Ad of the Month - September

Using social issues in ads is not a new phenomenon. Companies have been using religious animosity, wars, civil distress as backgrounds for ads. Interestingly, this is not a part of the CSR initiatives of these firms. It is a way of reaching out to the audience who is increasingly aware of the issues relevant to them. The recent Idea campaign is an example for the same. ‘Education for all’ had a huge impact with the ‘School chale hum’ campaign. But, Idea picks up from where that ended. Schools are still not available to a large number of the rural populace. So, what better to do than imparting distance education through cellphone! The brand ambassador, Little B, is a fatherly priest who heads a convent school and comes up with the brilliant idea. The thing I like is that Idea seems to be going towards an independent direction that is distinct from Airtel or the uber-popular Vodafone. When we talk of positioning, it seems as if the company is trying to place itself in the rural segment as well. But, the more significant undercurrent is the fact that the ad simply makes Idea look good in the eyes of its potential users. Another similar campaign was Jaago India by Tata Tea. The key is to follow up these campaigns with some action on these fronts. As Mr. Bharat Desai recently wrote about the campaign, ‘Today’s good idea could become tomorrow’s exploitation.’ But overall, I would say What an Idea Sirjee!