#BlastFromThePast is Storyboard18’s weekly column where we ask young creative professionals to pick old ads that they replay time and again, spots that give them writing inspiration, and commercials that never get old. This week Nikhil Narayanan, creative head, Pine Labs, shares ads that from the past that are hard to skip even now, and a book that shaped his career.
Read on.
Onida’s Devil (1980)
The first ad that comes to mind is the Onida Devil. This one was memorable in more ways than one. The first reason obviously being The Devil. It was a never-before-seen character for us Indian audiences, because The Devil is a western concept. Our understanding of evil mostly revolved around the Asuras from our mythology and such.
So to the horned, green beast with an evil grin was a fresh take. The messaging was also bang on – “Neighbour’s Envy. Owner’s Pride.” Both the mascot and the line became so popular, or should I say notorious, it’s forever etched in my memory.
Hamara Bajaj (1989)
The second commercial that left a deep impression would be the “Hamara Bajaj” commercial. We don’t make jingles like that anymore. This one in particular, evoked a sense of pride, or in my case, a sense of patriotism. I remember getting goosebumps every time this ad aired. The entire family gathered around the TV to watch this commercial. It was a time when there wasn’t an option to switch channels during commercial breaks – because DD National was the only channel. But I have a strange feeling that even if there were options available, this ad would’ve been hard to skip.
Book – “A Double Life” by Alyque Padamsee (1999)
Instead of a third ad, I would like to refer to an advertising book that convinced me to pick advertising as a career. It was “A Double Life” by Alyque Padamsee. The advertising life of the legend was an unputdownable read. The tales were so fascinating. The stories behind stories.
Iconic commercials and how they were born. And above all, the madness that was agency life. When I finally put the book down, my mind was pretty much made up of advertising, and more precisely copywriting, as what I wanted to do for a living.