Advertisements have always been a great way for brands to market their products and services. However, it has always been a hit or miss situation. Not all brands come up with great advertisements. Some have positive lasting impacts and some we would just love to forget. Storyboard18’s weekly ad reviews filter through the past weeks ads, letting you know which ones were the best and which ones weren’t quite up to mark. We provide you with completely unbiased and unfiltered opinions that are fun to read and paint a clear picture. Read on to find out which ads were in our professional opinions, MAST and which were MEH, in this week’s Mast & Meh.
MAST
BRAND – UNDP India
AGENCY – In-house
Not all ads have to flashy, a mass-masala entertainer, star a megastar or have a deep storyline to be impressive. Sometimes it’s the simplicity that touches the heart. This new spot from UNDP INDIA is a great example of simple and effective messaging. On the occasion of ‘International Day of the Girl Child’, UNDP India has put together a spot where they use sand artist Dr. Badal Barai’s beautiful illustrations and Nilanjana Biswas’s voiceover to show how dreams and ambition have no gender. The spot is a pledge to create an equal future for all. At a little over a minute long, this spot is impactful and delivers a moving message. A great watch and a definite Mast in our opinion.
MEH
BRAND – Welspun
AGENCY – Conceptualized by Welspun India and Shreyansh Innovations jointly
‘Life Se Maango More.’ Quick guesses for this tagline would link it to brands that sell insurance, safe vehicles, healthy cooking oils or maybe a gym membership. It is preposterous to even think that Welspun is selling quick-dry towels with this tagline. In the age and time when advertising is more about telling a story, taking a social stand or supporting a cause with only subtle focus on the main product, this spot from Welspun with Akshay Kumar is a total Meh for us. Slapstick comedy at its best, the ad lacks good storytelling and oversells the product. Our lives definitely ‘maango’ less of this!
MAST
Brand – Muthoot Finance
Agency – Maitri
These set of regional films have a little bit of everything in the right amount. There is a sharp insight. There is humour. The script is crisp. Humanising an idle asset like gold is an interesting proposition by a brand like Muthoot Finance which makes the campaign a Mast watch in all the four languages — Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Full marks to the brand for changing up the “Goldman” for each region.
MAST
Brand – Milkbasket
Agency – BBDO India
Grocery e-stores bombard consumers with all the offers they have under the sun and moon. Some even promise that the delivery will be made in a jiffy. Here’s a brand that has picked up purchasing patterns and made a bunch of films that are entertaining and humorous. The spots features every kind of consumer, making it relatable at various levels. We give this campaign a cart full of likes.
MAST
Brand – Truecaller | Buri Neeyat Wale Tera Call Laal
Agency – The Womb
The build-up of this commercial is rather interesting. You can’t predict what will happen next. A jolly man is walking around a market greeting people around him. He gets no response. A bunch of people keep a close eye on him. The next thing you see is his face being painted red by everyone he greeted. Why you ask? Because Truecaller has a feature to report an incoming fraud call using the red button on the app. A very fun commercial this one! The message cannot be clearer and more on point than this.
MAST
Brand – Deconstruct Skincare
Agency – Supari Studios
Deconstruct Skincare’s latest spot is straight out of a newbie’s worst nightmare. The ad shows a young girl gobsmacked by multiple people telling her to follow their preferred skincare routine. From a 50-something lady (possibly her mom) to a skincare influencer who recommends a 40-step skincare regime, truly overwhelming. The young girl’s anxieties calm down when she discovers Deconstruct and finds the perfect fit for her skin. This spot is relatable and simplifies a tedious process effortlessly. A Mast watch.
MEH
Brand – Havells India Limited
Agency – 82.5 Communications
If you’re in the mood for a guessing game then why don’t you try and watch the new Havells campaign for its range of lighting products called Glamtubes. You are left wondering if it’s a lifestyle brand ad or a spot for a fashion retailer until Glamtube appears on the screen leaving the viewer absolutely stumped. The spot opens with shots of glamorously dressed models following a man who is seen carrying Glamtube, all the way to his home. Absurd right? At least they stuck with the glam theme.
MAST
Brand – Realme
Campaign – ‘Realme Diwali’
Agency – In-house agency
For any campaign to succeed, it is the realism in every frame that captures the eyebrows of the viewers. Realme’s ‘Realme Diwali’ is a delight to watch. The lights, vibrant colours and a story that keeps you hooked right from the start till the end, eager to know more, generates excitement around the commercial. As the advertisement rolled, right from the three friends witnessing the skylights while standing on the terrace, capturing every joyous moment on the Realme phone to the school girl delivering a speech in the assembly hall, the ad scores a Mast for its sharp storytelling with an empathetic tone. The addition of a soulful sound track to the commercial does make the festival of lights appear as a festival that spreads light in others lives.
MEH
Brand – Springfit
Campaign – ‘don’t sleep, sleep luxuriously’
Last time, when actor Ranveer Singh starred in the Sleepyhead mattress ad, the expectation from the commercial was to keep lazy writing at bay. With the recent Springfit ad starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, the expectation stands the same. Khan, who is checking herself out in a mirror, is discussing with her friend, the many compliments she received at a party. She soon discovers that the praises her friend was showering were for the mattress that her friend was laying on instead of being for her. In this frame, Khan’s expressions come across as forced. What got the commercial a thumbs down or Meh is the lack of an interesting storyline that resulted in us wanting to skip and forget the ad as fast as we could.