Hindu TV ad: Great message, but where’s the connect?

“Today, we’ll have a political discussion on the Rural Development Bill. Those on my left will speak in favour of the motion and those on my right will speak against it and I want proper parliamentary behaviour. So let’s start,” says the lecturer to a classroom full of students in a new television commercial for The Hindu. The first speaker rises and begins to speak. Before he can finish the first sentence, members of the team opposing his position descend on him – and there’s pandemonium. Students are scuffling with each other, chairs are thrown and broken, papers are flung. The lecturer, meanwhile, says something, lost in the din of the shouting by the students. Those uninvolved in the fracas are busy recording the event on their camera phones. The din is muted, giving way to music. “Behave yourself, India. The youth are watching,” says a slate. Take a look at the commercial here. While the film is both entertaining and well produced, it’s the logo at the end of the commercial that perplexes. What is The Hindu trying to say in this commercial – and to whom? Are they warning politicians that this is the state that they have reduced the parliament to, that what we see in the TVC is what India’s youth believe ‘proper parliamentary behaviour’ really is? After all, that is what they see on TV if they had watched clips of parliament in session during the past year or two. Or is The Hindu trying to say that the paper is watching them, on behalf of the youth of the country – and they will report on, analyse and criticise such behaviour? Or is it a simple public service message that The Hindu is happy to support? [caption id=“attachment_506985” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Screen grab from the Advertisement.[/caption] Or are we over analyzing this commercial, and all that The Hindu wanted was a commercial that entertained – which it certainly does? The TVC was uploaded on to social media sites yesterday, and, by today, the many of the responses and comments refer to The Hindu and most of the reactions are clearly positive. As this is being written, the YouTube link has received almost 8,000 views, with almost 300 ‘liking’ the TVC – and just ONE registering his or her dislike. With the war between The Hindu and The Times of India is hotting up in Chennai, two facets of the war that The Times of India was winning hands down, till last year, were in the share of voice and top of mind recall, thanks to their advertising. If The Hindu wanted an increased share of voice and increased ToM recall, this TVC delivers on that. Or maybe we could just forget all the analysis. Just enjoy the commercial, and leave it at that.