2 products - 4 Ads

This post is dedicated to good ol' HP who came up with a rather astute observation when working on a dull pitch on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

One keeps hearing talk on the media about how we have grown as a nation, or how the time has come for us to occupy our "rightful" place among the ranks of nations. To all those columnists/ talk show participants out there, I present to you 2 ads of the same product with a gap of at least 10 years between them

Old - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=8Iai5mSOxYU

New - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=smaJK6ZMzwM

While the first ad shows a girl (and a pretty one, if I may add ) breaking into song and dance the moment her favourite team/player (Indian, we are given to assume) wins the match, the second match shows a bunch searching for a reason to celebrate. Even if it is Kenya winning (India losing ). All that the people need, we are told is a reason to celebrate and have a blast. HP helpfully pointed out that it showed that we had matured as a nation in the space of 10 years. I prefer to see it as a demonstration of how much more cynical we have become over a period of just 10 years. Or may be growing up means becoming cynical.

Moving on to 2 ads of another iconic brand with more than 10 years between them -

Old - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=xEV8MWd1p3M&feature=related

New - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=-h8hrlbdEz4&feature=related

Wonder what these 2 ads say about us as a nation and how we have changed over the past 10 years. The first ad is a simple montage of people on bajaj two wheelers with the focus on the fun aspect of owning a two wheeler. The second ad seeks to reinforce the fact that we continue to respect traditions deep inside even as we change outside. J was of the opinion that the second ad was more towards parents to assure them that their kids would not change once they got their bikes. It must duly be noted here that J barely managed to score a B in marketing while at B-School.