Madhukar Sabnavis: The year on hindsight

It was a year of casting, performances and execution

What were the best ads of 2005? This is a difficult question to answer. In the course of 2006, various juries from Cannes to the Indian Abbies to effective judgment panels will pass their verdicts looking at the work through their respective lens. Yet, for me""an advertising professional""it's tempting to rewind and make a list of personal favourites for the year and share them. The focus is on TV as it is the dominant medium. So here is my list of the top 25 TV commercials for the year""not in any order of ranking.

An automobile is a very emotional possession. Yet, most advertising tends to be cliched, talking about power, speed or mileage and showing beautiful pictures of a vehicle driving through wonderful locations. This year four brands did things differently. Tata Indica stayed in its territory of "more car per car". However, its "Salesman" execution built on an interesting insight that most car salesmen will say anything to complete a sale. In fact, the salesman disbelieves himself when he says a truth! The casting and acting make the ad zing. Toyota Innova "Amir Khan" commercial says more space but does so with a difference""multiple Amir Khans, in get-ups of his famous roles, seeking a lift from an Innova on a highway. Tata Safari and Bajaj Avenger go emotional to sell their brands. Tata Safari Dicor "Reclaim your life" taps into the SUV mindset. The shot of the vehicle coming out from behind the rock is perhaps the "frame of 2005". Bajaj Avenger "Feel like God" has rather familiar autovisuals""rider riding through the great outdoors. But it's the audio behind the visuals that captures the spirit of freedom and irreverence a true biker feels""and makes the brand inspirational.

Price communication is difficult. Most often it ends up being treated as tactical. Two brands defied this. Hutch's "Chota Recharge" advertising retains the class we strongly associate with Hutch, and yet connects with the mass. The script, the casting of Irfan Khan, his acting, and his dialogue delivery make for engaging viewing. The Air Deccan "The man and the sky" commercial makes the point of "anyone can fly" by tapping into the fairly common dream of little kids flying using pictures and models of aircraft! Coming on the back of Air Deccan's last year's Abbey winner, this is a double hit from the brand on a price message. Airtel's "Paanwallah" and "Restaurant" are classic tactical stuff. Yet there is something very endearing about the executions""the casting and the acting making them lovable.

It's difficult to do interesting stuff on routine purchase products especially if one believes there is need to continuously re-inforce product stories. Surf's "Daag Acha Hai" builds on the paradox "Dirt is good" to connect. It is true that kids love playing in muck and a brand that recognises this and legitimises it is both sensitive to life and kids. Lifebuoy's "Little Gandhi" is bold""it makes the leap from a boring personal wash product to connect with social cleanliness.

Big Ideas are at one level easy to take forward but at another level it's often difficult to do a follow-up ad. SBI Life's "Two sisters" comes on the back of last year's classic "Diamond Ring". Yet it engages the viewer and does not make him miss the previous advertising. Fevicol does it again with its "kid and the desert" commercial. It is reminiscent of the best work the brand has done over the years""the Bus, the Shadow, the TV and the Egg commercials. Built on the insight that it's tough to keep kids in one spot, it positions Fevicol as the glue that makes this possible. The power of this execution is in its lateral connection! The Times of India "Pakiya" commercial does a new take on "a day in the life of India". After years of poking fun at the idiosyncrasies of India, the brand takes a more emotional view of the same subject. And very skilfully weaves in the fact the brand has been around for years. It's a commercial where you discover something new every time you view it. The Titan "Mother's gift" brings together beautifully the themes of "gifting" and "style check". The crowning glory is that the young girl steals the show from Amir Khan! Great script brilliantly executed. If Shreyas Talpade and Shweta Prasad made Iqbal, the brother-sister duo makes the Asian Paints' "Cut, cut" commercial. Besides feeling like duplicating the walls and the decor, you also feel like taking the kids home! ICICI Prudential has moved from sindoor to shoulder to represent "protection"""another strong cultural symbol.

The low-value food category offers immense scope to do good work. Cadbury Dairy Milk's "Pappu pass hogaya" has made the line part of everyday lingo and that's what makes it powerful. Pepsi retained its energy and irreverence in its "Oye Bubbly" launch campaign. It's a clever play on bubbles and the north Indian term of endearment""Babli. Candy brands thrive on jokes. Mentos' "Classroom" commercial engages you because of the clever insight on how the way you walk shows the direction where you are going. Coke's "Sar uthake piyo" makes a very lateral connection between the way people normally drink from a bottle and the emotion of pride.

How do you present simple, multiple, "seemingly boring" yet important, unknown facts on television? The SBI's "Surprisingly SBI" campaign does exactly that. Refreshingly different in the category of money advertising, it uses the concept of betting to make the point. The style of advertising itself helps to change the image of the bank to being young, modern and innovative. Pepsodent's "Chant" says that over 12 lakh kids use it in a refreshingly different manner. Innovative is the only way to describe the Heroes Project "SMS" ad. To connect knowledge on AIDS available on SMS with a possible cheating device in an examination is indeed a creative leap.

Amitabh Bachchan was the model of the year. Two of his ads stand out. Rin's "Father"""the kid reciting a relevant nursery rhyme. And the KBC "Rap". The latter actually uses his singing skills to engage the viewer. Finally, Visa's "Birds" commercial with Richard Gere. The innocence of the kid releasing the birds and the final expression of Gere make it memorable.

What is common among all this good work? Besides good ideas and scripts, they've been well executed with good casting and good performances.

Which of these will hit the bull's eye with the various juries?

Something worth thinking about.

Madhukar Sabnavis is Board Partner, Discovery and Strategy, Ogilvy and Mather, India. The views expressed are his own. He can be contacted at madhukar.sabnavis@ogilvy.com