Non-traditional ad, the early chapters
“She’s like this because of you. You suck at raising kids.” Dad has a bad day at work. Finds kid throwing tantrums. Blames mom. Passes judgment. Case dismissed. Moves on. The kid doesn’t get her grades. “Dumb like her mom”. Case dismissed. The kid falls in love. “Where were you while she was going out?” Dads always blamed Moms for the kid’s upbringing. Never ever realizing that it’s the family that makes a kid, not just the mom. Mommy Blaming. Dads always got away with it. The clients seem to have mastered the art too.
Before the daggers come out, and my clients start Mommy Blaming me, let me clarify… the family makes the kid, the family – Dad (Mr. Client) and Mom (Mrs. Agency). So if the kid (the idea) goes shy, both parties take the blame, learn and question – How else can I make this kid slide out of that rainbow?
Mommy Blaming plagues non-traditional advertising a zillion times more than it toys with television and print. The non-traditional advertising baby is the sperm that somehow made it. Don’t know why we are doing it, everyone says if it is working abroad it should work here, so let’s feed the baby some leftovers. If it grows huge, we’ll give it a cape to save the world. If it doesn’t, it could at least be the Scooby Doo outside my gate.
These if-God-is-kind afterthoughts are what are responsible for the high-mortality rates of non-traditional ideas. The briefs are afterthoughts. The budgets are afterthoughts. The people on both sides are afterthoughts. The non-traditional ideas hence are cheap gimmicks. Garbage In. Garbage Out.
Let me share with you an inspirational brief – We are launching a sedan. Can’t disclose more details at this point of time. You know the target audience – SEC AB, 20-50 years. We need ideas that take the country by storm, ideas that beat competition to pulp, get written about everywhere, increase sales and win awards. Don’t have much to spend. Can you give us an idea like the Aircel boat?
Surprisingly most people at the non-traditional advertising agency understand this brief, pluck that elusive apple and present it to the client via 200 slides from the recycle bin. Even more surprisingly, the client loves a few slides. You know what, I won’t take the apple because no Adam has bitten it before. It’s risky. Let’s play safe. So up comes the condom and miraculously some sperm somehow makes it, as an afterthought.
Sample some brilliant afterthoughts – that cutout on a billboard on Mahim Causeway, that promoter at the parking lot begging you to share your contact details so you could get a surprise vacation, the cob-webbed backlit signage sleeping in the retailer’s backyard, and yes before I forget that scratch card.
Rant. Rant. Rant. Realized the mistake. Take the blame. Learnt a lesson. Now the question – How do we make this kid slide out of the rainbow? Any ideas.
Many. But here’s a starter. The clients need to get better sperm donors. Better brand managers. The recruitment mantra seems to be – Hire from the non-traditional agencies. They know the industry. That’s the first baby step towards doom. The agencies themselves are struggling with talent. You won’t find the needle from our haystack. Google those needles instead. Find that Adam who doesn’t need to know the industry, but who certainly appreciates the power of non-traditional media. Find an Adam who can write an evocative brief, paint a vivid picture, preferably with data.
Until that happens, the only place to find the well-fed kids of the non-traditional advertising kingdom will be at Cannes. Don’t expect an Andes Teletransporter or a Heineken Soccer Concert or a Gatorade Replay to happen in India. Now don’t tell me you haven’t seen these non-traditional advertising apples. Not even the Aircel Boat? Holy Adams!
(The author is Senior Vice President – Innovations & Integration, Mudra Max)