The Vodafone ‘Happy to be of Help’ ad

The most sensible thing that has been said about advertising is that no one really knows how it works. Yet, experts seldom hesitate to choose the best. The process of choice can rarely be rational — yet it has to be made. Here we go…

The pug has been a huge property for Hutch. When Vodafone took over, it made sense for them to continue with it, but the way it is to be used had to be rediscovered. For Vodafone, “Wherever you go” was a tough act to follow. That is why their “Happy to help” campaign — missing school tie, towel et al. (in picture) will be considered one of the best campaigns of 2008.

Much before world fashion brands made India their home, an Indian brand had very elegantly ushered in a revolution in men’s wardrobe. The neighbourhood tailor was given the short shrift and readymades became the in thing. Among other things, the branding of Raymond was responsible for this success.

Their achievement was to elevate Raymond from a textile mark to a symbol that embodied the personality of a “Complete Man”. Many would remember their brilliant school teacher campaign.

The current campaign of Raymond shows the father walking a step or two behind her daughter walking with the man she loves. She trips, they react. The one to hold her and put her back to her feet now is the young man. The father reminisces.

One might feel that this ad creatively slips a notch or two from the teacher campaign. Yet it stays within the tolerance band of creative excellence, never easy when you already have such a rich brand of advertising heritage. That is the reason for including the Raymond father-and-daughter campaign in this short list.

Celebrity advertising enjoys many unfair advantages. In a merit list thus, a celebrity ad should never feature. Unless, the ad attracts not because of its star cast. The Tata Sky plus campaign with Aamir Khan is a case in point.

In the first ad, husband Aamir bends over backwards to do home chores to gain control over the TV on the evening of the match. In the latter ad, Aamir pauses telecast of a match and takes a call from his mother-in-law. Both situations are invaluable for the communication of two key benefits — parallel recording of a second channel and pause and resume facility of a live telecast.

There are many categories of products where the difference between the choices available in the market in real terms is negligible. The role of advertising here is to create irrational preference for a brand. The remaining ads on the list sell brands from two such categories.

The first is the Jeete raho ad of ICICI that showcases an intense drama between husband and wife with the young daughter providing comic relief. My vote is for the original ad rather than the sequel that is running currently. The greatness of this campaign is in its realisation that you need such brilliant screenplays backed by credible enactment to sell a drab and morbid product like insurance.

The other campaign is from Airtel — the mobile service provider. The first ad showed a husband leaving for a trip and within minutes surprising his young wife, Raima Sen, with a call. The unexpected connection on the phone oozes love and romance. The second ad running currently shows a son leaving for the big town. A while later the father finds a phone ringing. Wrapped on the phone is a piece of thread that he had used to tie his hands with his son’s when they visited a crowded mela many years back. The thread reassured the young kid. On the phone, the son now reassures his father — he will not get lost in the big town.

The ad manages to convert a mere mobile phone connection to a symbol of intimate kinship. That is why it deserves a place on the list.

These then are my favourite ad campaigns for 2008 — Vodafone, Raymond, Tata Sky, ICICI life insurance and Airtel mobile connection. Not necessarily in that order.