How far can you see?

Recently I have seen at least four different brands that end their ads by saying ‘change your life’ or ‘change your world’ or ‘it changes you’. There are many ways of looking at this. One, that almost every second product or service these days is going to totally change our lives. Two, there are a lot of creative people out there thinking the same thing. Three, (probably most likely) could it just be possible that we use lines like ‘change your life’ or ‘get more’ because you can’t really go wrong with something like that? Especially since the reason all of us anyways use a product or service is to change something in our lives (look better, travel more comfortably, communicate more efficiently). Otherwise why even begin using it in the first place?

Which begs another question? How much do we concentrate on discovering a unique insight before we begin the process of executing a piece of communication? Or, do we mainly rely on a snazzy execution and hope that it will differentiate us from the rest of the category?

I remember reading years ago an article by legendary Trikaya ad guru Ravi Gupta. He had a theory which went roughly something like this: any piece of advertising can be rated on a scale of 1-10. However, if all that the creative team did was just place the proposition or insight onto paper, the ad should still score at least a 5. According to Gupta, the job of the creative team was to stretch that 5 to as close to 10 as possible, with their scintillating execution. The gist of the theory was that just a plain, bare insight would have to be good enough to score a 5. He went on to illustrate his point with the example of Cibaca toothpaste. The brief was that Cibaca was economical because one had to use less of it. The insight provided was ‘just half a toothbrush (of paste) is enough’. The creative rendition was a series of very graphic ads. One side of the ad said ’Half is not enough’ and showed half a clock, half a wheel, half a bowl etc. The other side said ‘Half is enough’ and showed a toothbrush which was just half covered with Cibaca! This simple yet insightful communication proved to be a big hit.

Recently as I drove home through the maddening Mumbai evening traffic, a line caught my eye. All it said was ‘As mild as water’ and it accompanied a beautiful, clean hoarding for Pears Face Wash. In an overcrowded skincare category that is currently brimming with claims of purity, this insight struck me as being truly fresh and sensitive. We’ve had tons of references to being as pure as milk and honey or fresher than strawberries and apples. However, nothing can compare with the gentleness or genuineness of water. Nothing cleanses as well either. What a lovely thought.

An insight is not just an advertising slogan. It is a game changer that continues to make the brand meaningful for years. ‘We bring good things to life’ (GE) and ‘There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there’s Master Card’ are examples that come immediately to mind. An idea can lead to one clever communication. But a real insight can turn an entire industry upside down. Isn’t that a lot more to aim for than ‘change your life’?

(The author is National Creative Director, Dentsu Marcom)