BRANDED FOR LIFE. Review on General Tips on TV Advertisements

I am irresistible, I say, as I put on my designer fragrance. I am a merchant banker, I say, as I climb out of my BMW. I am a juvenile lout, I say, as I pour another large shot of Finlandia, I am handsome, I say, as I put on my Levi jeans.

I am sick, they say, I need a mug of Boost, I am thirsty, they say, Coke can quench it the best possible way, It’s my wedding, they say, Reid and Taylor fits me best.

Should I believe what I say or what they say? Often, we are confused whether we are buying a product for the brand or for the brand ambassador.

A brand name is more than a word. It is the beginning of a conversation, a conversation that goes for years, if managed well or a conversation that ends before it starts, if not handled with care. But, who shall communicate that to a buyer, who is the best person who could be the face of a brand, the one who has all the qualities the brand has and the one with whom consumers can easily relate to with utmost ease.

Brands are popular not because they are cheaper than their nearest rival but because they have some distinctive quality which makes them unique and what better USP than a face which makes a brand accepted, acknowledged & avowed.

Little wonder then that today from soft drinks, chocolates, biscuits, diamonds, liquor, watches, oil, soaps, televisions, ACs, paints and whatever you can think of in this world, almost everything boasts of a movie star or a sports hero within its ambit.

A lady, sitting next to Raymond Loewy at dinner, struck up a conversation.

“Why”, she asked “did you put two Xs in Exxon?”

“Why ask?” he asked

“Because”, she said, “I couldn’t help noticing?”

“Well”, he responded, “that’s the answer.”

Television is absolutely swamped by millions of products trying every trick in the book to get themselves noticed, and probably hiring a people’s icon makes the job that much more easier. It’s not a fight about telling people that a product is better than others but it’s a fight about telling people that it isn’t just one of the many brand jostling for some space in the market but it has some distinct quality which makes people stand up and notice. And more often than not brand ambassador is the only USP brands have.

Brand endorsement is a way to go! A way to get your brand noticed amidst all the clutter that brands create in the marketplace. Amidst all the noise and hype that brands indulge in so very freely. Brand endorsement is possibly the best way to get the awareness rating of your brand up there in the stratosphere of a clutter-free terrain, otherwise unattainable with the me-too strategies of the marketer at large.

The key question then, Are brands built by brand ambassadors?

Yes, If the brand ambassador has the right attributes. No, if he doesn't. Why attributes?

Amitabh Bachan is the real Shahenshah, an idol for all Indians probably was the right choice for worm smitten Dairy Milk, or probably would infuse fresh blood into the flagging sales of Chawanparash, but would you really buy a diaper (for your child), if AB endorse it, as he has a larger than life image and you would least expect to change his grand-children’s diapers.

Similarly, Rahul breathes security, dependability and re-assurance. No wonder he has some big names in his kitty like Reebok, Hutch, Max New York Life, Pepsi etc. which all demonstrate same attributes as Rahul exhibits.

There is no denying the fact that right brand ambassador can help Tom, Dick and Harry reborn as Tom Cruise, Philip K. Dick, Harry Potter.