Advertising Trend
new connects as indicated by market surveys etc. They tried
different tracks – one of which, if I am not mistaken, was Deepika
pika
Padukone being chased around the bed by her energetic boy
friend! – but they didn’t seem to work too well. I was told market
et
share had also plummeted to an all-time low! Today, I feel truly
ly
vindicated and the return of the Waterfall girl also confirms once
ce
more, something I’ve always believed in – don’t mess around
with iconic visual metaphors that define a brand because they
are too deeply imprinted in popular imagination – Amul, Marlboro
oro
Man, Lux, to name only a few – and also because then you may
ay
be wooing trouble. Can you imagine Bhagwan Gopi without the
he
flute?!”
Another popular Theatre Adman Bharat Dabolkar steps in with
his POV. “In a way Alyque is right. Reinstating the Liril-Waterfallrfallgirl template is a clear indication that all other routes have goofed
and maybe old is gold, after all!” Dabolkar believes that there
is this strange, silly – but rigidly followed – routine by many
new regimes of instantly effecting change to solidly mark their
presence and exhibit their individual footprint decidedly different
from their earlier lot. “Sometimes it works, but applied without
required thought and analysis, it can spell trouble because the
move is driven more by the heart than head.” Dabolkar admits
that change is inevitable since the market is ever-changing, but
keeping the soul intact while changing the exteriors could have
been a better idea, especially when the original version had
gone down with everybody so well as a positioning – Freshness
– statement.
How can we wrap up this debate without inviting the NCD and
hot-shot of the present agency – Lowe Lintas – Arun Iyer for
his response? As always, Iyer is super cool and offers his take
with clarity & precision. “The reactions that have been emerging
from some sections were predictable. Why did a popular TVC
that ran successfully for a long duration suddenly be yanked off
and replaced by something totally different is a question that is
very fair. Let me answer that. I think research indicated that skin
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umer was moving away from the earlier
freshness focus. This insight demanded a change of creative
stance, pitch and representation. It was felt that the earlier
template had done time and was in exit mode in keeping with
new-age demands of new-age consumer base.” As it always
happens, there were teething problems – during this transition – in
the connect of a new concept and imagery with the consumer,
but it wasn’t – as believed - a lost-in-the-woods situation, second/
third guessing along the way, blind-man’s bluff! “Why mend it if it
ain’t broke is a popular refrain & fans of the earlier 1975 version
could well be tempted to sing it, but the fact was that Liril did need
a different look & feel relating to the new consumer perception
and we did what we thought blended with that consumer need.
The team – now – reckoned that perhaps a revival of the old
theme [complete with visual imagery] is the need of the hour and
brought it back. Period. For us, advertising is not an ego-trip or
settling old scores; it’s about giving the consumer what he wants
through consumer insights via communication that entertains as it
empowers. While we are not surprised at this reaction, for us it’s
only doing the right thing at the right time for the right brand and
hoping that we get the right results. Sorry, if I didn’t bite the bait,
sound suitably dramatic or vindictive to comments of the earlier
distinguished gentlemen, but then I guess I am just a boring
professional who doesn’t come from the world of theatre …!”