AD-WORD-WISE: the ad sense

Each company strives to make a successful brand out of its product. Advertising is one of the methods used for this purpose. It is in various forms but the focus here is on TV commercials. Though they are not the only factors ensuring the success of any brand, these days they are too important to be ignored. Most of them are aired during the prime time and cost a lot to the companies.

Every firm wishes to hit the target audience with the maximum intensity through its TV commercials for which advertising agencies are given huge amounts but the outcome is often not up to the mark. There are only a few ads that rise above the clutter and are etched in the memory of the consumer (Surf- Daag dhoondte rah jaoge!).

Many TV commercials fail to register the product in the minds of viewer as intended and the product, the core thing around which the ad should revolve, is pushed into the corner. Sometimes the commercials are just too long, boring and/ or irrelevant to hold the interest of the customer and the poor thing (the viewer), instead focusing on the ad, starts switching channels in search of something interesting. And now there are double-meaning, suggestive and lewd ads that one cannot watch with the family; some of them have even been banned (remember the Axe and Amul Macho ads- in pics ).

Most of the ads fail to click as they do not use their elements properly, like kids are shown as irritatingly precocious, the set-ups seem extra-luxurious, or the ads are just too unreal to relate to the customer.

There is no dearth of good ads too, like Fevicol ads, but can we really say that our Indian advertising agency has come of age?