Where is Pug ?

Sometimes i think the memory of Indian viewers are short lived when it comes to TV commercials . Of late i get glued myself to the late night cricket highlights and noticed the advertising strategy employed by various cell operators to redefine them.

First of all is my favorite PUG, we all know Hutch campaigned using this small, unconventional dog to garner subscribers. I vividly remember the song "You and I in the beautiful world". The advertisement ending with the message "whereever you go, we follow". Their brand ambassador "pug" gave a strong message to consumer that hutch service can be compared to man's best friend. With vodafone taking over hutch, its sad to see that the pug got killed in due course and replaced with an old man having the magic box and listening to old songs on FM radio. I just failed to understand why vodafone is pushing their magic box and not their services. Are they trying to break the retail market freedom what indian consumers enjoyed. We all know in US and Europe, phones are locked with the operator which is not the case in India. Is Vodafone trying to bring in a change in the minds of consumers by these ads.

Airtel jingle by A R Rahman in my opinion has undergone the most melody transformation in the commercial world. First started as a hip-hop commercial with rap-mixing, the music transformed itself to convey emotional aspects (one would remember grandpa and grandson playing chess while the grandson is on travel), breaking barriers ( 2 children across borders playing football) and feeling of oneness ( latest SRK ad endorsing Nokia+Airtel). I am quite astonished how the same melody conveys so much meaning in different contexts. One can infer from the latest Airtel ad that they intend to position themselves as a "mass brand" rather than to few elite.

If there is one operator who wants to shrug off his old brand image of "mass brand" its Reliance. their latest ad's focus on youth, especially the college goers symbolise their attitude to position themselves as a youth brand. Their jingle, people selection in ads, advertisement (press * to copy caller tunes) reinforce their strategy.

However i dont understand why their ad has in the signal bar (AIR, FOOD, WATER and NETWORK). All i can infer is that they attempt to brag about their connectivity, but i am not sure how many youth in india are trekkers or jungle lovers.

Whatever it is, advertisement plays a vital role in influencing consumer decision and if one ad's are creative enough they can erase the past in the minds of consumer and reinforce new ideas and thoughts