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 – Pidilite
Agency – Sideways
2023 has indeed opened with a bang with a host of commercials highlighting fresh ideas. Pidilite’s commercial by Sideways, which released on December 21 left us spellbound at all levels. The ad does a good job at keeping viewers anticipating and wondering throughout with the help of its unique and out of the box storyline. What scores the ad film a thumbs up is the clever inclusion of humour and highlighting the aid that the product provides to the convict without the addition of unnecessary drama which could have deviated from the storyline. A great one to watch.
MEH
Brand – Sofit India
Agency – Not mentioned
Sofit’s recent ad features actors “fit and fab” actors Disha Patani and John Abraham. Patani expresses frustration for not being able to find a hook-step of a dance sequence for a show. As the ad film progresses, it does arouse an interest to continue watching. But, while Patani found her hook step eventually, this spot didn’t quite leave us hooked. Watch to find out why. The ad scores a Meh but it had the potential to get a thumbs up.
MAST
Brand – AIS Windows
Agency – Enormous Brands
When you watch this 35-seconder, you will feel hopeful about advertising. It’s entertaining and engaging right from the beginning. It is visually funny which makes you curious. There are almost no words tied into the film. Moreover, the climax is just pure genius. We never thought watching a commercial for a noise-canceling windows brand can be this fun. The amount of creativity cleverly infused in such a short commercial left us stumped. This one gets a super Mast from us.
MAST
Brand – Smallcase
Writers – Devaiah Bopanna, Tanmay Bhat, and team
It’s not the first time we have seen ‘kidults’ featuring in Indian ads. However, what makes this spot fun is the script and the product integration. It has everything that a good ad should possess – clean writing smartly leading into the brand proposition, and humor in just the right quantity. It ticked all boxes. A great watch indeed.
MAST
Brand – Red Label
Agency – Ogilvy India
Red Label’s new campaign continues on the larger narrative of connecting strangers over a cup of time. In the new ad, an old lady is seen making special efforts to bring tea for attendants of patients at a hospital who spend hours waiting at a stretch. The heartwarming campaign reaffirms the idea of kindness and places the product right in the centre of the story seamlessly. This is another gem from the brand. A genuine Mast watch in our opinion.
MEH
Brand – Rungta Steel TMT Bar
Agency – Cineyug
Rungta Steel’s campaign is a classic example of how to NOT use celebrity endorsers. The new ad features Bollywood celebrity couple Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor discussing how strong the brand’s steel bars are. Bhatt is seen mumbling about why the brand is superior throughout the film. It’s boring and repetitive and without any recall value. Nothing new and interesting under the sun. The creativity here is certainly not as strong as steel.
MAST
Brand – Zomato
Agency – In-house
Aren’t we all fans of deconstructed food? The chef dismantles the ingredients and focuses on the core taste. Sounds absolutely sublime, doesn’t it? This new ad film from Zomato is sort of a deconstructed one where the creative team is narrating the idea of an ad which is super funny by the way and in the process creating a great ad that delivers the message just right. A hilarious spot from Zomato. We’re glad haters didn’t find a controversy in this one.
MEH
Brand – Nexus Malls
Produced by – Corcoise. Directed by – Prasoon Pandey
Full marks on getting an ambassador (Amitabh Bachchan) that has a huge reach and influence along with brand value, and a legacy production house plus legendary ad film director. However, a little extra effort in terms of putting together a watchable ad would have been great for this new film from Nexus Mall. The 50-seconds spot is a vanilla ad where Bachchan is seen saying nice things about the product that he is endorsing. Waste of a brand ambassador as big as senior Bachchan. The only colour we’re feeling right now is blue after witnessing it.
MAST
Brand – Lenskart
Produced by – Shakun Batra and Joust Films
Writers – Tanmay Bhat, Puneet Chadha, Devaiah Bopanna, Deep Joshi and Vishal Dayama
When you think of over the top drama, an eccentric fashion sense, a love for designer wear and an iconic pair of eye glasses, Karan Johar is bound to pop up in one’s mind. For someone known to not shy away from spending huge sums of money on glitz and glam, one wouldn’t typically expect him to wear anything less than an unjustifiably expensive designer brand. In this ad by Lenskart, we see KJo trying to reach the founder of Lenskart, Peyush Bansal to argue about the very low prices of their eyewear. He argues that though the designs and quality are great, he cannot be seen wearing anything that costs lesser than one lakh rupees. Cheekily incorporating the fact that Lenskart uses no middlemen hence, the low prices. A very clever premise with the appropriate use of both a celebrity and the founder of the brand. Make sure to not miss this one, it is one lakh percent a Mast watch.