CAN THE "CRASH-BURN-DESTROY" SCHOOL OF ADVERTISING, EVER WORK?

4Ps B&M Monojit Lahiri Probes this Bizarre root to consumer connect!

Advertising has often been described as a calling that deals single-mindedly with the business of ideas... ideas that connect with their prime constituency and influence them to leap towards products or services advertised. In this exciting play, several routes, avenues, devices (humour, insecurity, charm, fear, pride, envy, snob-appeal, rebellion) have been successfully developed to seduce the prospective customer, but the one that has bewildered, shocked, intrigued, even provoked several zillion people is the use of “disruption” as bait – that is, in one straight shot, completely change or reinvent the positioning message of the product. Disrupt and destroy the images one might have built up over years – and the devil;s advocacy propagated that that was the way consumers would re-notice your brand. But can disarray, disorder or disruption, as I put it, ever be successful in wooing customers into an affirmative or approval mode? Isn't it unsettling and fundamentally frightening to even the marketing mavericks that a positioning statement that one would have built up after investing millions, even billions of dollars, is played around with to satisfy the test of theory? Can disruptive positioning really be a dynamic, yet positive force?

TBWA's moving spirit Jean-Marie Dru believed it could. The objective of this revolutionary approach (according to the great communication visionary) was: Re-frame the brand in a manner that is so startling that the market begins to look at it differently. De-familiarise or re-complexify it in a way that force consumers to see and notice brand characteristics that they had overlooked earlier. This leads to a fresh renewal of interest in the brand. And there are emphatic success stories to peddle too. Brilliant examples include McDonald's selling fast food to the “snooty” French. PlayStation selling computer games to adults. Most hilarious, the US buying Absolut Vodka thinking it is a Russian drink (it isn't; it's swedish)!

Some companies have made disruptive marketing a habit. Apple's disruptive positioning strategies slung out the time-tasted, sacrosanct notions which pronounced that communicating product features were the key to selling hi-tech products. Apple's maverick visionary leader, Steve Jobs believed that a brand was not solely about “bytes or boxes but values” and proceeded to provide the perfect example of an organisation that knew how to constantly reinvent itself by disrupting the status quo. The introduction of Macintosh is an outstanding model. Its premise rested on challenging the hallowed premise that “people should be computer literate”. Jobs' startling and revolutionary import was “computers should be people literate and designed to work the way people do!” What followed was pure, high decibel marriage of theatrics, showbiz and hard headed selling. For 60 second during the 1980 Super-Bowl (the mother of all major events in USA), he unleashed the (by now legendary) 1984 TV spot which promised everybody a brave new world, free from the de-humanising effects of computer technology.

They words were simple yet cataclysmic... “On January 24, 1984 Apple launches Macintosh. And you will see why 1984 won't be 1984,” (a chilling connect with George Orwell's ominous book). It was reported that the very next day, over 200,000 people stormed showrooms across the US and within six hours, sales reached over $3.5 million! A decade and a half later, Apple disrupted again with its landmark “Think Different” campaign featuring great creators of the 20^th century who were/are not fond of rules and have had no respect for the status quo.

Apple, Jobs announced, was a company that made 'Tools for Creative Minds'. So if the consumer was convinced that Apple was an IT company, Jobs immediately entered the music industry with the iPod and iTunes. The moment one was convinced Apple was an IT and music company, Jobs positioned Apple as a cellular phone innovator. Today, Apple continues its path-breaking disruption mode with its could endeavours.

To celebrate disruptive marketing, creativity has to happen at strategic levels before real creative work begins. The “Big Idea” is the answer is to look to the outside world for cues, guidance, hints, tips, inspiration. Look to the world of history, science, business for ideas that drove dramatic changes in perception. Before Nicolaus Copernicus (for example) the heavens rotated around the earth. Before Louis Pasteur there were no germs and so no immunisation. Before Henry For automobile transportation was relatively expensive indulgence and the privilege of a select few. Disruption changed it all...

Copernicus and Pasteur are said to have had intuitive feeling about theories they went on to prove... and Ford had very definitive ideas about democratising automobile transportation.

Jean-Marie Dru generously offers a simple four-step guideline. One, identify the conventions and unquestioned assumptions that shape and form an organisation's blue print. Two, look at how the different facets of its activity fit together. Three, enter disruption – challenge these conventions to find flaws in its thinking. Four, identify a vision or a projection of the company that represents the future. This vision is much more that a proposition or positioning statement. It's a total culture – a destination again­st which all strategic and marketing decisions are/will be measured.

At the end of the day, disruptive positioning or disruptive marketing is neither a seismic shakeout, dramatically lobbed gimmick nor myopic anarchy. Of course, it works fantastically in industries where it might never have been possible to differentiate your product (carbonated drinks, cellular service providers, fuel) by providing a dynamically new way for the audience to recognize your product. But disruptive marketing also works pretty fantastically in understanding that no creative and unique positioning can remain creative and unique over the long term. One time or the other, the competition will catch up with your so called disruptive positioning – and that's the time you learn to disrupt again. Beyond a mere formal procedure or process, disruptive marketing is a strategically-directed shakeup, a perceptive way of both thinking and looking at that killer opportunity. It's about engaging with the world, with an open and curious mind accepting nothing on face value and taking on odds, fearlessly... The basic point about disruptive marketing is – Disrupt before the world disrupts you! Invent the future instead of being evicted by it.

CAN THE "CRASH-BURN-DESTROY" SCHOOL OF ADVERTISING, EVER WORK?

HOW ARE THESE NON-TRAD CATEGORIES FARING IN AD-LAND?

ADVERTISING HAS ALWAYS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH FMCGs, RIGHT? SO WHAT ARE THESE NEWBIES, WITH THEIR FAT BUDGETS AND SEARING PRESENCE, DOING HERE? IS THEIR UNDERSTANDING AND CO-RELATION WITH THE PERSUASION INDUSTRY WORKING WITH THEIR SELECT CONSTITUENCIES IN THE MANNER DESIRED? 4Ps B&M ATTEMPTS A CHECKOUT

Think advertising, and to the common man, some usual slogans and visuals leap into focus. Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye, Washing Powder Nirma, Dimag Ki Batti Jala De, Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hi, Chal Meri Luna, Khujli ka Happy Ending, Teda Hai Par Mera Hain … the list is endless. In recent times, however, three new categories have flung their hats into the ring and zoomed in, hot n' heavy: Healthcare, Real Estate and Education. Why? How? And to what effect?

Ujjal Sinha, the dynamic CEO of the Kolkata-based Genesis Advertising, believes that this story really had its birth post '91, when big-time moollah hit Indian shores like never before. Land was always a coveted and profitable proposition and now the sharpies, leapt in. “In this new, shiny, consumer driven environment where consumption and living well are the new mantras and old-fashioned values like austerity, restraint and holding back junked into the bin, lifestyle equations went through a paradigm shift, In this scenario the focus on real estate, healthcare and education advertising was not about brand-building but churning out communication that doled out facts and figures with the sole design of selling at fast n' furious pace, because time is money. Despite indifferent standards of advertising, if these categories are getting away with it, it is because of the demand-supply equation. In a land of a billion people (getting more aspirational every second than ever before!) the desire to live well is reflected in their recognising the value of good, job specific education from a private institution, cosying up in a nice flat and understanding the huge difference in healthcare between a private and a government hospital. Unlike the more sophisticated and evolved FMCG sector, advertising here is not about creating that critical creative differential in a parity market to influence sale or brand-building exercise – but a means to an end,” Sinha tells 4Ps B&M .

Ranjan Bargotra, President, Delhi based Crayons Advertising, offers his own take. His Agency has a dedicated cell to service the healthcare sector and their considered, pro-active thrusts appropriately reflected in their Fortis ads – demonstrate their knowledge and commitment to this category. “It has to be seen in perspective. Once upon a time this terminology – healthcare – didn't exist … just doctors, medicines and recommended hospitals. It was a simple, innocent time, very homely and personalized (cutely appropriated in the Bollywood movies of the sixties and seventies with the demure heroines referring to the medico as Doctor-chacha!), with everything in place. Today, in this complex world, the transformation has been dramatic! For one, the cosy informality and modest fees are a thing of the past as healthcare has become a humorously expensive proposition. Hospital chains, hitting pan-India (following corporate footprints) are a reality offering quality healthcare at a cost. Competition too has blazed in, and with it branding. If the communication quotient, however, is not yet as sophisticated and advanced as, say the FMCG sector, there are reasons. For one, these are early days. Also this category (in comparison with FMCG) is very small and it's both unfair and inaccurate to bunch them together. Remember, its not an everyday consumable item, so both the compulsions and demands of the communication blueprint take on a different trajectory. Besides, strict rules and regulations guide healthcare communication, so caution is the key,” says Bargotra. However, Bargotra belives it's an exciting category that is slowly gathering momentum.

Lloyd Mathias, President, Corporate Monitoring, Tata Teleservices Ltd., agrees as he tells 4Ps B&M, “These really are early days and it's unfair to slam their communication efforts. My belief is that all three areas are poised for stupendous growth and therefore Ad Agencies have a responsibility and should make it their business to understand their special communication needs – very different from FMCG's and create material that will add value. It's not about spouting jargons but sitting with these guys figuring out what kind of communication is required to fulfil what kind of special demand and create the package in an effective manner. I think it's both a magnificent challenge and an outstanding opportunity.”

Kunal Banerjee (President, M35), an old hand in the marketing of real estate, is more circumspect. A hard-core communication professional who started out with Ogilvy in the Far East and later worked with several reputed Ad Agencies across three decades, believes that communication in this sector has not really made much progress, in terms of focus and maturity, that it needs to. “True, the boon is unprecedented as is the response from an aspirational middle class, but has communications really been a catalyst in this movement? Introspection and serious soul-searching is required, along with a drastic change in attitude, mindset and professionalism on the ground,” Banerjee tells 4Ps B&M. Banerjee believes that while the honeymoon lasts, everyone is happy, but once crunch time arrives – competition or slump advertising will be called upon to play a critical part. “That will be the litmus test. It might be a good idea to get started ASAP. After all, better safe than sorry has always been a win-win mantra!” he adds.

Thus, at the end of the day real estate, healthcare and education offer the true-blue practitioners both challenges and opportunities, because the canvas is huge, virgin, exciting and waiting to be put on a trapeze and slung into new heights of excellence.

HOW ARE THESE NON-TRAD CATEGORIES FARING IN AD-LAND?

TODAY'S CHILD IS INDEED THE FATHER OF MAN!

WHEN WILLIAN WORDSWORTH PENNED THOSE LINES, IT WAS A DIFFERENT WORLD. TODAY, IN A DRAMATIC ROLE-REVERSAL, KIDS ARE TRULY THE BAAP IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS, DRIVING INDIA'S CONSUMPTION IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS.

Once upon a time, children were bhagwan's den – little, cute and cuddly bundles of joy designed and created to provide parents and their immediate orbit, joy unlimited! Sweet & lovable, they were meant to be seen, not necessarily heard. Their lives were chalked out and monitored closely by their all-knowing parents and mostly circled around a simple, uncomplicated, predictable activity base. They were not meant to challenge status quo or step out of line. And their opinions, if any, were usually dismissed with bemused indulgence. Didn't Mama and Papa know what was best for their off springs? What would kids know anyway about life?

Effective the '90s, there has been a cataclysmic shift in this idyllic playpen. The bachcha has suddenly morphed into miniature adult and started making uncomfortable noises, which are taking on dangerous surround – sound dimensions! Statistics indicate that today, some 400 million kids (below the age of 15) are new-age India's most conspicuous consumers lapping up a range of products and services that include – not just Barbie dolls and toys – hi-end gadgets, phones, clothes... you name it! Powering an astounding Rs.4.5 trillion market, this gigantic constituency (who make up 20% of the world's youth space) is on a red-hot turbo-charge mode! But what happened to the world of sweet kids being led along the path of follower-ship? Is their world of bachchelog parties, ice-cream & colas, fancy birthday cakes & cute games over?

As the genius author and film-maker Woody Allen once said about startling generational changes that ambush the naïve, uninformed, blinkered and unguarded people, “While you were sleeping, lotsa things have changed, Pops!” And that is god's truth, with economic reforms being the single biggest catalyst. This dramatically altered the very contours of the way we live and interact with the world around us and willy-nilly, propelled child-into-client zone! Technology, here, has been the greatest driver. The Internet, TV and Mobile, for example, have transformed a hitherto simple, tunnel-viewed, limited-focus constituency into a sharp, clued-in, consumer-products-friendly group that constantly raises its hands to be counted and be vocal about brand knowledge and preferences based on facts!

The insightful marketing expert and social commentator Santosh Desai hits the nail on the head with his sharp observations. “Today's kids articulate desire more openly, candidly and innocently than any other segment because they are unburdened by personal memories of a scarcity-plagued yesterday. Hence, in the family unit they play a critical role as navigators through the shining, unfamiliar world of choice, newness and – most importantly – abundance. They are arbiters between the older generation and the new and give the rest of us a map on which to plot our new selves. Fluent in the language of technology and consumption, (the two biggest drivers of behaviour of today's India) they exude a worldliness that the older generation are unfamiliar with and find useful, It also helps that the parents of today are the first generation that sees self-conscious parenting as a job that needs to be accomplished,” Desia tells 4Ps B&M.

Social psychologist Ashish Nandy takes the case forward. “Desai is absolutely right! The profile of today's parents have drastically changed to allow this shift,” says Nandy. He elaborates, by explaining that unlike the previous generation's template of presumptive wisdom and effortless knowledge-of-the bones instinctive parenting, for this generation parenting is a very serious task; it needs to be constructed with care and precision. This means that a child's desire is heard with greater attention. Overall, the child is seen as a performer who needs investment, training and personalized attention. The easiest way to fill up the gap between parental ambition and performance is invariably through acts of consumption. “The child is constantly being equipped for the road ahead and the equipment takes a variety of forms,” adds Nandy.

Mumbai-based Meera Gupta, a veteran artist, however is unmoved and believes too much is being made of Pester Power, today's whiz kids and modern-day parenting. The mother of two grown-up kids aged 15 & 12, who comes from Ranchi says that “like our local hero M.S. Dhoni, I say, keep it simple and concentrate on the basics! Sociologists, Psychologists, Behavioral Scientists... kids, parenting and their interaction with the world has suddenly become a hysterical spectator sport! Why on earth is it so complex & complicated? Sure, today's world is different from the ones we grew up in, but any sensible, responsible, intelligent and evolved parent must know how to de-code it for the kids, in a way that is meaningful.” In other words, this big hoo-haa about children pestering their parents to buy stuff on influencing purchase patterns across categories is apparently hugely exaggerated! Admittedly, today's kids are much more clued-in about products and services, “but their making life hell for their parents through badgering or muscling in with opinions relating to brand preferences are, mostly media hype,” says Meera. Love them, trust them, mentor them intelligently and kids perhaps should turn the right path without developing complexes.

Strong words, but is it that simple in a space increasingly blitzed by information over-kill riding on mouth-watering seductive, media avenues and technology? Ad veteran Esha Guha believes that Meera is just spectacularly lucky, brilliant – or being too naive and simplistic. “Sure, there are exceptions, but even if you forget the media hype, studies, reports and surveys, a look at the world around us is proof enough. Today's kids are different , influenced as they are by the environment. They do have their own ways to get what they want and their knowledge-base on technology-driven products are far superior to their parents, which often acts as a clear advantages. As for love, trust and all that... the battle with technology will be a tough one!” Esha tells 4Ps B&M.

Brand Specialist Anmol Dhar offers his own expert take. “Marketers have closely seen this paradigm shift both in the profiling of new-age parents and kids and continue to be hugely excited by it! With the emergence of this new phenomenon, KGOY – Kids Growing Older Younger – the market for entrepreneurs just got larger. From kids wear to fashion, toys to beauty care, a clutch of brands are consciously targeted towards the 0-15 age group. We live, clearly, in an age of brands and perception is the new reality,” says Dhar. Advertisers, hawk-like haven't missed a beat. Noticing the rise n' rise of the universe, children are featured prominently across areas as diverse (and unthinkable) as financial planning and insurance, acting not as dumb and obedient recipients of adult-gyaan but know-alls teaching the oldies a trick or two!

So, at the end of the day, this is indeed a turbulent transition and maybe an objective review is in order. Should more time be spent with your digital child, so that along with his cyber muscle, creativity and imagination are also addressed? Should one be more judicious about basic decisions like whether your child really needs a phone at age 8? Finally, introspect. Are we giving and expecting too much in this new-age parent-child jugalbandi? Were our parents ever expected to play the combined role of father, guardian, tutor, moral police, friend, guide, mentor, cheer-leader in this deadly game of reward and expectation?

TODAY'S CHILD IS INDEED THE FATHER OF MAN!

AXING OF ADS!

DOES INDIA INC. NEED SUCH REGULATORY DIKTATS?

On one hand, the popular war cry amongst marketers world over has been – sex sells! On the other, morality remains a tricky issue, and the reasons are simple. What is immoral to one, can be a hilarious howler to another! The issue gets more complex when one recognises that we live in several Indians simultaneously, where thinking, mindset, environment, family background & values, education levels, circumstances, peer groups/pressure & stage of evolution as a person, influence one's take on morality. It is clearly not value judgement but the big picture – which is about recognising, understanding & then interpreting any specific issue – is the prime focus. Same with the notion of morality. However, some basic norms (insist pundits) must be adhered to and this patthar-ki-lakeer zone, must never be tampered with by the consumerists; must never be compromised, commercialised, trivialised or absued. Like what is happening in the outrageous Deo-TV ad space, for example? According to the powers-that-are, these ads provoke libidous male instincts, arouse women's sexuality, show women & men to view each other with lust, and also motivate women to undress as an after effect of the sexy deo in an inappropriate, obscene & cheap manner!

SO WHAT'S GOING ON?

Before playing Judge n' Jury, or frothing at the mouth, let's take a ppep at some of these ads in question. Let's start with a Wold Stone TVC. It's a typical Bengali Pooja Pandal scene. An attractive young hunk passes a sultry, dusky bong-belle on her way to the diety. Suddenly, she's struck by his deadly deo, swoons, swirls around to lock eyes with the guy. A passionate (un-holy?) quick ie follows, after which (suitably ful-filled) the young lady, in a super stup out, moves away. The tagline reads: Wild By Nature! Another one shows a young, lovely girl innocently playing bBlind Man's Bluff, with a bunch of happy, excited kids. Suddenly a young lady is instantly zonked, forgets the kids. Suddenly a young dude, wearing another deadly deo, accidentally opens the door. The young lady is instantly zonked, forgets the kids & the game, and not so blindly follows the guy to his room. The tagline reads: It Happens!

The popular Axe deodorant ads, where women keep collapsing while confronted with the seductive spray, are too well known to warrant repetition but the one that seems to have got the mickey of the politically correct purists is the one that has the bhabhi go weak kneed while sowing a button on her bewildered, deo-sprayed devar's shirt getting into some rather un-bhabhi like body language! The tagline reads: Just Zatak Her! The list is endless, with seduction as the main driving force. Question is – are these ads really the dangerous weapons of destruction, created to poison & corrupt innocent, impressionable minds, denigrate & commodify male & female bodies as objects of desire... or are they just quirky, edgy, naughty, fun snapshots of the times we live, created to entertain, surprise & delight in a provocative manner to a new-age viewership totally comfortable in their skin?

Theatre Person and Branding Specialist Sumit Roy is up next and believes that if it's legal and follows the guidelines, it's okay. “Regarding laws & diktats, that's the easiest thing to do because to protest or politicise an issue seems to be the flavour of the day,” adds Roy. Ad Filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar agrees as he tells 4Ps B&M, “Suddenly, everyone, everywhere appears to have got this new lovely toy to take panga with anyone or anything they need to get even! It's mostly too silly or trivial to even discuss. Same with bans. But yes, I have to agree that some deo ads indeed push the ticket a little too hard.”

“Entertain, surprise and delight? These are not typically ads, and are closer to porn.” This outraged salvo comes from Delhi-based housewife Kusum Malhotra. The 35-year-old mother of two kids is shocked & angry at what goes in the name of manoranjan. Mumbai-based MNC executive Coyel Ghosh however can't stop laughing, “One has to chill! Its's the year 2011 and not actually 1947. Where does this 'scandalised' lot live – in caves, jungles, another planet? And where is their sense of humour? These ads are just light-hearted, clutter busting, and totally over-the-top, for effect! Why take it so seriously and make it a moral isise?” Coyel tells 4Ps B&M.

Veteran ad-watcher Arvind Godbole attempts to bring order out of chaos. “It's bewildering! On One hand you have people wishing to sue companies! On the other hand, there is this huge over-reaction from the purists. If Sheila Ki Jawani, Dum Maro Dum, Munni Badnam Hui, Jalebi Bai and zillions of item songs are titillatingly celebrated on the silver screens every other week with nodoby offering a word in protest, then why this sudden grab for the chastity belt?” asks Godbole.

As always, it's a tough nut to crack because morality is finally a subjective issue. Allan Collaco, Secretary of ASCI, has referred to at least seven ads – including Axe & Set Wet Zatack – under the scanner for improper portrayal of women. “The Consumer Complaint Council will decide on the action to be taken soon,” says Collaco. This magazine ran an incisive story on ASCI and how it was going over the top and beyond even its allowed legal norms in attempting to control certain ads.

Truly, there's much that the Indian government needs to regulate – from insider trading to unfettered private equity participation, from corruption to black money... It's quite obvious that attempts to regulate fair weather advertisements should have perhaps not even been taken up. India, clearly, doesn't need regulation like this – that too by self-appointed moralists!

AXING OF ADS!