Humorous approach to serious products

AGK Speak

What I've Liked
The rapidly growing health oil segment has many dominant players; a majority of which play out the dangers of careless oil consumption and then recommend their own brand as the life-saving option.

So when I came across a slickly executed lighthearted approach to this normally 'serious' product, I was curious.

Chances are that most of you wouldn't have seen the Supreme Sunflower oil ad as it's only in Tamil.

A series of humorous, not offensive, visual sketches chalk out the everyday travails of carrying around a 'larger than life' tummy.

For instance, it gets in the way of the lift doors closing in, in a slightly crowded lift, the calibration on a bathroom scale disappears under the looming horizon of the tummy and the poor chap can't see how much he weighs.

The ads carry on like this. All the while, a sympathetic male voice points out that life is quite difficult when you have a thope (paunch). Tastefully done, it's a radical departure from the conventional routes.

Universally, whenever a change of lifestyle/habits is propositioned, there are a couple of typical creative routes - fear is one (as used for cigarette smoking) and humour is another.

There is enough empirical data to argue the effectiveness of both. But this is the first time that I have come across a humorous take in the health oil segment.

The ad definitely works on a number of parameters - it leaps out of the clutter for a hilarious 60 seconds, it has created a strong brand identity for Supreme with its unique positioning-Thope (paunch) Control Oil.

It will definitely have a strong brand recall, I'm sure, because it is single-minded in its approach and it has a strong visual identity - the omnipresent paunch (the enemy).

Most definitely a memorable TVC, which makes you think after the smiles fade, and would make an interesting case study if it is tracked.

What I've Learned
Corruption's time in the sun

Somebody once remarked that it is not the good guy or the bad guy who wins the race at the end of the day. It is he who has the most energy.

Of late it looks like the corrupt have popped an energy pill while the scrupulous seem to be running out of steam.

There used to be a time in the 50s and the 60s (any old Hindi movie will prove this) when idealism in government existed and you fought the corrupt tooth and nail.

In the 70s and the 80s you needed only one tool to push a file through in any administrative set-up-either you used your old school friend/contacts network or money power.

Today you need both "" friends in high places and money. Your friends now demand money to get the job done!

In my long career, I have come across the corrupt in many avatars. Once I had the good fortune of interacting with a government servant over some unjustified payments.

I realised that all he wanted was to be paid off so I went over to his senior's home (who happened to be my neighbour) and the issue was sorted out.

I met with the disgruntled employee later who grumbled that the senior (my neighbour) himself was a chronic bribe taker, so how dare he stop him from taking some!

Since then, I've had many such encounters and everytime I feel that I've seen corruption reach its nadir. But I was shocked more than ever recently.

My cousin has just passed away and her husband needed to collect some of her papers from her longtime colleague and friend.

He was greeted by her most sympathetically, offered tea and then politely informed him that he should pay her if he wanted the papers! Bribe from a dead friend's husband? So what's next I wonder.

If your soul sister can demand a bribe, can brothers, fathers, mothers, children be far behind?

So we come to an age-old question answered perfectly by Yudhishthir during their exile. Draupadi asked him, "Why be good when the bad are doing so well for themselves and, clearly, you are not?" His reply, "Because you have to be" indicated that when morals break down society will collapse.

Simple. So here's my energy pill for the scrupulous-the corrupt do have an expiry date. So hang in there.

agkbrandconsult@yahoo.com