Pleasant surprises

AGKSPEAK

Why HDFC has got its target audience's psyche well mapped, and why fear motivates us so.

What I've Liked
When you think about it, the new TVC for HDFC's Pension Plans is just another story about a boy who longs for a bike and his Dada buys it for him. So why then do I think it is special enough to talk about it? Because every time I watch the commercial, it reminds me of my mother. And how she used to hate asking me for money.

Despite the fact that it would always be unquestioningly handed over. The fact that she was not economically independent and had never been so all her life, was something that she really longed to change. But she was born in a different age.

When it was expected for sons to take over their father's role as "Ruler of the Wallet" when he retired. This is why every time I watch the HDFC TVC, I'm eternally grateful that we live in a different India today. Where senior citizens can fund themselves through their old age and have a little left over to indulge in little things like their grandkids' not-so-fancy desires. I love this ad especially because they've got their insight absolutely right.

There is nothing sweeter than the joy of financial independence. Especially when you are no longer the breadwinner for your home. And this ad addresses this issue brilliantly. Nothing flashy. Nothing profound.

A simple statement that the grandfather tells his son, as he turns down the money, at the very end of the ad "" "Take it, otherwise, I'll feel bad" "" says it all. Written to the heart and very clearly from the heart, this ad begins as innocently as all family dramas normally begin "" with nothing more than a passing remark (in this case quite literally).

Then, like all family dramas, this too escalates into bigger "life" issues but over a smooth 30 seconds. The nice thing about this story though, is that there are only pleasant surprises all the way. The son surprising us with his remarkable sensitivity for his father's feelings, by offering to fund the gift.

The father in turn, surprising us by turning it down because he bought the bike with his own money. It is indeed a truly deftly handled story with just the right levels of emotion and rationale to draw you in and leave you feeling grateful that there are ways in which you can still hold your head high even when you are well past your prime.

What I've Learned
Fear: Our Most Effective Agent of Change
Isn't it ironical that despite all our emphasis on positive reinforcement, words of encouragement, morale boosting lectures et al, nothing brings about serious change as effectively as a strong dose of good, old-fashioned fear?

Unfortunately most of us are so lax in our ethics and civic senses, that the fear of getting caught, or of getting shamed in public, or of paying a huge penalty, or the ultimate-the fear of the "gravy" being taken away, seems to be the only way to set us back on the right path.

I learned this first hand as chairman of Mudra. Most employees, by and large, don't indulge in petty theft but there are many who have questionable personal ethics, like a senior manager whom I've had to discreetly encourage to leave, as he had a penchant for adding zeroes to his food bills!

Or take the case of one of our peons who decided to pocket the money he made from selling off the agency's daily accumulation of newspapers. For those not very familiar with advertising agencies, this works out to quite a tidy pile as agencies are sent countless free copies (many of them from a single publication) of every printed newspaper and magazine, in every single language in the country.

When these employees were fired, it sent out a very clear message to the rest that the agency did not tolerate theft. Clearly, fear of losing their job in disgrace was a strong deterrent. Just as fear of a hefty fine and a night in a foreign jail is adequate to make many of us magically control our usually uncontrollable saliva, urine, phlegm and other excretions in Singapore and other countries abroad.

Fear of creaking and groaning through old age, spending one's hard money in hospitals rather than on that hill retreat one was saving for, is a powerful incentive for many middle-aged men and women to hit the tarmac or the neighbourhood gym.

I fervently hope that the recent spate of MPs with sticky hands getting caught in the act, and that too on national television, will at least induce some semblance of fear in the consciences of the rest "" and become a harbinger of a much, much awaited change.

I guess when the carrot fails to motivate, it's time for the stick to get into the act.

Email: agkbrandconsult@yahoo.com