Advertisements have always been a great way for brands to market their products and services. However, it has always been a hit or miss situation. Not all brands come up with great advertisements. Some have positive lasting impacts and some we would just love to forget. Storyboard18’s weekly ad reviews filter through the past weeks ads, letting you know which ones were the best and which ones weren’t quite up to mark. We provide you with completely unbiased and unfiltered opinions that are fun to read and paint a clear picture. Read on to find out which ads were in our professional opinions, MAST and which were MEH in this week’s Mast & Meh.
MAST
Brand – Cadbury 5 Star
Agency – Ogilvy India, Mumbai
We think this is one of the smartest advertising campaigns to have come out in 2022. The brand lived up to its tagline and did nothing for the campaign. It just simplified its logo into a graphic of five stars. That’s about it. While other brands go all out advertising in-apps, 5 Star’s design strategy will remind all users about the brand every time an app asks them for a rating on the scale of 5 stars. Basically, every app, in a way is an advertisement for 5 Star without an intention to being so. Sometimes brands really don’t need to do much to grab consumers’ attention.
MEH
Brand – Bournvita, #FaithNotForce
Agency – Ogilvy India, Mumbai
The core of this campaign was powerful. However, the execution of it was forced. The brand transformed the Bournvita jar, found in every household and forced it to become something they weren’t destined to be- a toilet cleaner jar, an egg box, tissue paper box, a glass cleaner bottle, a ketchup bottle, a soap box, a cooking oil bottle. Reminding parents to give their children the choice to do what they want. The film, which looked like a social experiment, seemed as if it was created as a case study for an award show. Even if we could put all of this aside, for a brand that has created impactful ads over the years, this one was a total miss. We say that because it overemphasised a point way too much. #FaithNotForce is what even we would like to remind the brand and agency.
MAST
Brand – Amazon Pay
Campaign – #AbHarDinHuaAasan
Let’s be honest. Since digital payment gateways have become the new way forward, life has never been this blissful. The ease and comfort of digital payments via Amazon Pay has been aptly captured in this musical campaign #AbHarDinHuaAasan. Right from Amazon Pay being beneficial to a shopkeeper and a rickshaw driver to adding value in terms of accounting and bookkeeping. The ad scores a Mast for adding freshness to the category.
MEH
Brand – Pepsi
Campaign – ‘More Fizz, More Refreshing’
Did Salman Khan’s presence add fizz to the ad or did it just fizzle out? That’s the question that constantly hammers our brains after watching this commercial. As the ad opened with actor Varun Mitra and his onscreen partner at a Pepsi diner, interest along with the curiosity to want to know what would happen next, was piqued. As soon as Khan passed the glass of chilled Pepsi to Mitra. In our opinion that was predictable and reflected lazy writing. Brands are still fixated on the impact of celebrity-power rather than valuing power of strong content.
MAST
Brand – 82°E
Agency – Spring Marketing Capital
How does one define self-care? It could be allowing yourself to sleep five minutes longer, pushing yourself to follow an exercise routine or simply relishing your favourite food. That’s what the latest campaign of Deepika Padukone’s new skincare brand 82°E depicts. It’s a visual collage capturing women practising everyday self-care rituals while also caring for their skin. The film evokes a sense of calmness and serenity that leaves you feeling relaxed. This is a great start to introduce a brand and its message. A definite Mast in our books.
MEH
Brand – Mamaearth
Agency – In house
Winter season is upon us and we are already being inundated with cold creams and lotion ads. Mamaearth’s new ad for Honey Malai Cold Cream plays to the category codes. Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra is seen talking about the ingredients and how the brand is toxin free in typical fashion. Nothing new under the sun. It is just another boring winter cream ad.
MAST
Brand – Marico
Agency – WPP
Marico’s flagship initiative, Parachute Kalpavriksha Foundation launched a new campaign to pay tribute to India’s farming communities. The spot narrates how the company sees a nurturer in every farmer. The beautiful images and videos from across the green fields and picturesque landscapes of India along with a soothing voiceover does the magic for this ad film. Simplicity in implementation without diluting the narrative of the brand’s message makes this ad a sure shot Mast for us.
MEH
Brand – ICICI Direct
Agency – NEXT by Rediffusion
This spot from ICICI Direct promoting their new Algo Trading feature is confusing. There is no proper explanation on what the feature is and how it helps consumers. For the uninitiated, the ad would be difficult to decipher. A better script could have done more justice to the product.