Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Industry / Spot Light | 2014 in advertising
BackBack

Spot Light | 2014 in advertising

Laughter came out of its closet, print media pandered to avarice, and media became the new creative agency

Ad film for Bijli Bachao, Desh BanaoPremium
Ad film for Bijli Bachao, Desh Banao

Ideas that will survive 2014

I have been in the advertising business for 25 years now. Until around last year, the annual journey was like any other. The expectation barometer barely flickering. Sure, there were new ideas. But most were in the same imagination pool where my fish plopped. No strong themes to follow. This year, however, the journey changed. The road is new. The sights are new. Not just whipped up by social media or technology, but by all kinds of things. I know the journey ahead will deal new cards faster than we can shuffle. Here are themes that stood out for me in 2014, and will squarely poke 2015 in its eyes.

1. The e-commerce takeover

Every form of media that allows advertising to germinate and bloom has been overrun by the dot-com brigade. They have the hunger, the brashness, and the guts to back ideas. There are very few categories that dot-com power hasn’t muscled into. If they haven’t yet, some smart girl minus an MBA is checking it out now.

View Full Image
Ad film from Tanishq

Check out some of the brands that drove media—Pepperfry, OLX.in, Jabong, Foodpanda, 99properties, FreeCharge, eBay, MakeMyTrip, Oxolloxo, Amazon, Flipkart, etc. Plus the advertising that supported Flipkart’s Big Billion Day, Amazon Appiness Day, the Great Online Shopping Festival, and all kinds of apps. Consumerism now plays at the device level. People love the convenience and discounts. And tomorrow will be bigger.

2. Films are long, longer, and longest

Thirty-seconders have now become the erstwhile 5-second edit. If they haven’t, then that’s where they are heading. Thanks to the new world out there, and thanks to Indians chomping on everything but their omelettes on mobiles, the length of films is no longer a parameter. For every long-format film that gets the oohs and aahs, there would be a dozen that get the yucks and shucks. But then, quality will always continue to decide glory. The most eyeballed long ones are Kissanpur, Pepsi Diwali, Jabong Journey, McDowell’s No.1 and Fortune Oil.

View Full Image
Ad film from Jabong

3. The India film factory

Ever since the new media-savvy government took over at the Centre, advertising has been wonderfully re-employed. It’s not been just mindless propaganda, but considered an effective communication focused to knock sense into people. The Swachh Bharat initiative, the Make in India drive, the Bijli Bachao, Desh Banao campaign are fundamental to writing the better India story. The power of advertising was on full display in the run-up to the general election, and if we look at how it’s all panning out, you will see that advertising is coming in to bat long for India.

4. Comedy killed the video star

Laughter is no longer a closet idea. It’s howling its way to the bank. Big brands are being made, and bigger brands are being had. Chances are you would have seen the monster hits of All India Bakchod and The Viral Fever. Leading players in this all-new genre of comedy and its variants. They are irreverent, maverick, and intelli-funny. More importantly, they are available to brands and advertisers to create brave content on their behalf beyond stifling brand vocabulary. As of now, they are the flavourites at the house of cards. Who knows what secrets the winds will tell us next year.

View Full Image
Ad film from Nescafe’

5. Ad awards and other businesses

Advertising and awards are like ketchup and fries—they go together. The terrible twins. And some of us thrive in the glow that awards yank in. Unfortunately, barring the weather at its humid worst, the big festival of India—named after a beach resort—flopped like a mackerel out of gas. Kyoorius appears to be the sole contender, and their collaboration with Design and Art Direction (D&AD), a global association for creative advertising and design awards, seems to have worked. We can finally trumpet about real merit. Oh, and some entrepreneurs have since discovered that this award business makes pockets jingle rather well. Why not a category for trashy newspaper inserts?

6. One front page, two front pages, and even five front pages

There was a time when a front-page ad meant money, guts, and a mere quarter-page of space. Not any more. To squeeze the last drops of juice from the advertising orange peel, the print media have pandered to avarice. Other than surrendering the hallowed masthead, you can now do everything and more to the front page. You can rip it. Add any smell to it. Fold it. Stretch it. Print it sideways. Print it diagonally. Brands can now buy the seventh front page, or the 16th front page. And even that’s going for a premium. The sun is up, and hay must be made.

View Full Image
Ad film from McDowell’s No.1 .

7. Independents and freedom

Every large agency is going through this catharsis. The oaks are shaking. Acorns are falling. Some are growing. Most are withering. But with the country opening up, the middle class burgeoning, brand new categories coming in, and the Web connecting dark corners, there’s an explosion of opportunity for young talent and business. The older agencies aren’t equipped to handle this Frankenstein, and they aren’t paid enough to surf the written code. Mainline advertising is being gouged out of shape irrevocably. And the future of advertising will see new flags fluttering everywhere.

8. Media is the new creative agency

A long time back, advertising was full of roses and violets. Then Mr Suit walked in with a chainsaw and hacked advertising into two bloody parts—creative and media. Apparently to help clients get more quack for their duck. But after more than a decade, the divide has come back to hurt brands big time. Media companies are now growing their own creative departments. And soon, we will even see creative agencies growing their media departments. The chopped tail is looking around for a head, and the severed head is sniffing around for a tail. This circus has just begun.

9. Scoopwhoop, Storypick, BuzzFeed etc.

There’s a lot of rage about these content-spewers. There are those who think these are the latest rage. Arranging information into edible lists of 10. Or more. And writing them in daily lingo without choking anyone. Then there’s the lot who are enraged. Aren’t these sites just dumbing down the universe into nuggets designed to only tickle the mediocre? Well, both camps have reason to froth and foam. But the fact is that they will gather more speed, and find their boat in the tumbling waters of your timeline. And this includes an innate power to find allies in brands and agencies. Long live listicles. My article being a modest tribute. Without the GIFs.

10. Brands and their bland social media

Welcome to the wall, now turned wail gallery. Here’s the great divide between consumers and brands. If brands don’t understand this global media platform, and the fact that they are getting bashed overtly, they better get their act together. This is the intersection where multi-billion dollar brands get reduced to the level of a single consumer. The big boys need to dismount from their high horses, and start listening and talking to those who make them into brands. Hopefully, next year we will see more brands with more social sense gaining applause and love.

A bonus afterthought

Oh dear. I almost forgot a trend that I picked up in the larger canvas of advertising—that good old traditional advertising is something you will continue to see next year as well.

The noticeable ones of 2014 in my book are: Idea’s Ullu Banaoing, Nescafé Stammer, TBZ jeweller’s Shoes, Tanishq, Titan, Bournvita’s Mother and Fastrack’s Trash. My apologies if I missed some biggies. But then, I did remember some. Here’s wishing everyone a happier year ahead.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Industry News, Banking News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 27 Dec 2014, 11:14 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App