Responsible Advertising

Brands always try different ad mix to catch the attention of the public. They comes out with mixture of humor, sentiments, relations etc. We will be able to recollect many ads falling under these categories which are local as well as global. One such category is "thoughtful ads" or "serious ads" which for a second will make you think and feel about the scenario or message given in the punch line. This type of ads are different from the other categories as they should have the boldness to project an issue which are known but are less discussed or excepted. It could be either political, may be about competing brand from the same sector, a hot social issue under debate etc. The ad might be able to create a vibe in the society depend on the issue. One such initiative recently done was by "The Hindu". These ads some times will cover the brand in terms of impact and the ultimate viewer will go with the message but not able to recollect the brand. The Hindu came out with some thought provoking messages and flashed it across various mediums. These ads covered political issue, direct attack on competitor, page 3 and went up to addressing the social issues. Even though the ultimate objective was to pass on the message to the viewers that they are serious about the on going issues in the country and will report it with at most sincerity. A good job by Taproot. Some times such an initiative could make a difference in the viewers. 

Goddess under attack - The Hindu campaign against social issues

How realistic discounts are;

We are always inclined towards shopping, thus we some how look for reasons to buy or replace our existing mobile, TV, Car or any other consumer durable with us. Once again a festival season begins and all major brands are pilled up with their inventories and freebies to influence your thought process and make you walk in to their outlets. This year not like previous years, all major brands are spending extensively on advertisements. Many brands which till now believed in driving sales just through their product quality and customer supports are now started pushing their ads weeks before the festival days. Slashed price, EMI schemes, freebies etc are largely used as sales tools. 

One such brand is Sony which always stand out for its product and its quality are forced to come out with a full page ad on TOI along with Mobile store for promoting their mobile phone segment. Many of the recently launched variants are shown with a slashed price. This makes us to think twice how realistic the rates quoted always are when with in weeks of its launch almost 2000 Rs/- were reduced for certain products. Discounts are always attractive for buyers. But the fact is, the rates are hidden some were and are not visible to us and comes in light particularly during festival season or at the time when company want to get rid of the stocks. We could even get a piece of these discounts in an off season if we are able to make a good bargain with the dealer. 

The myth that i couldn't broke is how to understand the right price of a product.