Thande kA Tadka

I saw this Ad yesterday night while having dinner, the latest one from Coca Cola. It is summer time again and the beverage major Coca Cola has unveiled its new campaign for the season. The new 45-second commercial 'Thande Ka Tadka', featuring Aishwarya Rai.

This replaces the 'Piyo Sir Utha Ke' campaign of Coke which used Aamir Khan as the central figure. The previous theme being a series of images of people raising their heads, in different emotions - in prayer, in gratitude, in hope, in celebration, in joy, in relief , raising a Coke bottle to their lips and drinking with their head high up.

Lights,camera,action 'Thande Ka Tadka' : Aishwarya baby is being whistled at by a group of college boys. But, instead of shying away from the rowdy situation she takes the opportunity to change the situation around in an engaging and humorous way. What follows is an entertaining lesson by Aishwarya on the art of whistling. The guys are clean bowled not only by her uncommon talent but also her swashbuckling attitude. The commercial portrays Aishwarya as a salwar-kameez clad simple girl who teaches a lesson to the roadside teasers in a witty manner. This end result aptly captures the sign off 'Thande kA Tadka.' Aishwarya is in a totally unglamorous role but she sweeps the audience off their feet with her attitude, wit, and humor.

The Ad is conceptualized by adman Prasoon Joshi of McCann Erickson. Prasoon who is reported to have expressed elation for having used Aishwarya in this role. “I’ve taken the glamour quotient out of her persona, and utilised her acting abilities to communicate,” he told in an interview.

My analysis:

Why use Aishwarya and why release the Ad at this time of the calendar year ?

a.No doubt that Aishwarya is the brand ambassador of Coca Cola but her popularity after the 'Kajrare' number has soared as never before and Coca Cola saw it as the perfect time to capitalise on her strength for the long summer battle ahead.

b. The 'Thande Ka Tadka' campaign is using the newfound confidence of the youth as represented in the runaway hit Rang De Basanti. In the TV commercial, Aishwarya speaks out her mind through a storyline laced with humor.So MNC’s and other stalwarts have now realised that the non-city,non-metro market and audience is much bigger than that of the urban market and so based this theme with a perfect juxtaposition of India’s middle/small town boom with modernity.

c. The timing is also accurate as schools are going to be closed in a few days and in the northern part of India, summer vacations are already in progress. Since kids would be at home and most would be glued to the TV sets, so this is the best way to increase the sales. Next time they are out in the street, mall or a store this Ad flashes in their mind and they force their parents for this Coke bottle. “Mama mujhe bhi who TV wali 'Kajrare' aunty wala Coke chaahiyee”. Each new dimension when explored, gives the consumer yet another chance to strengthen his or her emotional connect with the brand.

An advertisement is a medium. It carries a message from a manufacturer or service provider to a customer. We all know that. But what we do not know, or care to, is that the medium often becomes the message. And the message, well, the message that the medium wanted to convey in the first place, is lost in a bewildering variety of frills. Take for instance the latest one from Pepsi camp in which Priyanka Chopra along with Kareena is endorsing Pepsi’s latest coffee-flavored fizz that’s likely to be called Cino, i.e. Cola with a dash of Cappuccino.What was the result, it was ultra flop……. Indian advertising, despite its slick, smart strides over the past few years, has not been able to get rid of its bagful of tricks that is clever by half.

The malaise in Indian advertising runs deeper than this. Often, technique is used not as complement but to the detriment of a commercial. Technique is a helpful ally, but lean a little too heavily on computer graphics and other catch gizmos, they blind a viewer with inaneness. Form must never be allowed to lead and cloud content. An advertisement can become soul-less, and ultimately, a useless piece of film or paper. One has to do a lot more here, because "technique can never substitute an idea". It can aid an idea. It can prop up one. The moment an advertisement is all sound and no stuff, all colors and no content, then it will not work. It is like writing a bad book, and printing it beautifully on art paper

But in this case Prasoon Joshi has done his homework well and for your info he has scripted a few songs and dialogues in RDB.

For Aish,its no more Salman or Vivek but who knows this summer the "Thande ka Tadka" may be the cool Junior B,"ekddum citty baajake".

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