Thursday, 1 August 2013

Cadbury's Perk - The energy run gone wrong?

Cadbury’s India(Mondelez International) recently aired its latest commercial on perk which is being called – ‘ Bhag ke shadi’. The ad is in continuation with the other ads offering the same brand promise. The ad is supposed to reinforce the benefit of high energy as is showcased by its previous commercials and how it makes life fun. But have they been able to do that successfully this time around?

No doubt that this ad is probably the most interesting, funny and eye-catching among the series of ads aired with the same brand promise of perk being a quick source of glucose energy and creating fun moments. This has made the ‘shadi’ ad one of the more talked about ads in the industry circles and has also generated quite a few positive responses on the theme and execution of the ad and how it has attracted and made its audience laugh.

My personal take is that the ‘shadi’ ad is a diversion in the theme from its earlier ads, doesn’t manifest the brand promise as succinctly and most importantly, which we fail to recognize – is too funny for a message to piggyback.

The two most significant reasons why emotions like humour and fear are incorporated in an advertisement are –
  • Get the audience’s attention on the go
  • Allow the brand message/communication/promise to piggyback on this emotion

Unfortunately, the ‘Shadi’ ad does a wonderful job on the first point but fails miserably on the second account. This is because the ad is too funny for the audience to give notice to the message tried to be communicated by the brand and a surprising irrelevance between the message and the theme chosen.
Some might argue that the idea of running while getting married reinforces the idea of high energy due to consumption of glucose rich perk and well, it’s a fun way of living life. Really?  

The other ads on the ‘glucose energy’ platform were interesting as well as funny and did demonstrate the ‘energy’ and ‘fun’ aspect quite clearly.

Jogging Ad (Click to watch video)– Very clearly the ad shows that the man is up for another set of workout (jogging) after having the glucose rich perk and the lighter moment of daughter tricking her father to meet her friend makes the ad naughty and funny.

Chase Ad (Click to watch video) – A college chase of a boy by three girls to tie rakhi on his hand and how he outruns them easily, thanks to the glucose rich perk, puts the message in broad daylight for its audience. The theme of the advertisement also emphasize on the “life ke mazey lo” aspect.

Doors Ad (Click to watch video)- A boy who is too tired to fight a burglar in his building due to a tiring 'collection day', finds the energy to fight him with the help of perk. The ad clearly shows how perk with its rich glucose ingredients makes it a quick and effective source of energy.

 Shadi Ad (Click to watch video) - This ad is all about a fun theme but with no relevant context. How could a running-wedding ever be fun to anyone? The idea of characters in the ad to think of having a running-wedding because they just ate perk is even more absurd. Unlike the other two ads, this ad through its execution doesn’t tell its audience that perk is a rich of glucose and there can be real-life fun moments by consuming it.


To add, the advertisement without a strong and clear message is too funny for people to remember if it was an ad for perk or jogging shoes or a matrimony site.

In the opening scene, the female actor says that her father started crying on hearing about wedding and the next thing she come up with is to run away and get married. A little insensitive, isn’t it?

This ad sure must have given laughs to its audience but I’m not sure if perk can expect any perks from this one.

Cheers,


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