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ADVERTISING,
HUMOUR
The
Logic Behind The Laughter
So what is
going on in the advertising fraternity that is making it poke fun at the
product, at themselves and sometimes at the models? "The answer is
simple," says Manu Chopra, creative director, Trikaya Grey Advertising.
"Humour is the best way to gain attention. Indians are an emotional
lot, and by laughing they are reacting positively to the product. This
is a psychological move that works very well." Adds Piyush Pandey,
executive creative director, Ogilvy & Mather: "If you can make
a person laugh, smile or feel good every time your ad is beamed, the chance
that he will remember this advertisement above the clutter is far more
than if it were a serious one."
Nor do ads
use celebrities as often as they used to. Says veteran adman Bharat Dhabolkar:
"Celebrities tend to overshadow the humour and the product in the
advertisement." Pepsi perhaps rues the negative publicity that came
when it chose Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and a Hrithik Roshan
lookalike for one of its ads. It proved to be a case of yeh dil maange
more controversy.
Of course,
it's not jokes all the way when crores of rupees are involved in conceptualising
and making these ad films and campaigns. Okay, so people are more receptive
to funny ads. Okay, humour facilitates retentivity. Perhaps there is something
more. "Humour binds everyone together-male or female, caste, creed
or age," notes Cyrus Oshidar, creative director of MTV India. Don't
forget social strata, region or language. Humour is an easy bridge. Adman
Prahlad Kakkar points out that fun "works well in the rural areas
where scepticism about urban products disappears with a few laughs."
There you have it. It's pure business wisdom. A nationwide survey carried
out by Ammirati Puris Lintas found rural and urban audiences react in
a similar manner if " the communication is not too lateral. The same
ad film can straddle both urban and rural India for mass brands but linear
stories work in rural markets, convoluted ones do not."
There's
another emerging market that will scoff at dowdy appeals. If you want
to catch the eyes of youth, you have to be, well, catchy. "Today
most companies are customising their products to suit the teens,"
points out Jeff Almeida, creative director of Rediffusion DY&R. And
the ads show it. Of the estimated Rs 45,000-crore consumer market, 27
per cent-that is almost Rs 12,000 crore-caters to new-generation buyers.
Says V. Ramani, media head Euro SSCG: "Catch them young, you will
have them for the rest of your product life." And how do you catch
them? "To capture a teenager's attention you have to make him feel
happy," answers Pandey, "and humour is the answer."
Admittedly,
the humorous turn is not the coming of age for Indian advertisement. Perhaps
it is a passing phase. But at least there's no need for you to break into
expletives when the commercials come on.
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