Bad taste creates many more millionaires than good taste 4

- Charles Bukowski THE ECONOMIC TIMES MARCH 15-21, 2017

LEADER BOARD
The YouTube Ads Leader Board represents the Top 10 ads on
YouTube in India that resonated most with audiences over the
past month and recognises the brands that performed best
through a combination of popularity and promotion.
Mirinda #ReleaseThePressure: Kids speak candidly about
exam pressures and touch a chord. But how will all of this heavy
verbiage connect with Mirinda’s paagalpanti?
Dettol #MaaMaane Dettol Ka Dhula: A pregnant woman
turns neat freak and insists everything in the house from the
cradle to her husband to her elderly relatives are dunked in lib-
eral quantities of Dettol. It’s set to the same jingle people were
1 laughing at, when it was launched years ago. The lyrics have 2
changed but the melody remains. We suspect Dettol and the
team at McCann are the ones doing the laughing now.

Publish date: 15 February; Total India views: 18882147 Publish date: 8 February; Total India views: 7951314

HDFC Life #MyMomentOfPride: Yet another insur- PepsiKaun Pi Gaya: The deja vu is strong in this one.
ance commercial that tugs at the heart strings, with all the Where did we see this before? Oh yeah, when former
tropes of the genre in place: concerned dads, independent Indian skipper Azhar uddin, in a grim foreshadowing
daughters and husbands thoughtful enough to plan for of the murkiness that would engulf his career, swigged
3 every eventuality before they exit, stage left. Fine casting
and a relatively unusual ambition — starting a cafe — raise 4 down a Pepsi that Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli
were fighting over. The setting is an American football
this ad above the numerous films we’ve seen that are quite locker room this time. The puzzling scarcity of Pepsi re-
similar to it. mains a common thread. #Idea thi, use kiya?
Publish date: 6 February; Total India views: 7301133 Publish date: 9 February; Total India views: 6415810

ICICI Direct Pledge To Invest: An aspiring badminton player
can live her dreams, since her dad stashes cash away in an ani-
mated piggy bank. We can’t think of a more bizarre metaphor
for online investment. It’s followed by the ad urging viewers to
take a pledge on ICICIDirect which will lead to the firm contribut-
ing to the education of underprivileged children.
While the intention is undoubtedly noble, we wish it didn’t come
off feeling like such a random non sequitur.
Publish date: 20 February; Total India views: 4074027
Hotstar Tanhaiyan: A love-story, a lilting background score,
a moony-eyed hero, good-looking women. A recipe for binge-
watching perhaps? Well that’s what Hotstar’s betting on, for
those who find Netflix and its ilk too forbiddingly firangi. This is
5 a trailer for a Hotstar original show. With its Bollywood meets
telly cues , it has a near-perfect formula for getting the hits. And 6
sure enough, it does get them. Now to see if people settle down
to binge or just move on after a nibble.
Publish date:10 February; Total India views: 3530151

Samajwadi Party #€ȡ˜–Ȫ›ȡ¡ :Ȱ AKA ‘work speaks Pulsar NS200 Naked Wolves: Who’d have thought
a bunch of bearded bikers geeking out over a motorbike
for itself’. Political advertising at its most traditional: A
would make for compelling content? About 11 lakh views;
montage of visuals, an inspirational song and glossy im-
that’s who! Activation or advertising? The lines blur as
ages that make UP look like a Bollywood set: Karan Johar
7 not Anurag Kashyap, in case you were wondering. The
few of us yet to recover from We Didn’t Start The Fire
8 the Naked Wolves passionately make a case for their
fave set of wheels. The comments section proves there
are enough Naked Wolves in India and overseas to prop
becoming a paen to Mulayam Singh Yadav are happy
up the views even further. Great if you are a gearhead;
the Billy Joel discography was left untouched this time
slightly less than that if you are not.
around. Small mercies, but we’ll take them.
Publish date: 21 February; Total India views: 1105036
Publish date: 3 February; Total India Views: 1239223

WagonR Make Everyday Great: As if ‘every child is special’
wasn’t enough already, this ad from WagonR gives us yet anoth-
er maxim to assimilate (one for the road, perhaps): ‘Every dad
is special!’ It’s refreshing to see kids appreciate the efforts their
folks put in becoming better parents every day. While the intent
may have been to show that “great” is better than “the best,” it
ended up looking like the brand was trying to urge the user to
see the greatness of its product instead of proving it. The com-
ment section showers more love than hate though. So do we.
Publish Date: 16 February ; Total India views: 1369451
Kellogg’s ChocosNashteKe 20-20 Champ: With the IPL
around the corner, Kellogg’s `20 pack pitch is bound to hit it into
the Top 10. An excited kid returns home after a game of cricket,
announcing himself as his mum’s “20-20 champ”. Alas, this
9 mum’s champ is the pack of chocolate cereal that will probably
shut up the little master blaster for a bit. #MomGoals 10
Publish date: 6 February ; Total India views: 786117

Continued from Page 1 >>

SIDETAKE
T-Mobile’s eccentric CEO,
who wears only the brand’s Khai ke Paan Oreo-walla Is It Time To
Wake Up...
magenta and has a live
cooking show What sets apart the curious case chocolate biscuit sandwich), the world.
of Oreo is that despite being a marketing strategy and a gener- For Mondelez I nd i a
late-entrant it enjoys a kind of ous dollop of experimentation. people consuming
rare ubiquity (rivalled only by Not only has the company intro- Oreo across di f fer- That Indians are obsessed with white (here’s looking
Parle G) for what is essentially a
relatively foreign taste to Indian
duced unique formats like chur-
ros for Mexico, wafers for China,
ent product formats is
welcome because it’s
DESPITE LAUNCHING at to you, fairness creams) and the West, particularly
America, is not news, given our colonial hangover and
tongues. It’s a feat even some of and f lavours like green tea for a unique sampling op- SIX YEARS AGO, INDIA America’s global sphere of influence. But the times, as
its predecessors like Britannia’s
Pure Magic haven’t achieved.
Japanese Oreos, in the 100 mar-
kets its available in, even con-
portunity for the brand.
F u r t her more, s ays
HAS EMERGED A TOP 5 Bob said, are a changin’. Xenophobia is on the rise in
the UK, Europe and Trump’s America where “outsid-
Says Shripad Nadkarni, a former sumers are encouraged to “play S ud h a n s hu Na g p a l , MARKET BY VOLUME ers” are attacked on streets and in their driveways.
marketing head at Coca-Cola with Oreo”. head – biscuits category, Travel and visa restrictions are putting a wrench in
and co-founder of food startup On the other hand, the jour- Mondelez India, “Being only Oreo can provide.” many a ten-year plan.
Fingerlix, “Pure Magic’s entire ney i n I nd i a b e g a n w it h a used as a part of indulgent prod- We’ve tried the cookie many dif-
positioning was extremely niche far more conservative dunk. ucts like cakes, pastries, shakes, ferent ways, some appetizing and The white, white West out of India
and in the high premium seg- Interestingly, Mondelez’s went ice creams etc, these associations others make you want to hurl. In a parallel development, Indian companies like
ment. I don’t think these brands solely with the classic vanilla fla- rub off indulgence cues on Oreo. (Bacon wrapped Oreo, anybody?) Patanjali openly recommend against buying MNC
were rooted in something that’s vour, rather than launching with This has positively influenced af- But that’s exactly what has made brands. Recent ad storylines pitch the good honest
mass. Whereas Oreo came and the conventional fruit/ chocolate finity and appeal for the brand.” Oreo the world’s favorite cookie. desi son of the soil against stand-ins
occupied the centre of the crème flavours, which So far the company has pursued Its appeal lies in the fact that for the West like people who
mass premium spectrum.” holds 2/3rd of the this only as an opportunity for Oreos allow you to put your own speak English. Traders in
Nadkarni explains with cream biscuit mar- key bra nd associations li ke twist on them, doesn’t matter if Tamil Nadu are up in arms
an auto analogy, “Oreo ket here. Despite McDonalds, Café Coffee Day and it’s a Michelin star worthy recipe against two of the biggest sym-
is somewhere between a l au nch i n g ju s t Kwality Walls. or culinary sacrilege. In a way, bols of Americana: Coca-Cola
Maruti Swift and Honda six years ago, in We wonder though, with other it’s perhaps one of the first few and PepsiCo, taking them off the
City, Pure Magic is at a terms of volume, vanilla and chocolate cookie sand- brands, and certainly the most shelves, claiming their excessive
slightly higher end and today, India has wiches in the market, how do you consistent, to truly embrace the use of groundwater as a flash-
Parle G is Maruti Alto.” emerged as one know you’re getting the real Oreo DIY (do-it-yourself) philosophy. point for conflict. At the time
O r e o’s w ide spr e ad of t he Top 5 in your milkshake and paan? Still, we haven’t quite prepped of going to print, traders in
presence is a combina- ma rket s for Nagpal relies on Oreo’s “unique” our taste buds for Dimmy’s Oreo neighbouring Kerala were also
tion of factors – taste Oreo, which taste and texture, “this is the paan. But, who knows, if there considering swapping colas for
and versatile con- is the larg- brand’s biggest USP. People are was a Swedish Fish Oreo, Indian local beverages.
struct (vanilla est selling looking for the ‘Oreo experience’ could very well get a paan Oreo. Is it then, perhaps, time to
cream and biscuit in in different product formats which delshad.irani@timesgroup.com retire or at least downplay
the West in Indian prod-
ucts and the Western

From Hot Young Creative...

antecedents of global
John Legere is not the kind of CEO you brands? Or at least
could pass on the street and not notice. send the army of
Even if you had never seen the guy in your
Caucasian mod-
life, you wouldn’t be able to miss the glow-
ing magenta clothes, emblazoned with
“T-MOBILE CEO.”
When asked about his con-
nection with AAP, Ram
Boss Speak els at permanent
standby, packing?
Since taking the helm of T-Mobile US bristles somewhat: “AAP With nationalistic fer-
in 2012, Legere (pronounced “ledger”)
took the struggling American property of does not own my ass. Forget vor in both countries hitting
Deutsche Telekom and turned it into the being paid, I’ve given them fever pitch, does wrapping
country’s third-largest and fastest-growing donations and set templates your wares in the fading
Even at Ogilvy,
AN EMOTIONAL
carrier. Its fourth-quarter 2016 earnings for their campaigns. And glory of America make busi-
report in February again beat analysts’ he had a film-
there are so many people ness sense?
APPEAL
expectations, reporting 2.1 million net cus- maker’s eye
tomer additions and net income 31% higher who do things like I do.” He did a “I’m wary of loaded ques-
for detail. He’s
AGAINST
than the same quarter in 2015. The India-Pakistan peace damn good tions like this one,” says Cyrus
From the beginning, Legere’s strategy was job with us but very talented,
initiative, he says, has Oshidar, who worked for MTV
full of positive
ALL THINGS
to radically overhaul both T-Mobile’s prod-
supporters across he wanted to (responsible for much of our
uct and culture, and part of this approach energy. After
t he p ol it ic a l make films tilt to American pop-culture)
AMERICAN
involved transforming himself into the
embodiment of the brand. He managed to and one has to he started his
spectrum. Activism keeps my mind has not necessarily trans- own outfit, a before starting 101India, a
MAY FIND
pull off making a wireless carrier a beloved respect that.
company, as his nearly 4 million Twitter fol- T he ac t iv- ticking. If I play PS4 for 20 lated into more work. Ram’s certain political youth focused content portal.
ism also hours — and I have — I wake keen on filmmaking, even I’ve not been in “I think the pendulum has
RESONANCE IN
lowers, whom he regularly interacts with, influence hap-
can attest. ser ves a n- up feeling I’ve wasted the if it means collaborating touch with him swung the other way and now
pened. But he
INDIA
Shortly after Legere made a habit of wear- other pur- day. But if I save some trees with marketers directly. lately, but I saw you have a nationalist every 15
ing T-Mobile-branded clothing, designers one of his vid- has a different
and companies began sending him branded pose. Ram in Aarey, I feel I’ve done He’s been talking to people way of doing it metres. As long as its relevant
eos where he’s
versions of their own creations. Today, admits “I f something at least.” who want “A slightly sober that’s getting a to the brand, it doesn’t matter
Legere’s entire closet is filled with magenta. leading a social
I am bored, Ram has mixed feelings version of Voice of Ram.” lot of visibility. if you are showing Indians in America, Americans in
“Part of my role at T-Mobile is the ability to initiative. He’s
just be myself, because I’m 58 years old and
I indulge in about how his former col- Asked if the activism is He’s talking the America or very fair Indians in America.”
a very commit-
I’ve done very well, and I don’t need to fight entertainment. leagues in advertising re- likely to dent his prospects, same language In absence of actual foreigners, brands are the first
ted guy and a
my way up the hierarchy with my suit and gard his activist avatar. On Ram says, “I don’t care. I’ve as the younger casualty of strident nationalism: see the sporadic
hair anymore,” Legere said. very good cre-
the one hand, he is grateful reached the point where I’ve generation and calls to ban Chinese products that erupt every once
Each week, Legere hosts a 10-minute ative person.
Facebook Live segment called ‘Slow for the many of them who stopped thinking about con- the angst is in a while. If the hate crimes on the diaspora continue
Cooker Sunday,’ where he puts together have been supportive, sequences.” Piyush pretty evident. unchecked, it is entirely conceivable that an emotional
a quick meal and answers viewers’ ques- sharing his films ravi.balakrishnan Pandey appeal to back away from all things American will find
tions. His latest one received more than @timesgroup.com Sneha Iype
and posts. On the executive resonance. Perhaps it’s time to scrap Plan A, and B,
600,000 views. chairman, Ogilvy producer,
Source: Business Insider other, the praise Read the full interview online and fire up Plan D. D for Desi, of course.
& Mather Nirvana
he’s received at etbrandequity.com delshad.irani@timesgroup.com

Regn.No.MAHENG/2002/6711Volume 16 Issue No. 11Published for the Proprietors, Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd. by R. Krishnamurthyat The Times Of India Building, Dr. D.N.Road, Mumbai 400 001Tel. No. (022) 6635 3535, 2273 3535, Fax- (022)-2273 1144 and printed by him at (1) The Times of India Suburban Press, Akurli Road, Western Express Highway, Kandivili (E), Mumbai 400 101. Tel. No. (022) 28872324, 28872930,
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