a busy intersection lies in its capacity to communicate the rudimentary idea in the minimum possible time frame. Advertising as a channel in India has come a long way from the simplistic videos that were accompanied with music most people would cringe at now that were aired Doordarshan to slick, styled and technologically advanced ads appearing on the Internet and over 200 different television channels now.
However, even though numerous ads now that are utilizing the latest in technology to create visual masterpieces that might stun even the ones that probably use the an iPod to breathe lack what an ad is originally supposed to be built on. The most recent ones that bring to the foray some prized brands in the Indian economy fall flat completely. To cite an example the Hero Honda magnum opus that featured the Grecian Hrithik Roshan along with the stunning Priyanka Chopra was a complete no-brainer and was a true illustration of creativity gone badly. The terrible rhythm that accompanied the ad along with the concept or something of that sort was probably the work of a team of advertisers that were probably eyeing the spurt in bank balance rather than the creative appeal of the advertisement. What this indicates is that pumping a million in cash to fuel your ad does not necessarily mean it is the way to go when you want to celebrate the 25th anniversary of your company. Another member of the ads ‘you go to the loo during or answer your calls or even utilize to fix some food’ is the Landcruiser ad that has absolutely no concept whatsoever.
An SUV rolling down the dunes captured in slow frame rate accompanied with crescendo style music doesn’t necessarily qualify as a theme.
Again this goes on to validate the point that extensive and strong financial backing will not really guarantee that an ad will highlight the uniqueness of the company or the creative inclination of an agency that deals with the projects. On the other hand I did come across some really powerful advertisements on the web that much to my relief were crafted by Indian directors and developers.
The ads that I was completely moved by were the ones directed by Gajraj Rao and Code Red Films. One of the ads talks about nationalistic pride while the other brings to light (see the ad and you will notice the pun) the extraordinary lives of the unfortunate. On my own accord I am not delving deeper into the plot synopsis and the core idea behind these ads only because I want you to be baffled like was.
The intricacies of the art of true advertising do not spur from large conglomerates or from the well entrenched agencies in the advertising world. Bringing a new dawn in the creative processes are a bunch of maverick imaginaries who dream more than they can achieve and attain more than you and I can dream. The fate of the Indian advertising falls on the new wave of thinkers, philosophers and storytellers who see an ad as medium of sketching a fantastical tale and bringing to life the implausible capacity of the out of the box human imagination.