Ad Nauseum..
Not too many years ago, I was convinced that I was headed for a career in advertising and marketing. Even today, I admit I am intrigued by the thought of manipulating words and pictures to create brand equity and images that sell. I tried my hand at it when I was selected to be a copywriter in one of India's premier ad agencies when I was 17 or so. Oh, what an experience that was! I can't remember when I have had more fun (apart from college, of course)! I met the most interesting people, saw some really cool work, and experienced a lot of great things. What I didn't do a whole lot of, of course, was work! That summer helped me realize that I didn't want to get into the industry because I thought it was dirty, corrupt, and built on shallow images despite its glitz, glamor and excitement. (And today I am at the threshold of entering another dirty, corrupt industry - consulting..go figure!)
Anyway, I still think of some advertising as art, and today I came across a collection of ads on the CBS website which are kind of a countdown to the Superbowl. Superbowl Sunday is the day lots of highly anticipated but highly hush hush ads are released, so I guess it's a big deal for the advertising industry here.
While few of these can be mistaken for real art, I still recall some ads that have an irreplaceable place in my mind. I remember sniffling at one of the Titan watch ads in India, smiling at the Pepsi ad with Cindy Crawford and Norman Pheeney - Pepsi drinker for life! Speaking of Pepsi, can't forget the ad with Aamir Khan, Mahima Chaudhary and Ash..Sanju?! I remember chuckling at the Ericson "One black coffee please" ad, and launching a mad hunt for the background track on one of the old Levi's ads (FYI, the mad hunt lasted for years and resulted in this little detail - the song is "Glory Box" sung by a group called Portishead). I still think I got a lot of news from the Amul butter ads on the billboards, that changed with the times, and were sure to get a laugh out of you. Some ads you remember thanks to their being repeated ad nauseum (pardon the pun), while some you remember for their pure genius, like this ad.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Anyway, I still think of some advertising as art, and today I came across a collection of ads on the CBS website which are kind of a countdown to the Superbowl. Superbowl Sunday is the day lots of highly anticipated but highly hush hush ads are released, so I guess it's a big deal for the advertising industry here.
While few of these can be mistaken for real art, I still recall some ads that have an irreplaceable place in my mind. I remember sniffling at one of the Titan watch ads in India, smiling at the Pepsi ad with Cindy Crawford and Norman Pheeney - Pepsi drinker for life! Speaking of Pepsi, can't forget the ad with Aamir Khan, Mahima Chaudhary and Ash..Sanju?! I remember chuckling at the Ericson "One black coffee please" ad, and launching a mad hunt for the background track on one of the old Levi's ads (FYI, the mad hunt lasted for years and resulted in this little detail - the song is "Glory Box" sung by a group called Portishead). I still think I got a lot of news from the Amul butter ads on the billboards, that changed with the times, and were sure to get a laugh out of you. Some ads you remember thanks to their being repeated ad nauseum (pardon the pun), while some you remember for their pure genius, like this ad.
And that's all I have to say about that.
posted by RTD2 at 2:11 PM
5 Comments:
I think ads in India really rock. THey are smarter, more insightful, less loud, and have more than a semblance of intelligence. The ads on American TV make you wonder why they have to be loud and dumbed down.
By the way, your second link is pointing to the exact same place as the first one. You might want to update it.
Thanks! It should work now..
One ad I remember is the 'jalebi' ad from Dhara. And Amul ads are a class apart. I think sometime in the future their collection will be used by historians to sketch out a history of events in modern India.
BTW as a aside, since I dont know ur mail-id, I was wondering if we cud swap links on our blogs.
Like this? (Check side panel)
Exactly like this.
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