Sex is smell!

Sex is good. Sex in life is better. Sex in advertisement is the best shot the agency can give.

I don't clearly remember the first time I saw an Axe/Lynx commercial but I do remember most of their ads. Why? Sex, of course. Sex appeal.

When I first took on my MKT202 course and I read "sex appeal" as an advertisement theme category, the first I thought of was Axe. The oozing, feminine sexuality..the lanky men and their rib cages protruding..who could forget those ads? Axe was a success. Without a doubt. But its been more than a decade now and every single male deodorant ad is still...yes still..following, copying (shamelessly not even modifying) the age-old "you smell good you get women idea"

Denver
Wild Stone
 Addiction
Set Wet Zatak

 

Cholo Bohudur...Kotudur?

I thought I would write on GP's revamping campaign the moment it was launched but I waited for reactions- reactions from both the advertising and non-advertising world. People in advertising secretly loved it, openly hated it. I couldn't overlook the jealousy my colleagues in various agencies felt about the execution of the campaign. I cannot deny the beauty of the execution either. The moment I saw the ad, I wanted to pick up my cellphone and wallet and head to destination unknown. Isn't that what a successful ad is all about? That emotional pull that ignites a desire in you TO DO SOMETHING?

These kinds of ads sell no products or packages or services or offers. These ads are the decoration of a brand, a brand that can DO! Honestly, I am not a Grameenphone user. I find their call rates too expensive and nurture a hatred for their office that causes misery to my everyday journey to NSU. But would I not be a hypocrite if I deny the power of the brand and the power of the ad? Yes, there were flaws. I cringed at the voice-over and its tacky pronunciation of 'Shift Delete' and 'Excitement'. I expected a heavy, powerful voice that would create goosebumps. Other than that, I could not find anything to complain. I applaud Applebox for the video quality and Grey for capturing the latest trends in Bangladeshi lifestyle- surfing, female scooter riders and the overall sense of powerfully unleashed freedom.

When I had joined Bitopi in 2012, my journey had begun with the pitching for this campaign. We lost but I learnt a lot. Maybe that's why I am being biased towards it but who would not agree that Cholo Bohudur is a powerful line to restart the journey? Vague but powerful! 

Vaseline- A Brandnomer!

According to Wikipedia (Yes, bless these people. I owe them half of my knowledge),

The word is believed to come from German Wasser (water) + Greek έλαιον [elaion] (oil) + scientific-sounded ending -ine.

Who cares, right? It's winter and all our drawers and bedside tables are loaded with this magically comforting substance called Vaseline...oops...petroleum jelly! Little can we deny that 'Vaseline' has become a brandnomer or generic trademark which simply means that a brand name that has become the generic name for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, against the usual intentions of the trademark's holder.

Vaseline is something that has become a part of my life since I was little kid. The big containers that we bought back in Dubai and the little pots of tk30 that we buy now- Vaseline is here to stay. And I have read in many places that Vaseline is considered to be a case of trademark erosion because the name has become so generic that other companies use the term 'Vaseline' too.  But somehow I have noticed that people are extremely careful when purchasing Vaseline. They specifically see the logo of Unilever to be sure that this is the original Vaseline. I don't know about the purchasing pattern outside Bangladesh but even the lower income class people check, recheck and check again for the Unilever logo.

...I just took a pause to apply Vaseline on my lips and oo, that does feel good! 

Take the Land Decision!

'Fixed assets' sounded so scary when I was a kid. I thought it was some sort of a phrase only bankers understood. For the rest of us, throw it out of your head. The next time I came across this word was when I did my Introduction to Finance course. Ignored it then too. Ignored it even I got the result of the course too (*too old to be embarrassed about grades anymore*). But now, life is becoming what my mother calls 'reality' and is no longer a teenager's whimsical, fantasy-filled chocolaty, average life. The time has come when I need to make some serious decisions in life (like which dress to wear tomorrow morning to office...kidding).

Surfing through the Bangla channels, I came across an advertisement of Bashundhara Baridhara which actually got me thinking about my future too. Thanks to youtube censorship in Bangladesh, I cannot post the link here but the advertisement is a torture to the auditory senses. Given the fact that two such popular actors of Bangladeshi silver screen acted here, I expected technical dexterity. Oh well, ignoring the glitches, the storyline was simple and captures the attention of future worriers (not warrior, mind it) like me. Shimul and Mahfuz are college friends and Shimul takes the decision to invest in land purchase. Mahfuz finds this naive, considering his own investment in share market and having a stable job. Years later, they meet at a reunion and Shimul is seen have become a hotshot rich guy while Mahfuz is the typical Bangladeshi middle class bread earner. Mahfuz tries to avoid Shimul but ultimately end up talking when he admits that Shimul's decision was the best decision.

Simple yet grasping storyline. Story of every middle class Bangladeshi. I have just started my initiatives on saving but had no idea why I was saving. I mean, definitely not for a grand wedding (I want a court marriage). After seeing this ad, I think I know what I want in the nearer future. A fixed asset.

And then I shall become true to my name, Bhuiyan...the family of Jomidars (Zamindars)

Deshi Chips make me smack my lips!

I am a chips lover. I just can't stop myself from buying a crackling packet of fried potatoes. I just can't. I was an ardent lover of Lay's (Lay's chips has been marketed as a division of Frito-Lay, a company owned by PepsiCo since 1965) until the amount of air defeated the amount of chips in a single packet. I mean I do admit we all pay for the air when buying chips but there is a limit to the amount of air I want. Then started my boycott of Lay's and switching to Doritos ( brand of seasoned tortilla chips produced since 1964 by the North American food company Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, Inc.). Sadly enough, Doritos left a tragic dent in my pocket. 

Dramatically, deshi chips came to my rescue. Today, I had the privilege of tasting another magical production of Bombay Sweets (God bless them)- Alooz. Due to lack of careful observation, I missed the Bombay Sweets logo and due to preconceived notion, I assumed Alooz to be an Indian brand of chips. Somehow, the shop opposite to my office sells Alooz like people never had chips before. The shelves are adorned with the colorful wrappers and I decided to finally give it a try after months of ignorance. 

Yum. The taste made me look at the wrapper again. Bombay Sweets does it again! And the best part? 15tk worth of a packet filled with chips. Yes, my friends, chips..not air!

Munching on the chips, I got lost in thoughts of reverence for Bombay Sweets. I wish this company lasts forever and ever. But I wonder who does their creative work! Cricketer Mahmudullah misses a flight for the chips? Puh-leez!

Honey Bunny brings in more money!

Yes, the jingle has been running and racing in my mind for the last 3 days. What the tune! I mean, IDEA Cellular just brought about a serious competitor against Kolaveri-D. It's all over social networking websites so beware, the Honey Bunny song is freakingly contagious. Bless my brains!

The Ad

To be honest, I loved the ad. Not only is it a big big big change from the over the board Abhishek ads, it's a fun loving, totally-makes-sense piece of tvc. The tune is catchy, cute and bang-on material for the young and the old.
Sadly, many did not understand the concept. The concept is as simple as it can be. IDEA Cellular is a network with pan-India coverage and thus, everyone sings its jingles in every possible accent of the Indian subcontinent. Most importantly, people use IDEA to call up their Honey Bunnies and call them lovable names. 

Idea Rings all India- a simple, absolutely comprehensible slogan. The bright yellow colors and the representation of the network bar by the letters of Honey Bunny makes it an ad impossible not to notice.

I don't know the revenue this brought to IDEA but let me share one piece of its success. I caught my mother humming 'Honey Bunny' absentmindedly while doing the dishes. What an IDEA, sir jee!

Sir jee= Lowe, India

Bangladesh, not Bhanga Desh!

“Mom, can I go to Cox’s Bazar with my friends this semester break?” I made my ultra cute puppy-eyed expression and stared earnestly at my mother.
If only I could describe the traumatized and terrified expression on my mother’s face. It was as though I asked her if I could elope with a hooligan and get married. Déjà vu? Gone through the same experience? I would assume a yes. That is the typical exchange of words between people of my age and their guardians when asking for permission to go out of Dhaka. I am a twenty one year old woman, unmarried and studying BBA at NSU. I think my teenage years deserved more of Bangladesh and less of home confinement. Being the adventure-seeking me, I have seen and experienced nothing of Bangladesh— just a few family trips to here and there. Nothing to particularly boast about. Then again, when you look at the portfolio of places I have been to around the world, some would envy me but honestly, I feel ashamed. This is my country, and it is indeed a beautiful one. Leave aside the negativities and no country can compete with the beauty of natural Bangladesh. But what deprives us, youngsters, from experiencing the joys beautiful Bangladesh has to offer? Is it our lack of interest in our motherland or are there other issues?
After asking a few parents and their kids (when I say kids, I do refer to people of my age), I have come across mixed reactions from both sides. Some parents prefer not to admit to the security concerns they have about the trips outside the radius of Dhaka city. They won’t even allow them to travel alone in Dhaka, forget Bangladesh. So, we come to our first reason— security issues. And do mind it; there was no racial discrimination about security concerns of parents. In fact, most parents are more worried about their sons than their daughters. I cannot blame our parents. De facto, our security system is of such a standard that parents almost have a heart attack when imagining their offspring roaming about Bangladesh, unprotected and defenseless. Mugging, kidnapping, hijacking, and human trafficking are the first thoughts of a concerned parent. The so-called elite forces are deemed to be incapable of providing us with basic security, let alone security on the highways and rural areas. And it is needless to mention road accidents. There is not a day when the newspapers do not report an accident on the road. Most often, the perpetrators go unpunished. Plus, we youngsters are infamous for reckless driving ourselves. Getting behind the wheels without parental supervision is enough to make us lose our mind. This sudden freedom can make us impulsive at times. Keeping these considerations in mind, would parents really want their children to explore Bangladesh on their own?

Many people would argue and say that, if parents are so scared to let their kids wander in their national land alone, why not just go along with the kids? Now comes the tricky part with a simple question to answer the question. How many parents have enough time to go and travel around Bangladesh? Where traffic jams have to be tolerated on a daily basis, where official deadlines have to be met against all odds and where television is our main source of entertainment, traveling seems like a far fetched idea of having fun. Enduring long hours on the road, running out of gas and fuel, no proper place to rest and eat during the journey is a typical scenario of a journey outside Dhaka. With only a two-day holiday (sometimes just one) every week, parents simply grudge at the idea of wasting precious time of relaxation by traveling. Do parents really want to go through all that with their lives already being hectic enough? If I were a parent, I would just hand my kid an Ipad and watch him or her explore Bangladesh through Google Maps! 
Keeping aside all other factors like traveling costs (which is actually quite cheap in reality), lack of proper tour management companies, lack of traveling spirit and so on, I think the main culprit of this situation is the imprecise branding of Bangladesh. It is saddening to witness the what-is-there-in-Bangladesh-to-see look on the face of our youngsters. The rolling of eyes and the overwhelming sarcasm reflects not only their lack of curiosity but also a slight dislike towards their motherland. It is hardly their fault. That is how they see Bangladesh, a corrupted country on the brink of ruination. Most often, kids of an English medium background are blamed to be disinterested in their motherland because they apparently have no knowledge about our history and culture. I beg to differ most earnestly. Their syllabus is not their fault. The fault lies in the way Bangladesh is presented to them and us (I am included in that particular niche). When we live in Dhaka, we see a partial image of Bangladesh that is polluted, congested and too fast-paced for us to catch up. We do not see the part of Bangladesh that is majestic in all terms from its beauty to its history! For a country that is still in doubt about its war heroes, Bangladesh is lagging behind in national tourism. We cannot expect to attract foreign people if the locals have not yet taken the attempt to unearth the mysterious beauties in every nook and cranny of Bangladesh. 
Bangladesh needs to be branded. The outcomes of the branding efforts should instill enough thrill and curiosity in us to just grab a pair of clothes, a cell phone, a wallet and head to somewhere unknown. If our tourism board can come up with new innovative promotional ways to stir up enough emotions in us, I think it will give our tourism a huge boost. The young people need to know that there are enough places to boast about in Bangladesh. In fact, the next time they update a status on Facebook or Twitter about traveling; it should not be about Bangkok, Malaysia or Europe…it should be about the beauty of Bangladesh!