Fanta goes 'funtastic' with 3D Animation!

So what is so adorable about Fanta's latest campaign? Let's check - no celebrity, no seduction, no urging to sip their aerated summer coup. Just a bunch of cutesy 3D animated characters created by Pscyop, a New York based agency successfully inflicts fun and mischief onto the screen. Their spokesperson aptly points out that Coca-Cola India has been thriving to continue on Fanta's 'Less serious, More fun' image - thus resulting in their 'Zyada Fanta, Zyada masti' concept for the Indian screens. And we are convinced - while the characters play around sipping onto this orangey drink, their world metamorphoses into a lighter, boisterous environment. Conceptualized by Ogilvy and Mather, this is indeed a welcome break from their previous slapstick attempts with unclear messages.

The music : Amongst the whole summery drinks contemptuous blast, this original jingle has to be, without a doubt, the most memorable of the lot. Catchy lyrics like 'Chuski jo le manwa funtastic ho jaaye' and the usage of a folksy male voice with villager-hindi diction crooning 'orangey wunderphul' and 'funtastic' give it an instant desi connect and very well gel with the vivacious jovial characters poking harmless fun at each other. The lyrics have been penned by none other than lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and the music compiled by Amit Trivedi, both incidentally of Dev D fame. The song lingers on even after its over and you could really use this track on a summery drive out in the fields!

Summer : TVC's scream Mango in style!

Come summer and you don't even need to peak out of your windows to confirm the humidity and bright sunshine. Just switch on your TV sets and Voila! Every summer drink out there is trying to woo you into sipping theirs over the others. What has really stood out is the battle of the two mango drink giants - Slice & Mazaa.

Slice extended its Aamsutra campaign with the enticing Katrina Kaif into the exotic locales of Thailand. Conceptualised by JWT with the humming soothing background score from Slumdog Millionaire, this TVC is a treat to watch. Glossy, inviting and keeps you hooked till the end. An innocently beguile Katrina playing around with a green mango, with the voice over 'Sabr karo, kyonki sabr ka phal meetha hota hai'. Its almost like she's tempting you into the beauty of what mango tastes like, almost like a mini love-making with it, reminiscent of her antiques with the Slice bottle in the very first campaign of Aamsutra. Well, do we really need a seductress to tell us that? We love our mangoes anyways! All accolades for execution of the concept, but its not really making me want to go grab Slice, I'll probably go and buy a 'peti' of mangoes from the local anna and devour the ripe fruit after my 'sabr'.

A week or so later we catch Mazaa going slow-mo with mango mania. This is a little surprising since they have never really presented their mango drink in a fantasy, dreamy manner. A fresh look into the daily life of 'bhaaga daudi', Mazaa asks you to 'tham jaa, iss pal ka fun toh lele yaara, aam se banja khaas.' Lovely original jingle, I wish to find out who sung it though. Witty use of 'aam se khaas' too, which I think is quite easy to miss out on the first hear. But you definitely cannot miss the ease with which they try to make this aam aadmi feel khaas (played convincingly with wonder eyes by model Mohit Malhotra) with a lazyboy chair falling in the middle of the street, a seemingly 80's band with saxophone and violins urging the man to sip his drink and a pretty dame fanning him. Surely gives us the message of relishing the drink while we feel pampered - wish the TVC's wouldnt raise the expectations this high! But its close to a realistic feel - its about the moments we gather while sipping Mazaa. If I just go by the ad values without considering the actual tastes of each, I think I'd be more convinced to pick Mazaa. Luckily this campaign is a refreshing change from their prior light-hearted funny series with Satish Shah's 'bina guthli walaa aam' and more recently 'Mazaa laao, aam ki pyaas bhujao' with Ranvir Shorey. Quite forgettable and not so summer drink driven anyways.

Amidst all this, I am wondering what is keeping Frooti is inconspicuous? It was one of our top faves in the 90's - the little tetra packs to be drunk with straws were such a hit and so was the 'Mango Frooti, fresh and juicy' campaign. Now it has gone on this fun filled 'Why grow up?' route which is definitely not commercially driven but a seeming attempt to keep Frooti in its child-adolescent state forever. The commercials for that matter surely don't seem to grow up.

The growth of the Garnier Fairness TVCs : Growth really?

Garnier, the famous skin care brand now marketing fairness as a mandatory leash of life is adding a twist to its marketing strategies. When it initially launched into the fairness sector, we saw the not-so-well-known model Nicolette Bird endorsing the products. At the time of the release of this ad, she was a budding model and its only later that she ventured into films as an actress. So what started out as a product to befriend the audience with a pretty face and the quality of the product has clearly demarcated into something else.

Next we saw actress Genelia D'souza encouraging you to compare your skin tone fairness. At the time again, she was seen endorsing every second brand on television and was clearly declared as the next-big-thing. From a 'pretty model face' to 'the promising star' - that's a leap in a short time. If you think Genelia was dusky and not apt for the brand, you have got to check their latest brand ambassador - Priyanka Chopra.

Known for her raw sun-burnt very Indian skin tone, Priyanka has not so convincingly been adorning the billboards regarding its effectiveness as a flawless skin refiner. At this point, no one is really questioning the quality or authenticity of the cream. But such leaps from next-door-models to a current top actress highlights some sort of insecurity that the brand's probably dodging.

Oh I very conveniently have forgotten the actress they signed before Genelia - Esha Deol - why again? No clue. I do not clearly remember this damsel having a big hit or big high during her career but she for sure was in distress. I do not know how much profit it garnered for the brand but I am sure it got her a good deal of shutterbugs and some prospective look as the 'may be Next big thing'. The question still lingers.

No qualms against the brand. But the marketing strategies leave me puzzled. May be the brand has picked up so well with their initial pitches that they wish to showcase that through high money splurges on well-known names. But it never in the first place started out as a brand (like L'oreal) that believed in celebrity endorsement. Signing John Abraham as the face for the male fairness cream is again, well, weird. Of course there was all the chaos about how is it ethically right when his (now ex) girlfriend is a dusky beauty altogether. That's now a personal prerogative so let's not question John's motives. The point is, the fairness cream for males which got released only in recent times coincided with their favoritism for celebs. They hit a home run with John instead.

The fact that its got us debating surely means that the campaigns have got noticed. The good part is the models here don't look painstakingly white-washed (like Kajol in Olay or some forgettable ones), except the latest one with Priyanka which does look like a doe-eyed fairer cousin of hers from Alaska. I only wish they keep this frame consistent now. Though it only makes me wonder more now... Who next?