ADVERTISING & PROMOTION

ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONEFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE ADS.REEMA ARORA TY BBA

EFFECTIVE AD:Surf Excels Advertisement(Brother & Sister Duo)

Hindustan Unilever Limited introduced Surf in 1959, introducing the first detergent powder into the country. At the time, housewives used laundry soap bars to wash clothes. Surf offered them significantly better clean, with much less effort. The promise of superlative whiteness the articulation of a great clean at the time, connected with consumers and helped to establish the brand.Surf was the first national detergent brand on TV; the brand used TV to effectively educate their consumers on how to use detergent powders in a bucket for a better wash.Surf Excel made a big splash with their Daag Achhe Hain advertising campaign. The following is an analysis of the first such commercial.The advertisement features a brother and sister duo walking home from school, when the little girl falls into a puddle of mud. Crying, she looks to her brother for help. Her brother gets an idea and starts beating up the puddle of mud, demanding an apology. After a time and a lot of mud on his uniform, he stands up and says, Sorry bola. The narrator then removes all apprehensions of dirt and stains and says, Daag Acche Hain.This advertisement is universally well-loved. This is so because it does a lot of things right. It makes use of childrens appeal to get the advertising message across.The advertisement does what seldom others do cater to the emotions and sentiments of the viewers and succeeds with it. Not only do the children lower your guard to the advertisement, but the story, too, warms the heart of the viewers.The advertisement generates a sense of bonding. Viewers without siblings, too, can relate to the advertisement and the actions of the little boy. The advertisement also exudes certain warmth that reflects itself in the viewers.The advertising mantra, AIDA, is strictly adhered to. This is one of the reasons for its success. By showing a little boy and girl, the advertisement draws the attention of the viewers. When the little girl falls into the puddle and starts to cry, it creates interest in the minds of the viewers. When the tagline is spouted, it builds, in the viewers, a desire to know more. This desire often leads to action.Although there is no obvious targeting, it is done so through indirect means. Most mothers are concerned when their children come home in dirty and messy clothes. This advertisement, not only sends out the message that Surf Excel will help you was them out, but that also there is no need to fear stains.Although the advertisement does not centre on the product or brand, both are remembered. The product and brand are subtly introduced to the viewers such that it sub-consciously enters their minds without any jarring highlights on the product or brand.This advertisement also does what the majority do not. It focuses on the people rather than the product. The sentiments, actions and emotions of the people are highlighted and showcased throughout the advertisement in one form or another. The product is kept discreetly tucked away and does not overpower the commercial.Although Surf Excel is a premium brand, this advertisement caters to all the income grades and all classes of people, across age groups. The brand and product are positioned as accessible to all people, whoever and however they may be. The brand image created through this advertisement is phenomenal.The advertisement leaves people with a warm feeling. This feeling also transfers to the product and brand. Thus, this advertisement can definitely be called and advertising success.

INEFFECTIVE AD:Mountain Dews Bad Cheetah Advertisement

This is a campaign that has confined itself to barely three commercials. The common thing in all these commercials is the group of boys out on a safari. They are generally roaming about shouting -Do the Dew!The commercial shows a cheetah running in all its gusto, and one of our models following it on a bicycle. Finally, the lad jumps on the cheetah and traps him. Then he puts his hand inside the cheetahs mouth...straight down to his stomach, and pulls out a can of Mountain Dew. Bad Cheetah - he says. The other guys watching him say to each other -Cheetah bhi peeta hain! Then they show the cheetah with all the spots gone except for a few spots which spell out -Do the Dew.The commercial fails to follow some vital rules of advertising. There is absolutely no brand positioning. Which bracket of people is it targeting? What benefit is it giving you? Secondly, their models seem possessed, running around jungles with colourful clothes, jumping on cheetahs and shouting at the top of their voices. The viewers have no point of reference to identify themselves with either the product or the advertising tone.Thirdly, there is no advertising message at least nothing that makes any sense. Why would anyone want to drink something that a Cheetah allegedly drinks? How did the Cheetah get hold of the can of Mountain Dew in the first place? In fact, this advertisement has more environmental and wildlife ramifications than any connection with the product.Fourthly, it is a very paltry hand at humour. If the intention of the advertisers was to excite the audience and make them laugh, they have failed miserably. This advertisement has induced to people only to switch channels because of its senseless advertising message, theme and conception.Fifthly and most importantly, the advertisement says nothing at all about the drink, except, of course, to extol its endearing quality it to Cheetahs. What is the taste? Does it quench your thirst? Does it make you feel cool? Is it refreshing?If this advertisement is remembered at all, it is remembered for all the wrong reasons. From the very beginning of the Mountain Dews ad campaign, it has come under some very serious firing. When they launched their first ad featuring the infamous slogan Do the Dew, other aerated drink manufacturers immediately saw its potential by piggybacking on the fame and releasing a parody. The parody achieved what the original never did. Today, viewers instantly relate this slogan to No do here, go do jhaadi ke peeche.The Mountain Dew advertisement failed at the ad mantra AIDA. Although it did catch the attention of the viewer the first time it was aired. It did not generate any interest or desire. It crashed so bad that not only was the ad campaign scrapped, so was the product. Even if bottles of Mountain Dew line the shelves of stores today, its sales barely make a dent in the profits of the company.