Not just the cricket: India vs Pakistan match also saw audiences judge the TV ads

Piyush Pandey, Chairman of Ogilvy India and South Asia, has often said that Indian TV audiences, unlike audiences elsewhere in the world, actually wait for ad breaks – so that they can see the ads and be entertained by them. In another era, they saw the ads, liked them, were unmoved by them or hated them – and these opinions would be shared with friends and family. [caption id=“attachment_2100985” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  YouTube screengrab.[/caption] That era is dead. In a world of social media, ads get discussed – and judgments on the ads are passed – in real time. Watching the feedback on social media could be exhilarating – or downright cruel. Yesterday, as the Indian and Pakistani teams were fighting for a win and for bragging rights, TV audiences dissected each and every TV commercial that was broadcast. They watched, they judged and they updated their statuses. Ogilvy and Piyush Pandey make the cut. Their film for Fevikwik gets almost universally positive reviews. In a nutshell, this was the judgment:

In the Indian ad world today clearly #Pidilite was the winner and #reckittbenckiser the loser #fevikwik #dettol @ravitejasharma @dtiwari

— Meenakshi V Ambwani (@meenaambwani) February 15, 2015

If Ogilvy and Pidilite (manufacturers of Fevikwik) have reasons to smile, Dettol clearly does not. The worst comment, perhaps, is this one:

This Dettol Dettol ad is the reason people hate taking a bath.

— camardard pnkj 🇮🇳 (@AskThePankazzzz) February 15, 2015

It wasn’t Dettol alone that took a beating. Thankfully, Dettol had company.

Close contest between Lays and Dettol for worst ad of the day

— AN (@ajith27) February 15, 2015

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What were people saying about Lay’s? How bad was the ad? This comment says it in less than 140 characters:

The easiest way to make people hate a heartthrob like Ranbir Kapoor is to put him in a maha irritating Lays ad.

— Dr Nandita Iyer (@saffrontrail) February 15, 2015

This is the new world, where the Cannes Jury matters little. At awards shows such as Cannes, you either win or you do not. You do not get panned. And, of course, these awards shows come once a year. Welcome to the new world, where, every second, there’s a judgment being made about your ad by someone who is watching it. Welcome to the new chairman of the jury – the consumer.