New-Age Ads Irresponsible Or Reality-Driven?!

4Ps B&M's Monojit Lahiri examines the face-off that continues to plague adville and attempts to play ‘referee’!

 Whether advertising drives reality or reflects it remains a ball-breaker, hot-potato and one of life’s enduring and unsolved mysteries. Ad-bashers vociferously insist that the adfrat – like Bollywood – continue to get away with blue murder, invariably falling back on that old, moth-balled ghisa-pita line – “Why blame us? We are only reflecting the times…” – each time an ad of dangerously dubious nature screams into focus. The ad guys beg this lot to shake off their Rip Van Winkle robe, wake up and look around. In a globalised, youth-driven world, firmly in the embrace of new-age attitudes and aspirations, this brand of stone-age thinking, they believe, is both regressive and ridiculous.

Okay, so what gives? Is ethics in advertising really an obsolete word in the age of Britney Spears and Rakhi Sawant... or despite all the new-age blah-blah, do basic human values remain unchanged and a hit in that direction spells doom… or are both sides just over-reacting to this issue and in the process, missing out on the much-needed perspective, focus and main plot?

Eminent media commentator and author, Uma Vasudev fires the first salvo. The veteran writer believes that in these irreverent and youth-driven times “it is a fashionable thing – by shallow, self-proclaimed intellectuals and liberated spirits hysterically anxious to get their posturing right by sounding young – to trash anything that is solid, wholesome, traditional or conventional.” While she heartily agrees that some people tend to get too touchy and hyper to some ads [Sprite, MotoYuva, Axe, Virgin Mobile, Colgate], she suggests that some kind of moral policing must happen. “Remember, one man’s humour can be another’s tumour!”

Ex-Motorola and presently Tata Telecom’s Lloyd Mathias – whose (earlier) MotoYuva TVCs feature strongly in this debate – reacts in his usual, laid-back fashion. “See, advertising is about dramatising, blowing-up and exaggerating slice-of-life moments to make them interesting, appealing and engaging to the readers/viewers, while triggering the purchase intent. This has to be done keeping the sensibilities of the target group in mind. A total connect with them is a given.” Mathias points to the ad where the father raves and rants at his son’s shabby room and sloppy everything, while the kid, with earplugs, rhythmically nods to the song he hears on his audio. “It’s a hugely today’s situation and totally identifiable by most parents of teenagers and also the kids themselves. The ad emerged from human insight and was a light-hearted social commentary on the parent-child scenario of the day. It is not and was never meant to promote parental defiance or disrespect. It’s a tongue-in-cheek take on everyday, real-life face-offs between baap-beta!” Same is the case with all the cheeky MotoYuva ads blitzing the ad space, he insists.
 
Leo Burnett’s Pops Sridhar agrees. He believes it’s a “generational thing” and strongly requests the kill-joy brigade not to drag morality, values and integrity into it. As Mathias pointed out, advertising hypes life to make it look sexy for the viewer – but it’s almost always rooted in fact and truth. Be it Ogilvy’s Mentos ad, or Perfetti [Papa at a party. Papa in the office. Papa at home] ad, Bates’ Virgin Mobile ad, Ogilvy’s MotoYuva ads – it’s a throw-back on the times we live in. “Relationships, codes of conduct and ways of expression have undergone a sea-change. It’s a cooler, more informal and chilling time. The old authoritarian dad-kids relationship, in urban India is a thing of the past. They are more buddies and engaged in closer, warmer bonding. Kids are cheekier and adults are cooler. That’s the truth and that’s what these ads show, say and express,” avers Pops. Mridu Manjrekar, however, is neither amused nor impressed. “These ad-wallahs are master spin-doctors, ready with glib explanations that appear both truthful and convincing, but scratch the surface and its bullcrap!” The school teacher and mother of two teenage kids, “sees this brand of advertising as insidious and dangerous.” Couched in entertainment, it hits the target spot-on and instantly – at a subliminal level – creates mischief through propagating wrong values. [Its no sin to bullshit parents; cheat girlfriends; mock teachers! Nothing is sacred, precious or non-negotiable. Nothing is a big deal. Its ‘just- chill-yaar’ time.] Scary!

At the end of the day, one thing needs to be recognised and realised in a cool and objective manner. Barring some overtly vulgar ads, most of the stuff discussed is not really offensive, either in terms of morals or values. Remember, the rigid good and bad, moral and immoral, done and not done zones don’t exist anymore. It’s an age of confluence, not conflict. To be cheeky or naughty is ‘not’ perceived as a cardinal sin, which calls for capital punishment! Humour [audacious or irreverent] is cool. As for influencing and corrupting kids, 10 is the new 15! Good, sensible parenting is the answer. Besides, don’t forget that if you give kids wings, they’ll surely develop roots…

New-Age Ads Irresponsible Or Reality-Driven?!

Celeb Brand Ambassadors? Not Again….. Puhleeeeeze!

4Ps B&M's Monojit Lahiri examines the validity and effectiveness of the glam, celeb brigade, doing their number as BA in the critical Social Sector space. Are they effective?

“Behen Lagta Kya?”
“Nahin, Mehman Lagta …”

Dialogues from the latest pot-boiler coming out of tinsel town? Naah, lines from a new TVC scripted by Prasoon Joshi, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and – most importantly – delivered [with trademarks, mannerisms and punch] by Bollywood’s Little Big Man, Aamir Khan! For guys who came in late, no, Aamir hasn’t switched lanes but playing out his new role as brand ambassador for Incredible India’s Atithi Devo Bhavah [Guest is God] campaign. In recent times – and especially post-TZP – the thinking star has been popularly perceived as a caring, sensitive, responsible and socially aware individual who, with his iconic presence can make a difference in altering beliefs, attitudes and mindset relating to causes and concerns, in the public domain. Be that as it may, do celeb brand ambassadors, [as a rule] help further the cause they push? Are they really effective, credible and represent the mission played out … or is it [like the corny and frivolous celeb endorsement circus] more TRP-driven, more entertaining than purposeful? In short, when celebs support causes – who benefits?

Lets for a moment, look westwards. How about starting with the hottest of the hot, Angelina Jolie! Forever inspiring stories like ‘Brangelina Fever Grips London’ or ‘Why Armed Guards Stormed Their Bedroom’, Jolie has been a Goodwill Ambassador with the United Nations for ages. She always pays her way and her work with the refugee commission is simply amazing. On international issues, she is said to have more clout than many UN diplomats! “I see Angelina as the perfect humanitarian advocate. She brings an immense amount of international focus, but she never seeks to use it for her own benefit. On the contrary she transfers the spotlight directly to civic society advocates and makes them more powerful, effective and result-driven”. That was Gavin Simpson, a key member of the activist group – Witness, who worked closely with Jolie during her visit to the West African country, Sierra Leone. Other notables from Hollywood include Audrey Hepburn [UN] Danny Kaye [UNICEF] Humphrey Bogart, Bono, Sean Penn and a host of others.
 
What about the celebrity activism, vis-à-vis brand ambassador scene in India? Well, there’s the famous Big B for Polio, Koena Mitra for children’s orphanages, Shilpa Shetty for animal rights, Preity Zinta, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, along with a host of others... Point is – are they credible? Film-maker Muzaffar Ali believes it all really depends on the “sensibilities connect.” If that synergy is missing, it is at best, tokenism; at work, mockery. He cites the case of Big B’s stint as BA of Uttar Pradesh. Did it work? “Here was a superstar, living and working out of Mumbai, suddenly waxing poetic about UP. How on earth could it ever strike target?” Regarding Aamir, there is credibility, (he believes), due to the image and sensibilities connect. “The man, his persona and the cause he is espousing fuse. Conviction and track record is the key. No star or celeb can act out this role. They can’t fake it.”

Film-maker Rituparno Ghosh agrees. “For example I can’t think of a better BA for promoting the Hindi language than the Big B. The fit is perfect. Yes, the profiles have to jell.”

Future Group’s CEO Santosh Desai looks at it differently. “Let’s not get cute, coy and pretend. Most social sector advertising is largely cosmetic and tokenism and there is no real, focused effort to make a change.” Desai then goes on to really slam the current Aamir Khan TVC doing the circuit. “I think it is a terrible ad, with this didactic lecture… it’s really and truly an embarrassingly bad ad! I am surprised because Aamir normally doesn’t do corny ads, stuff where hectoring and heavy-duty messaging is on the cards.” Desai then goes on to explain what he believes is the ‘politics’ behind Public Service Advertising. “There is this popular belief that since it is an important cause, important people must say something about it, denounce it or at least play some role in it. They fall back on the tired cliché of ‘when celebs talk, people listen’. They may listen but do they hear, react and act as told to?” The other problem, Desai says, relates to the fact that these biggies are doing it for ‘free’. In short, the aura, hungama, myth and buzz around it frequently overtake the action, totally defeating the purpose.

At the end of the day, one thing is clear: Celebrities – unquestionably – open doors and to deny their clout in the popular culture space is to be dumb, myopic, cynical or plain, in-denial mode. They definitely bring a very special buzz to the cause they espouse and if they are the right person – respected, committed, informed and involved – they have no substitute. Incidentally (if you observed) the operative words are ‘if’ and ‘right’!! 

Celeb Brand Ambassadors? Not Again….. Puhleeeeeze!

You Got Male!

Is the new Indian woman looking 'differently' at the male? Is the new Indian male looking 'differently' at himself? Is voyeurism suddenly going unisex? 4Ps B&M's Monojit Lahiri probes the new-age phenomenon firing up ad-world!

Actually, Salman Khan started it all. Declaring a flamboyant fatwa against shirts, he converted flaunting his bare-chested, well-toned machismo into a sexual statement that drove a zillion female fans wild while earning envious looks from the guys. Today its come to a situation where (like the gasp-pant Zeenie baby of the seventies) many can’t recognise ‘Sallubhai’, fully clothed! Presently John Abraham’s red-hot number in Dostana, is giving both hotties Shilpa and Piggy Chops a run for money! The way his languorous moves have been choreographed and the passionate love-affair the camera seems to conduct with Johnny-boy … man, ‘you got male’!

Beyond Sallu, John, and SRK’s sexy 6-pack abs flash, Ranbir’s (oooops!) wardrobe dysfunction in Saawariya and Aamir’s new, killer body in Ghajini, lies a slew of ads saluting the male form – with women, actively co-opted as enthusiastic participants! Be it the Euro Brief slugs where the young dude gets ‘assaulted’ (with lipstick marks!) the AXE effect TVCs, Moods’ condom ads (where the babe nibbles her guy’s ears) and the latest Akshay Kumar’s lethal unbuttoned ad, the male, suddenly, is taking centre stage and women seem delighted to play avid, rah-rah audience!

As the song says, what’s goin’ on?

Gushes the Delhi-based ad veteran Esha Guha, “As the ad says, why should boys have all the fun? For centuries, women have played dedicated objects of desire to men’s hungry eyes. Isn’t it time to hit the role-reversal button?” The ‘unputdownable’ Guha argues that in today’s world where women go eyeball-to-eyeball with men in the professional, financial and social zone, why should they suddenly play cute n’ shy away from the delicious sport called male-gazing!

Young copy-writer Payal Sinha is delighted (“Wow, Some Lady”!) at this response from someone who represents a generation who, (mostly) would reach for smelling salts before attempting to coherently articulate their (Shock? Disgust?) opinion. “I think our generation looks at the very concept of sexuality differently – the urban, middle-class, educated community, that is. There is neither the hush-hush, behind closed-doors factor, the sex-is-sin belief, nor the shy, feminine, mega blush-flush at the very mention of the S word.” Payal elaborates by saying that the new-age woman is pretty savvy and clued-in and with the huge exposure in the public domain – TV, movies, radio, Internet – as well as everyday life and living, the male body is (normally) not totally alien country!
 
Creative Director Moon-Moon Dhar joins the party with unbridled ecstasy! “This stuff was long overdue and I have no hesitation in saying that I went to Dostana just to ogle! Johnny-boy was truly an eye-candy!” Toning the pitch down a bit, the bindaas mother of two believes that today’s men too are less self-conscious about flashing-flesh or getting paranoid if their partners drool. “My hubby is, by turn, amused or threatening to get those 6-pack abs, very soon. It’s cool.”

Home-maker Vidya Baluja feels like throwing up! “My god, its blatant sexism, male-style … and it’s so much more yucky!” She believes that there are certain areas of life, which indeed exist but should be celebrated only in the private space. “All this dramabazi exhibitionism is so vulgar! Sure there will always be a lunatic fringe that will wow the toned and chiseled male form but generally speaking, most sane, balanced, intelligent women will view this new-age disrobing of inhibitions in a startled, amused and embarrassed way.”

Journo Bina Khanna adds her spin to it. “I really think too much is being made of this male-gazing – thanks to the Dostana factor – and it’s more media-generated than real!” Khanna believes that the recent hungama is because traditionally, its always been the politically correct thing for men to drool, salivate and play the raging-hormone voyeur. Suddenly (Globalisation? Gladrags?), there has been a change in the mindset among a segment of society that have woken up to this role-reversal and embraced it with unholy glee! This has toppled the apple-cart and brought something hugely private and hush-hush tumbling out of the closet into the streets…

Khanna could well have hit the nail on the head. The new-age woman is different from her mother-in-law in many ways, mindset, heading the list. She is socially, intellectually, financially and professionally up there with men and suffers no complex about it. Individual liberation through sexuality is emerging as a major tool to break feudalism in society. Also, in an age of suppressed libido, celebration of the male body by women is liberating, balancing the man-woman equation and making commodification of culture a two-way street. Besides, in a time and age when women are breaking every mould in life and rewriting the rules of the game, it’s time to celebrate choices, stop living in a man’s-idea-of-woman world, go with the flow and coin a whole, new and exciting word – DIRECT MALE!

You Got Male!

CELEB ADS IN BIG TROUBLE?!

Nightmare times to knock on guilty celebrity-endorsed doors… Jail for brand ambassadors! Hefty fine for companies! 4Ps B&M's Monojit Lahiri investigates...

Okay guys, the sublime, never-ending and blissful honeymoon that the celeb Brand Ambassadors elite club [read: Bollywood & cricket stars] enjoyed, pocketing insane mega-bucks by endorsing brands for companies, could have hit a killer road-block! The new Companies Bill 2008 proposes to toss any – or every – celeb into the slammer for up to three years, if found guilty of being party to propagate misleading claims and inducing customers to buy the product advertised. The companies involved are under the scanner as well. If found guilty, they will have to shell out a cool Rs.50 lakh [from a piddly Rs.1 lakh, earlier] in fine, for cheating and frauding the unguarded consumer. However, there is one bright spark. The Prosecution will have to ‘conclusively prove’ that the celeb endorser was aware he/she was making a false statement or representation – or that he/she did what he/she did, without ascertaining the facts.

The ad-frat, industry & celeb-management guys appear dumbstruck at what, they believe, is a ‘draconian’ move. Hot-shot photographer Atul Kasbekar leads the charge by going on record stating, “This is ridiculous! How on earth can a celeb be held responsible for worms in the brand of chocolate he endorses?!” Sanotsh Desai, head honcho of the Future Group, believes that the dice is – very unfairly – loaded against the celebs. “A penalty of Rs.50 lakh for the company and jail sentence for the celebrity is absurd.”

Anuja Chauhan, Executive Creative Director, JWT (whose debut novel The Zoya Factor is making big waves with the chick-lit diwanas) brings her own spin to the table. “I think its a good idea... specially if the brand endorser is endorsing the brand as himself... as in as Shahrukh Khan as opposed to as Rahul/Raj, or as Amitabh Bachchan as opposed to as Dadaji or whatever... and specially when the brand is targeting a lower or more rural SEC of consumer who truly take what the celebrity says to be the Gospel Truth. When some international brand comes to India and tries to woo me, I don’t know the brand, I just know the endorser. He’s the guy I totally believe in, he’s the one who introduces me to the brand and vouches for it. It’s like a friend introducing a stranger to you. So if the stranger takes you for a ride, you will go to your friend only, and say, yaar tooney toh mujhe duba hi diya...”

Just-exited-from-Ogilvy, Creative Director, Titus Upputuru offers his take. “There are advocates in India whose daily job is to pick up stuff that they deem to be incorrect of offensive. I remember I did this ad when I was with TBWA. It was against marble excavation. I wrote a headline that said ‘Somebody please stop this guy from hitting his mother on the head repeatedly with the hammer.’ Now that was supposed to be in the context of mother earth and stuff. But a huge hullabaloo was created saying we are encouraging violence against mothers. Now isn’t that crazy? And we had no option but to stop the next lot of releases. I guess there should be a body that has better representation from the industry who have the discernment to check if the ad is really misleading.”
 
Ujjal Sinha, CEO of the Kolkata-based ad agency, Genesis, believes that it is more posturing than the real thing. “I would like to see who or which body has the guts to throw Big B, SRK or Sachin Tendulkar in the cooler! Does every promise that they dish out through their endorsements to attract the desired response, resonate with solid facts that can be proved? Highly unlikely.” That at least something (at long last) has been done in this “surreal area” seems to please school teacher Radha Iyer. The 30-year-old believes that it could well work as a ‘warning’ to both companies and celeb endorsers, forever doing their bindaas, irresponsible number in this space. “Hopefully, they will look before they leap,” she adds.

Are they? Will they?

As this goes into print, Sani Fresh has signed on TV star, Saakshi Tanwar as their brand ambassador; Bollywood’s new sensation, Asin [Ghajini] has been scooped up by Tata Sky and Shahid Kapur has signed the dotted line for VIP travel gear brand. Is there a brand-fit between product profile and celeb profile? Will the consumer product promise really deliver the goods… or will misleading claims, riding on red-hot celeb-endorsers, continue to blaze away? Authoritative and high profile voices have lauded this move and are of the belief that it would definitely create “transparency between all parties involved as also encourage ad agencies to get genuine clients. It would also work as an effective filter and weed out irresponsible hustlers, while protecting consumers, ad agencies, companies and celeb endorsers from getting duped.”

Rhetoric or resolve? Only time will tell… in the meantime stand by for a fresh slew of celeb endorsements with mobile number pay cheque fees! Oh, also take a close look at prisons in your friendly neighbourhood lock-up for a whole new and starry version of Jailhouse Rock! 

CELEB ADS IN BIG TROUBLE?!