The jury is out on the effectiveness of the recent Tata Sky-Dish TV ad war.
When Tata Sky launched its recent advertising campaign, ‘poochne mein kya jata hain’, encouraging consumers to ask questions, it must have fancied itself as propagating a noble cause. Its competitor, Dish TV though seems to have taken it as the perfect opportunity at one-upmanship, using the oldest trick in the book - spoofing.
Responding to Tata Sky’s ad, a Dish TV commercial showed all questions asked by the protagonist being answered even before he completes the questions. The message is Dish TV’s customers get so much already that they don’t need to ask for anything.
By doing so, Dish TV gave wind to the oft discussed issue of the effectiveness or the lack of it, of combative advertising.
Jagdeep Kapoor, CMD, Samsika Marketing Consultants, says combative advertising does not help brands build their equity. “Consumers buy products/services for the benefits they offer, not because they lack the faults of your competition. Companies must therefore focus on highlighting the positives of their own products rather than the negatives of their rivals.” Most importantly, combative advertising can result in a waste of monetary resources as well with competitors hitting out at each other. It can also leave consumers muddled, eventually unsure of what story line is being followed by which brand.
Some others differ. According to Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, categories looking at expanding their foot print can use combative advertising to create excitement in the category, provided, it is done right.
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For instance, unlike the Horlicks -Complan or Rin-Tide commercial wars of yesteryear, there are no direct comparisons in the case of Dish TV’s latest commercial. Competing products and their brand logos do not feature in the communication. The jabs are subtle. In fact, a consumer who hasn’t seen both commercials may not even be able to figure out the spoof.
Besides, like the Harbhajan Singh and M S Dhoni tussle earlier this year over the combative advertising techniques used by the respective liquor brands endorsed by the two, there are no legal notices, no resultant high strung drama and certainly no media devoting reams to the subject.
“Combative advertisements help brands by generating a buzz around the campaigns and a lot of editorial noise. For this, the communication should be a poke in the competitor’s eye and not mere jostling like this case,” says Bijoor. Hence, this combat is no combat. “Many say spoofs may also repulse a few consumers who don’t like brand bashing preferring for you to speak about your positives rather than the negatives of the competition. Moreover, spoofs distract the consumer and remind him of the existence of the competitive brand and needs to be dealt with carefully.
Take for instance, the print advertisement released by mobile phone manufacturer Micromax a few months back. It took a jab at Apple’s iPhone and pushed the affordability aspect of the Micromax model, while offering all the features. As per brand consultants, the advertisement may have grabbed eyeballs. But it also re-established the premium image of Apple as well by default.
As per Amjad Ali, executive creative director, Lowe Lintas, the advertising agency for Micromax, the advertisement was a one-time exercise, meant to state that innovation needn’t be expensive. “The idea was to make some noise and get out of it,” says Ali. That is also why the communication was restricted to the print medium. It was not a brand building exercise as pricing alone cannot be the basis for it.
Kapoor too concedes that if pricing is central to combative advertising as in the case of Tata Sky and Dish TV, then the category ends up being the biggest loser. Due to the mudslinging among companies, the category can lose its sheen and brands can be relegated to being mere commodities.
Despite its many pitfalls, brand consultants feel this advertising style cannot completely be written off though. Some product categories like technology driven products can use it well, complemented by statistics and numbers to establish their brand supremacy. The bottomline: use it to highlight your own plus points not otherwise.