Ad Analysis_Siddharth_Jhanwar_160_IM 19

Advertisement - Gillette champions

Objective:  The following is an analysis of the first advertisement broadcast in Champion series.

Target Audience: Males above age of 16

Description - This advertisement features the Gillette champions -- Tiger Woods, Thierry Henryand Roger Federer. The commercial is called “Today” and all the three Champions explain how important it is in their professional and personal lives to ‘Be Your Best Today’. The advertising campaign exploits the influencing power of brand ambassadors. The Gillette ‘Champions’ are Roger Federer (No.1 Tennis Player), Thierry Henry (No.1 Football Player) and Tiger Woods (No.1 Golfer). The Indian campaign is varied to include Rahul Dravid to cater to Indian sensibilities.

Analysis - The advertisers try to use the concept of transference or association to enhance the image of their product and brand. The attributes of quality, performance and excellence exuded by these personalities are projected onto the product and the brand. This builds brand image and a favorable attitude towards the new product. A sense of polish and “class” underscores the entire advertisement. It plays on the viewers’ “feel-good” sensations. The advertisement comes across as smooth and urbane. However, it does feel as if the advertisers are trying too hard by roping in three (or four) brand ambassadors. Most advertisers feel that having celebrities or stars advertise their product influences the consumers more than an advertisement that does not feature them. But, there is something called too much stress on the influence of brand ambassadors. There seems to be little relevance amongst the slogan, the advertisement and the product. Gillette may be the best a man can get, but how does that help the ‘Champions’ in their respective sports? Form a logical standpoint, how does the new razor blade assist the players? The audio of the advertisement bears little or no relevance to the advertising message. The advertisement talks about focusing on the present, but says nothing about the new blade. Nevertheless, overall, the advertisement comes across as suave. The brand image of Gillette is maintained and even enhanced by this advertisement. The advertisement succeeds in generating a desire and action to purchase in spite of the drawbacks of the advertisement.

 Advertisement - Orbit White Chewing Gum

Target Audience - People who want to whiten their teeth

Description: Orbit is one of the world's largest selling chewing gum brand. In India, the brand shares the market leadership with Center Fresh brand. Orbit was launched in India in2004. This was India's first Sugar free chewing gum and together with Perfetti's Happy dent, this brand has rejuvenated the chewing gum segment in India. Orbit can be termed as a functional chewing gum. The brand when launched differentiated itself from the existing chewing gums with its "sugar free" property. Globally the Orbit brand adopts the tagline "For a good clean feeling no matter what" in India, Orbit uses " for healthy teeth and prevents tooth decay " as its main message. Orbit White launched their most popular advertising campaign with the “Cow” series. The following is an analysis of the first advertisement in this series. The advertisement showcases a mad animal specialist, Dr. Bhatawdekar, who speaks in ‘Butler-English’. He expounds the special quality of Orbit White Chewing Gum that whitens the teeth of a cow that previously had yellow teeth. His conclusion is that if it works for the cow, it’ll work for you too. 

Analysis: This commercial tries its hand at humor in drawing attention and generating interest. It succeeds to quite an extent in this intention, but also fails at few places. The caricature of the doctor succeeds exceedingly well. Viewers immediately recall the product, the brand and the entire advertisement on any reference to Dr.Bhatawdekar. The product and brand are duly highlighted. They are not lost during the telecast of the advertisement. The commercial’s message is wound around the product, making the product and brand as much a part of the advertisement as the rest of the characters and the concept. The advertisement also successfully plays to the sense of humor of the viewers. Any reference to the product results in immediate association to the doctor and his cow volunteer. This gives viewers a light-hearted view of the product. Nonetheless, there have been instances where the sentiments of viewers have been hurt. In such cases, it seems that the concept that starts out as funny turns out to be gross miscalculation of the sense of humor of the viewers. The characterization of the doctor and the way he speaks in English can be construed as offensive by many viewers. Since the doctor is a deliberate attempt at making fun of bad grammar, viewers who are insecure of their oral abilities may find the advertisement offensive. Overall, the advertisement has no class. Viewers can be put off by the commercial on grounds that it displays no sophistication. The attempt at humor can be seen as tending towards slapstick comedy – and a very poor attempt at that. However, the advertisement does not fail completely. The product and brand are imprinted in the minds of the consumer. Any reference to the product brings remembrance of the humorous advertisement. And consumers purchase the product, even if only out of a sense of absurdity.