Speak out for your dreams. Review on Airtel 'Dil ki Baat' commercial

It’s the eternal feud if I may use the word between the mind and the heart and more often then what conquers the heart is the one which prevails notwithstanding what the mind thinks about it. Did not someone say ‘ you should always put your mind where your heart and never put your heart where your mind is’ now that quite wonderfully sums up the dictum which the ad makers have followed ever since. One doesn’t have to look around too much to see the actual implementation of the same and also some of the ads, which have had the highest recall and have helped build a brand image are the ones, which have been appealed to the emotional side of each of us. Piyush Pandey once said and I quote “ products are made in the factories, strategies are made in board rooms but brands are made in the hearts”. Wow really well said sir and that’s one adage of marketing which has withstood the test of time and success.

When I look through the latest ad by the Bharti Televentures company Airtel I get just the feeling which I have just stated. After tasting success with their Rs 200 recharge ads featuring Shahrukh and Sachin extolling aisi azaadi aur kahan Airtel was looking to extend the express yourself theme further and I feel in their new ad they have a sure sought winner. Airtel has always been at the forefront of connecting with people through an emotional string and the express yourself campaign exemplifies the brand’s message wonderfully. The Nigahein campaign is a continuation of that same emotional bondage with the target customers.

The ad has been conceived and made by Rediffusion DYR and has gone down really well with the audiences. Storyboard of the ad links up people from different age groups, genders and socio-economic strata who are linked together with a common thread of expressing their inner feelings without inhibitions. The ad starts with a little schoolgirl getting down from her school bus only to find another girl from a rather deprived background looking longingly at her. A narrative follows with the next shot showing them playing together. In the next shot an old couple is sitting in the park as young couples pass by, again it ends up with the reticent couple expressing their suppressed feelings towards each other.

The other scenes depict shy lovers not knowing how to express their feelings for each other, a challenged student struggling to give words to his emotions, a young gymnast trying hard to live up to the expectations of her coach. In each of the situations the shot begins with how people are reluctant and reticent to speak out and reach out for their dreams so to speak of and how the moment they give words to their aspirations, dreams and emotions they are able to get whatever they yearned to achieve.

The ad cajoles people to speak out and not to just sit mum and expect things to work out for them. It works all the more well in a society like ours where suppressing emotions and living to the diktats of the others is a tacit rule, we are tuned to accept things the way they are given to us and more often then not each one of us have been guilty of not opening up and expressing our inner selves and then we blame the things around us without realizing that for anything to happen we must have the courage and conviction to first voice it out and express it to the others around us. The advert is one with which people of all strata will relate to and delivers at the end a feeling of freedom that comes from self- expression. To accentuate the universal connect of the advert Hindi has been used as the medium of expression for most of the nation today either speaks or understands Hindi.

The usage of poetry in adverts is a concept, which has off late found increased acceptance and seems to be the flavor of the season. The first real classy ad in this series in recent times has been the one for Asian Paints done by O&M and it was a roaring success, the same idea was reused in the sequel to the har ghar kuch kehta hai ads of Asian Paints. Recently the same has been done for the sar utha ke piyo adverts for Coke. For this ad also the poetry was first conceived and then different situations and moments from day to day life were picked out to fit with the poetry. The brilliant usage of words along with the title tune of Airtel combine to give a lingering and lasting impact for the ad. The words have been weaved quite artistically to narrate stories, which we all would relate to instantaneously for it seems like our own story. I feel for any ad to do well the emotional connect at the personal level with the audiences is very important and that’s precisely what this ad is able to achieve.

The signature tune of Airtel has had wonderful recall just like tin tin tiring of Britannia or la lara la la of Liril or tandurusti ki raksha karta hai of Lifebouy. Music is an integral part of a brand’s identity and it adds another dimension to the advert, the audio sensory part of it making the ad complete in its presentation and execution. The audio along with the visual makes the ad perfect leaving a lasting effect on the viewers. This is one dimension which Airtel has used brilliantly for its marketing what with allowing it to be used as ringtones or during KBC they are playing it when the participant asks for phone a friend option. All this has added in further the brand promotion to my mind and is indeed a brilliant idea.

The ad I am sure will do wonders to the sales and penetration of Airtel to the remotest corners of India for it speaks in a language, which breaks free of the barriers of geography, age or social strata. The ad has been dubbed in regional languages as well ensuring wider audiences to it.

Nigahen nigahon se milake to dekho. Naye logo se rishta bana kar to dekho

Questions

Which to your mind is the best ad jingle made to date and what makes it so special? Has it lured you into actually buying this product?

Do you think Airtel is better off with common man adverts or you like the celebrity endorsed ads more catchy?

Who makes better ads, Hutch or Airtel and why?