I must confess this blog is inspired by the plethora of rankings witnessed in the past few weeks. I saw a list of 67 best ads of India, commemorating India's 68th Independence day. I saw another list of India's top brands and of course the Fortune 500 with Forbes to follow.
The Indian top ads list inspired me. I seemed to have seen all the ads in it. Was it too difficult to compose? Maybe yes? But maybe it was an easy list. 67 is a big number. Almost all of one's favourite ads can be in it. But what if it is a smaller list. What if someone puts a gun to my head and asks me to choose just...5. And then I added another filter. 5 of my best ads...worldwide. Now I don't claim to have seen all the ads in the world. Neither do I remember all the ads that I have seen. But the challenge excited me and somewhat consumed me. So I put a gun to my head and ruthlessly decided to list down my 5 favourite ads. And give reasons for the same.
Easy? Naah! It took me almost a week. I googled. I saved. I drew up a master list, I edited, I added, I lopped off, I rethought and then after a week I decided to stop. I put a gun to my head again and said, enough! Decide now. So here is my list of my 5 all time favourite ads. I decided to put them in a order but was not ready to put a gun to my head for the third time! So the list is in no particular order.
The Guardian newspaper UK https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_SsccRkLLzU
This ad will be always close to the top, if not on top of my all time favourite ads. It explained a proposition which all newspaper want to claim but did it in such an interesting way that I will always remember Guardian as a newspaper which looks at all angles, all viewpoints to give the complete news. Sounds clichéd and boring and even undifferentiated but the creative idea and its execution is just superb. Watch it and watch it again.
Rolo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=44Tqoxp0WWI
Another masterpiece. Though I guess the planner had a strong hand in this one. For a cluttered category where taste is the only story, the insight on taste is amazing. What will you do with your last Rolo? Share it? Give it away? Be selfish? And the creative leap on this one was superb. The use of the common myth that elephants have long memory has been brilliantly exploited. And the casting! The boy grown into the man.....The story would have faltered without the brilliant casting or would have been spoilt by a super. Enough said....just watch
Hamlet Cigars https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Po5__0irD00; https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X0SbVFxl64A
My bias towards British advertising is obvious isn't it? I don't care if you see it that way. Here is a series, actually a campaign which ran for almost 2 decades with a simple thought. Cigars is about status and snootiness. This campaign made Cigars a mass commodity. It never put down itself or lampooned the snobbishness of cigars. Instead it brilliantly exploited the British sense of being able to laugh at yourself. There are at least 6-7 ads in this series which are my favourite. I have just given links to 2. Google the rest yourself. I can promise, you will not regret it. And oh! selfie was first used by Hamlet. Go, figure.
Tabasco sauce https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ3MRkdF9Sk
Finally a non British ad. But it uses a demonstration of the benefit so vividly that you can never forget it. Tabasco benefit has always been its hotness. It's never shied away from it. Now this is something other's can get into and even prove technically that the brand is more hot, more chillies. But Tabasco just uses simple hotness and what a powerful demonstration of that generic benefit. Proves that demonstration of benefit need not be boring. Definitely unforgettable.
Fevicol https//m.youtube.com/watch?v=jNaWSQeDttE
No, I am not being patriotic. I was very clear that only the best will feature here. And this one is right up there. It's not the bus ad. I guess that shot to fame globally because it used a famous Indian cliché about overcrowding brilliantly. But personally I like this one as it has a powerful story, fantastic music to actually complement the brand message and inspite of being very Indian has a globally understandable message.
Ok, having done this I put away the gun. Let me also share with you four more ads which ran close. If I had to do a list of top 10 ads, these would have featured easily. And I am proud to say two out of the four are Indian ads.
Volkswagen https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hwgmOONNJWQ
This is an old classic. It illustrates brilliantly how Volkswagen as a vehicle is totally reliable. If only every ad was as reliable as this Volkswagen ad. Brilliantly scripted, even though its a 90 sec commercial the script keeps you hooked. And it shows how an unglamorous benefit like reliability can be made to look so glamorous.
Axe https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LLYXKZe0O9C; https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RcgNCIS8Cz8;
The beauty of the old Axe ads was its insight. Guys ultimate fantasy is that the female makes the first move. How true! And how well executed in these ads. What I also like about this series of ads were the endings. Same story but a different twist every time. Girl, Old woman, man, dog. Try and watch all.
Ericsson https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sIZQG-Xfg7U
This was a close toss up for me with Fevicol. It's about beautiful product story. This was at a time when cell phones were big. So small cell phone was a boon. But how to convey it dramatically was the key. And the phrase "One black coffee please" became a cult phrase.
Lifebuoy https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=huztSICuXjA
On this one, a disclaimer. I was closely involved with this brand. But I think this was the ad which started CSR awareness in brands in India. Called Little Gandhi, this ad has a superb insight. We Indians tend to keep our house clean but do not worry or bother about our locality or street. This campaign was the one which elevated Lifebuoy from just a soap to a brand which is a life saver. The current Muthu: Help a child reach 5, actually builds on this one.
Agree or disagree with the list is your choice.Why don't you compile your own list and share?
The Indian top ads list inspired me. I seemed to have seen all the ads in it. Was it too difficult to compose? Maybe yes? But maybe it was an easy list. 67 is a big number. Almost all of one's favourite ads can be in it. But what if it is a smaller list. What if someone puts a gun to my head and asks me to choose just...5. And then I added another filter. 5 of my best ads...worldwide. Now I don't claim to have seen all the ads in the world. Neither do I remember all the ads that I have seen. But the challenge excited me and somewhat consumed me. So I put a gun to my head and ruthlessly decided to list down my 5 favourite ads. And give reasons for the same.
Easy? Naah! It took me almost a week. I googled. I saved. I drew up a master list, I edited, I added, I lopped off, I rethought and then after a week I decided to stop. I put a gun to my head again and said, enough! Decide now. So here is my list of my 5 all time favourite ads. I decided to put them in a order but was not ready to put a gun to my head for the third time! So the list is in no particular order.
The Guardian newspaper UK https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_SsccRkLLzU
This ad will be always close to the top, if not on top of my all time favourite ads. It explained a proposition which all newspaper want to claim but did it in such an interesting way that I will always remember Guardian as a newspaper which looks at all angles, all viewpoints to give the complete news. Sounds clichéd and boring and even undifferentiated but the creative idea and its execution is just superb. Watch it and watch it again.
Rolo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=44Tqoxp0WWI
Another masterpiece. Though I guess the planner had a strong hand in this one. For a cluttered category where taste is the only story, the insight on taste is amazing. What will you do with your last Rolo? Share it? Give it away? Be selfish? And the creative leap on this one was superb. The use of the common myth that elephants have long memory has been brilliantly exploited. And the casting! The boy grown into the man.....The story would have faltered without the brilliant casting or would have been spoilt by a super. Enough said....just watch
Hamlet Cigars https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Po5__0irD00; https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X0SbVFxl64A
My bias towards British advertising is obvious isn't it? I don't care if you see it that way. Here is a series, actually a campaign which ran for almost 2 decades with a simple thought. Cigars is about status and snootiness. This campaign made Cigars a mass commodity. It never put down itself or lampooned the snobbishness of cigars. Instead it brilliantly exploited the British sense of being able to laugh at yourself. There are at least 6-7 ads in this series which are my favourite. I have just given links to 2. Google the rest yourself. I can promise, you will not regret it. And oh! selfie was first used by Hamlet. Go, figure.
Tabasco sauce https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ3MRkdF9Sk
Finally a non British ad. But it uses a demonstration of the benefit so vividly that you can never forget it. Tabasco benefit has always been its hotness. It's never shied away from it. Now this is something other's can get into and even prove technically that the brand is more hot, more chillies. But Tabasco just uses simple hotness and what a powerful demonstration of that generic benefit. Proves that demonstration of benefit need not be boring. Definitely unforgettable.
Fevicol https//m.youtube.com/watch?v=jNaWSQeDttE
No, I am not being patriotic. I was very clear that only the best will feature here. And this one is right up there. It's not the bus ad. I guess that shot to fame globally because it used a famous Indian cliché about overcrowding brilliantly. But personally I like this one as it has a powerful story, fantastic music to actually complement the brand message and inspite of being very Indian has a globally understandable message.
Ok, having done this I put away the gun. Let me also share with you four more ads which ran close. If I had to do a list of top 10 ads, these would have featured easily. And I am proud to say two out of the four are Indian ads.
Volkswagen https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hwgmOONNJWQ
This is an old classic. It illustrates brilliantly how Volkswagen as a vehicle is totally reliable. If only every ad was as reliable as this Volkswagen ad. Brilliantly scripted, even though its a 90 sec commercial the script keeps you hooked. And it shows how an unglamorous benefit like reliability can be made to look so glamorous.
Axe https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LLYXKZe0O9C; https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RcgNCIS8Cz8;
The beauty of the old Axe ads was its insight. Guys ultimate fantasy is that the female makes the first move. How true! And how well executed in these ads. What I also like about this series of ads were the endings. Same story but a different twist every time. Girl, Old woman, man, dog. Try and watch all.
Ericsson https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sIZQG-Xfg7U
This was a close toss up for me with Fevicol. It's about beautiful product story. This was at a time when cell phones were big. So small cell phone was a boon. But how to convey it dramatically was the key. And the phrase "One black coffee please" became a cult phrase.
Lifebuoy https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=huztSICuXjA
On this one, a disclaimer. I was closely involved with this brand. But I think this was the ad which started CSR awareness in brands in India. Called Little Gandhi, this ad has a superb insight. We Indians tend to keep our house clean but do not worry or bother about our locality or street. This campaign was the one which elevated Lifebuoy from just a soap to a brand which is a life saver. The current Muthu: Help a child reach 5, actually builds on this one.
Agree or disagree with the list is your choice.Why don't you compile your own list and share?
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