9 most clutter-breaking commercials of 2011

As we end the year, we thought we’d do a wrap on TV commercials that entertained viewers the most this year. If you agree with any or all, tell us in  the comments section why; the same if you disagree. Have a suggestion for inclusions or exclusions, write in, and, based on reader opinions, we’ll undo this list and consign it to the dustbin. [caption id=“attachment_164649” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Screen Grab from the Hero Commercial via YouTube.”] [/caption] What’s common to all these commercials is the fact that none features a celebrity. Indigo Airlines It’s difficult to entertain when the brief is to ensure that all the features of a product are to be highlighted in communication. It’s even more difficult when a brand has done brilliantly with an earlier piece of communication. That’s why this commercial for Indigo is brilliant. The musical lifts the ‘announcements’ of the laundry list of features so that the commercial is not boring and humdrum. Once you’ve seen it and smiled to yourself having enjoyed it, you don’t even realise that all you’ve done is to listen to a list of features. Great stuff. Airtel Till this TVC, the communication for this brand received a battering from consumers and communication experts alike. The new corporate identity, launched with much fanfare, including a mutilation of the Times of India’s masthead, was a damp squib. That’s why the new commercial, Har ek friend, was so refreshing; one was used to seeing lack-lustre work in a category where all other major players, such as Vodafone, Idea and DoCoMo, seem to entertain with ease. Our favourite? The kanjoos friend in the follow up to this, the launch commercial. Hum mein hai hero Almost the most difficult task is when an old, established company is reconstituted or renamed. When Hero Honda looked at a future without Honda, to become just plain Hero, the task was tough. With a name like Hero, it must have been very tempting (and rational) to use heroes in the communication, especially since the brand, in the old avatar, relied heavily on celebrities in communication. The only celebrity in this commercial is invisible; it’s the voice of AR Rahman. The TVC has many heroes, though, they’re the people you see next door, a bit like you and me. There’s a hero in each of us, says the great TVC. Center Fresh This is tough as well. Just think: how do you market chewing gum except by showing gum being chewed, which is not the prettiest sight one could imagine? Center Fresh has been doing this continuously, entertainingly. Last year, it was the jugalbandi, and this year it’s a beautifully crafted story of a bank robbery which goes wrong, thanks to – not chewing gum for long enough. What we love the most? All the casting, especially the bank teller and the robber. Times of India Chennai How do you describe how sleepy a city is? By showing people sleeping of course – in situations where you just do not expect it. The Times of India has repeatedly got it right with their communication, and, when they attempt to consolidate their position in sleepy Chennai and announce that, with their arrival, the city will wake up, they get it right again. The choice of music is perfect; as Chennai as one could achieve. The commercial calls Chennai a sleepy city without Chennaiites taking umbrage. That’s the tough bit, and that’s a bit the commercial handles brilliantly. Volkswagen Jetta You’re born lucky. You have something no one else has, and something man has been seeking from time immemorial. You have wings, you have the ability to fly; you can do things that no other person on this earth can do. You’re a superhero, loved, celebrated and feted. Would you ever give up your wings? For anything on earth? Yes, you would, only for a Volkswagen Jetta. The commercial is certainly over the top, but just short of irritatingly over the top. It’s entertainingly over the top, and that’s why it works so well. Flipkart In a country where there is so much resistance to making online purchases, the challenge if you’re an e-retailer is significant. Flipkart faces the challenge, trying to explain that online purchasing is so easy, that even kids could do it. They use a predictable route – showing kids talking about an online purchase. The disruption is that the kids are having an adult conversation, and have adult voices. Scores big on an important factor in communication – you do not forget it. Does it entertain? Yes, yes, yes. Vodafone Facebook This is really, really tough. You’re a mobile service provider – and you need to create communication for a product whose success depends on a brand that is bigger than yours. That was the challenge for Vodafone when they had to market Vodafone Blue, a handset which, to succeed, had to be imprinted in the minds of the consumer as the best way to Facebook. Similar to the Indigo commercial (Vodafone did it first), they use a musical route to subtly list all the things you could do with the phone on Facebook. The TVC identified YOU, you, who are always on Facebook. Of course, it entertains as well! Mahindra Rise Mahindra experiments with cultural movements as opposed to vanilla adverising. No, that’s not correct. Mahindra commits itself to cultural movements. Unlike many commercials that seem to mirror movements, Mahindra truly attempts to spark the rise. This one will take some time to seep in, till the results of the exercise are in. Till then, the question: does this commercial make you think differently about Mahindra? Yes, it does. It’s not boring and stodgy anymore. It’s young, exciting and vibrant.