[manishk83]

Originally Posted by veedub89

Bajaj Avenger
this has to one of the best ads we have come up with. Other ads may come and go but this one i will probably remember forever. It has the music adding a completely new dimension to it and portrays the free spirit of biking really well (i know its a cliche but waht the heck!).

Yes, the Avenger ad portrays the "free spirit of biking" like no other. Having owned the bike for nearly 3 years, I can vouch for the fun it is to ride the bike with it's low-slung seats. And looking at the ad again caused a pinch the car of nostalgia & yearning.

Inspired me to chuck the car for today and get out my Avenger. Am going in a few minutes on a day-long trip.

@ownerofazkaban: I missed this ad on TV. But what a fun ad!

[ashok_lat]

I personally like Honda Jazz X ad and Indica Vista

Honda Jazz X is very good ad even though it dont tell anything technically. But it does makes us to see again and again for the Kids in the ads and the way just the car makes a turn and glides in the road.

Where us the TATA Indica Ad is very intresting to see and has a good sense of Humor also. The actor in the ad is very good and excellent selection of artist for the ad.

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by tushky

liked this VW commercial. good one

Hate it. They are trying to 'force' the fact that vw is a part of our lives, while it is NOT. Also it comes across as too 'english made for india' feel. The warmth feels all force fitted and they are doing what maruti has been doing, nothing original.

cheers,
ac

[vivekgk]

I love Tata's ads. Every single ad, right from the old Sierra ad where the car goes off by itself and gets mucked up to suit the owner, to the latest drivetech4, leaves an impression. The positioning is spot on for every ad.
I think that the actor in the Vista Drivetech4 ad was chosen because he looks extremely ordinary, with the receding hairline and the drab outfit. The message of the ad seems to be that 'This car excites even the most un-excitable person!', and it is fantastic. The black and white effects add to it.
But the best ad ever to come from Tata was 'Reclaim your life ad' for Safari. It made me want to beg, borrow or steal to bring home a Safari! The ad for the Safari Petrol was also excellent.

Scorpio ads come across as snobbish to me, what with the helicopters and girls and all that James Bond stuff. I do love the Xylo and Logan ads though.

Bajaj rules the roost in the two-wheeler ads (Hamara Bajaj), while Karizma might have the worst ads ever made.

Maruti's new ad is very catchy and funny, with the guy asking the space shuttle's mileage. I also loved the one where the small kid drives his family mad by running the toy car over them all the time.

Hyundai's ads for i20 are great, but the i10, meh.. not so great. SRK was able to sell the ugly Santro back then because the car was genuinely good, and because the dealers were great. SRK came across as a genuine, with his obvious skepticism of the Korean marque being a shared emotion for Indians at the time. But in the i10 ad, he just looks like he's overselling it. The car isn't beautiful by any standards, it looks like it was designed by a commitee. The placement is dead wrong. It's a great car to drive in city traffic, and that should have been it's selling point.

[madan80]

I caught a glimpse of a force1 advert on tv last evening and was just stumped with the sheer stupidity of the ad. Though the marketing team of the company would tend to disagree with me, I just had to let it out. I think the state of the ad world of automotive adverts in India, in general, is abysmal. But for a few ads that make it through, the rest leave you scratching your head and going- whaaat?

First up:

SUV Force One TVC Ad - YouTube

The first of the series of completely stupid adverts from force1 - In a way - burying themselves further.

Firstly, the complete disregard for safe driving - no one wearing seatbelts, no airbags, and doing a 180 with a 2.5Tonne suv in a city road- just so that the kids can walk in front- Seriously - what are the ad guys smoking these days? The advert I caught on Tv was about 2 women being harassed by some biker and the force1 comes up and the biker runs off... (or something along those lines) Which was equally dumb.

So, back to Force1 - what is it that they are trying to sell - "Be the force" - in a way - saying - yes, drive rashly, and because you have a big vehicle, its forgiven? The highlight of the ad - displays the FMTech 2.2, lotus and so on and so forth as words on the screen, unless I remember reading it, I wont think twice. If the heart of the vehicle (in this case the 2.2) is a differentiator, shouldnt it be highlighted in an ad.

I had to draw a parallel to the Ford F150 for an advert talking about the product capabilities and benefits

2009 Ford F-150 commercial # 2 - YouTube

and to the Chevy Silverado - Highlighting the product details

2011 Chevy Silverado HD Commercial - YouTube

Or if you want to make an emotional bond - like the reclaim your life series - which had some good ads - and some really stupid ones (the one in the water, and the stunt driving inside the parking garage) in general - the reclaim your life was the emotional connect. Again, The insane driving - not what I want. However, the corner office series - really nice.

The Silverado commercial- which makes a real emotional connect:

"Like Father, Like Son" | 2012 Chevy Silverado | Chevrolet - YouTube

Now why did I post the adverts above - I just wanted to draw a parallel and highlight the case I was making.

I think the approach that the indian market is taking appears to be - like the force ad puts it- Brute force.

There was some talk on the forum about the Chevy Cruze ad about it highlighting irresponsible driving to the MAX (launching on amber, cutting across lanes, and simply racing on public roads),

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2aa__eHdjw

I was tempted to share the other Cruze ad - which brings out different features in its series starting with

1. The Music System:

2011 Chevrolet Cruze - Guys Night - YouTube

2. The Chevy App

2011 Chevrolet Cruze | Remote Control - YouTube

3. The Mileage factor - Chevy Cruze:

Chevy Cruze ECO | Apartment Hunt | Chevrolet - YouTube

I think the series of ads highlight different capabilities and will surely give me a higher top of mind recall. Even the SX4 advert - highlights really rash driving, lane cutting, insane driving- really ironic considering Maruti's huge effort on safe driving (The IDRTs, Maruti driving schools and the Young driver award) The SX4 ad is a serious letdown:

Maruti Suzuki SX4 - Men are Back - YouTube

I can't recollect a series of ads like the chevy cruze series, for example, which highlight different capabilities. The GM Beat - the first set was just terrible- what message were they trying to send across- a heart beat?

Chevy Beat - YouTube

However, the new one- of the beat diesel - does strike a chord in terms of the emotional connect, with the father son duo

Chevrolet Beat Diesel TV Commercial (Ringa Ringa ) - YouTube

and the Rakhi advert:

Chevrolet Sang Rishte Chale Advertisment - YouTube

I just wish the admen / women put in a little more thought into some of these ads. Just showing that you can drive fast, and do stunts, should not be the centerpiece. These are not just machines, but extensions of our lives (well, in our case quite truly).

An automobile defines our being and our lives, we strive to move up the social lader with the vehicle we drive and that needs to be captured to highlight the fact that fancy driving, jumping and snubbing someone else is not the case. Product placement, emotional connect or simply humor to associate the vehicle with good times / happy times should be the key. The Tata Nano Advert a case to moot:

Tata Nano launch ad - YouTube

But then again, I am not in the marketing team of the automobile co.

On that note - my all-time favorite ad for the automobile space:

Old Hamara Bajaj Ad-adscritics.com - YouTube

[libranof1987]

Did someone catch the new Maruti Eeco ad that's being aired during the India-Aus match?

It is absolutely ridiculous!

Did 10-year old students make this ad?!

Maruti eeco - YouTube

[raj.barcode]

The best ads on TV usually belong to TATA group, it just stays with you for a long time and has good/great repeat value.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by raj.barcode

The best ads on TV usually belong to TATA group, it just stays with you for a long time and has good/great repeat value.

Agree. All except the ones for Manza - they resort to poking fun at others in a very stupid way.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by madan80

I caught a glimpse of a force1 advert on tv last evening and was just stumped with the sheer stupidity of the ad. Though the marketing team of the company would tend to disagree with me, I just had to let it out. I think the state of the ad world of automotive adverts in India, in general, is abysmal. But for a few ads that make it through, the rest leave you scratching your head and going- whaaat?

An excellent set of points and illustrations made here! I totally agree. Even our adverts are a bit poverty stricken in terms of ideas! I appreciate the sentiment behind the Force ad and the kids etc, but Not the actual portrayal. I hate the SX4 ad and no Mahnindra ad is of any quality whatsoever!

[mayankjha1806]

I watch very less TV and even if i do its mostly when i am moving around when kiddo is watching TV. Its so difficult for any advt to regiater in my brain as i would have moved away midway if the start isnt grabbing my attention enough. In all this i only remember two advts.

Tata - Reclaim ur life and last week VW in which they show two generations owning VW.

[Turbokick]

New Fiat Linea 2012 ad is just fantastic IMO.

It is very classy and thought provoking considering the way the upgraded features are promoted.

Which are those ?
- New blue shade (it looks like inspired from deep sea color)
- Ground clearance (when the car lands at the bottom of the sea yet the rocks don't disturb its clearance)
- Multijet engine (Fiat's 'own' engine. Period)
- Sound build quality (the way door closes with a thud)
- Auto sensing wipers (It sensed 'water' and hence worked)
- Improved NVH and brighter interiors (deep sea water yet the interiors are well sealed)
- Auto headlamps (when the nuts/bolts pass in front of it, it glows)


What was the blunder ?
- Punto could have done with another ad. It is hardly highlighted in the ad.

[prateekswarup]

The TATA reclaim your life was a great ad!

Another one of my favourites was the SX4 Men are Back one where the driver U-turns and challenges a big truck. It represented the bullying tactics of big buses on our roads very well and very typical David vs. Goliath concept.

Recently saw the VW Polo advt. It seems to convey the right message but I'm not sure about the execution of the concept - very run of the mill.

The new FIAT advts seem to pointless again. Apart from the increased GC, auto wiper & headlights, the whole 'dive deep' & 'passion' was redundant in my opinion. They really need to build a brand USP. Passion is only good for fan boys, but the masses want a logical reason to like the brand.

Maruti, on the other hand, (I haven't seen the latest ones), seems to have had a good connect with the Indian Consumer. The heart warming advt of 'Need a ride for Diwali' echos the consumer connect with Maruti and it's long term presence in the market.

I used to love the Skoda 'Cake' advt. I believe, a similar one exists for the Laura / Octavia.

The launch of the Ford Figo and the accompanying advertisements were equally good. They talked about the features of the car and revolved in around a daily story (The one where the lady buys a small elephant for the dash and a big one for the house.) Haven't seen them recently though.

[rajeev k]

While looking into the details of the Tata Magic Iris in their website chanced upon the shameless copying of TV brand Onida's once famous and catchy ad-line, Neoghbour's envy, Owner's Pride.
link http://www.magiciris.tatamotors.com/...s-comfort.aspx

[amitoj]

Here is a new and innovative form of advertising, called "photobombing".
Fiat "photbombed" VW headquarters in Sweden when google passed by:

Google Maps

[Agarwaka]

The ad. that gave rise to this thread can be viewed here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-hOZWqvzog

. Ever since I saw this ad., I kept wondering if the marketing guys at Tata had truly lost it - trying to re-position Tata Sumo in the 'sexy, fun, competitive, youthful' segment, without modifying even the exteriors in any significant manner. To my mind, it showed lack of market understanding and wasteful spends.

I expressed this point of view on Twitter to Karl Slym and our conversation went as below:

Me: did Tata Motors do ANY research before the Sumo TVC? Frankly, it's embarassing and displays poor customer understanding.

Karl Slym: Hi Kartik. We do before and after research and this one scores well in both. But thanks for your feedback.

(I realized later that my message was a bit curt, perhaps reflective of my anguish , and appreciate Karl for actually responding to it.)

While Karl mentioned that this ad. was received well, I am somehow not convinced and wanted to get motorheads' views on this. What do you'll say?

P.S. Really wish the Tata Motors' service organization was as responsive as Karl had been.