WHAT I’VE LIKED
Say “Peace!”…with a smile
Just like Xerox and Walkman, Colgate is a brand that is synonymous with the category, in this case — a bright, healthy smile. Given such a monumental heritage, the recent Colgate TVC — “Smile please”, couldn’t get more relevant. Yet at the same time it manages to be refreshing and original. A huge task, in such a done-to-death category.
Three or four very charming slices-of-life collaged together make for an endearing and extremely watchable and memorable ad. And shows us all that a multitude of sins are instantly forgiven when you smile that charming “I’m sorry” smile. An ad so so simple, it gives the viewer the feeling that anyone could have thought about it – but for those in the know, it is pretty clear that cracking an idea like this, in an overdone category like toothpaste, is truly a flash of brilliance. To be so universally relevant, yet at the same time to be so refreshing is not an easy task at all. So hats off to the team who has stumbled on a real winner this time.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
Can brilliance and dependability ever co-exist?
As an agency head for what was virtually decades, this question has always been the bane of my existence. I’ve come across many brilliant people during that time. And I’ve come across many dependable people too. But finding both qualities in one human being? Well…that was like finding a diamond in the dust. There was a brilliant writer I once knew, who truly had his moments. But could I ever commit to the client depending on him — never.
Every time I would promise the client I would deliver on a specific date, there he would be, sitting moodily at his desk with not a word written down. And I would be at my wits’ end wondering how I would explain the delay! Then, when he would finally get his thoughts down, it would be so breathtaking that one look at the ad and all would be forgiven. At the other end of the spectrum, I had a driver who too, was brilliant in his own way. I am notoriously over-reactive when I am being driven around, but this was one driver who was faultless.
But, I had to let him go because of his extremely unreliable sense of time. I found this trait in a totally unrelated field as well – we had a training specialist who was so brilliant that he literally molded fine performers out of gauche, untrained beginners. But he too finally wore us down with his unreliability, sauntering into office at 11 am with a devil-may-care air. And then again there are the dependable types who will never let you down come rain or shine…but their performance rarely gives you goose-bumps.
But yet I do know brilliance and dependability can co-exist – after all, discipline is an acquired trait and can be taught, which is why they say it reflects upbringing. Brilliance however, is a gift and if parents spot talent in their children early and enlist them in classical education, it can be productive. As in riaz, regardless of how brilliant you are, your talent is subjected to gruelling hours of disciplined practice which contributes in creating maestros in the true sense of the word. In fact, classical performers are distinguishable by their adherence to discipline. This training filters into other spheres of living as well! Perhaps that was why the guru-shisya parampara yielded many more dependable and brilliant performers in our glorious past. Maybe its time to revive at least a little bit of it?
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