[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAISXd2jmVw&hl=en&fs=1]
I thought I will try to write a branding/advertisement post once a week, maybe on Wednesday. Why Wednesday? Because by then I am squarely in the middle of the week and with a strong feeling that I have accomplished very little!
The Ad posts, I have decided to write on the Ad Critics. So this time I am talking about the Airtel Ad where kids are playing football at the border that looks like the Middle East. Have a look and let me know what do you think.
Without indulging into the issue of corporations making profit out of it, I must say the ad is thought provoking. It does convey a message that the world is in need of today – that we do not need war or boundaries, and two innocent children convey that!
I have had this debate at Indiamike too, Indica. I see it somehow differently, as an attempt of a corporation to profit from a situation it has got nothing to do with! But I know the same thing can be viewed differently, so we agree to disagree on this one!
Well If I recall correctly, the ad is shot in Algeria. The language spoken is a French variant.My 2 bits of opinion on this is :The goal of a business is to make money – today and in future. Advertising genrates future revenues by creating mind association of the brand with certain values.The ad accompalishes the goal – hence a good advertisemnt.Is it desirable ? Can, theoretically, Airtel, cut branding expenses and reduce price ? These are different questions.Bharat
Bharat, thanks for sharing your views, I agree the issues are complex but I do not like organizations that piggyback on situations that have got nothing to do with them. Enough consumers read about branding these days 🙂
Nice ad. I enjoy TV commercials for their entertainment value (Budweiser beer commercials); and sometimes for emotional and powerful messages they convey. I am one of those creatures who do not establish their product preferences based on TV commercials or print ads (especially, Bollywood stars infested Indian TV ads)
Mridula, I liked the ad for the thought-provoking message that it sends forth. I am not siding with Airtel – but isn’t sowing a seed of an idea a worthy deed?
Atul and Akira, thanks a lot for your comments, I can see I am in a minority here 😀