From the mid 90s onwards the world of Indian ads has come leaps and bounds. Formerly they relied on budgets that wouldn’t pay the director’s fee, let alone the models in the ad, and they had really bad wanna-be actors and rejects do the job. The ads were nothing that you wanted to brag about and they were usually pathetic. The entry of cable tv in Indian cities took care of that issue – money poured in from all companies wanting their products to get a wide audience & reach. The better the ad, the better the impression that remains in the minds of the viewer. Big budgets, special effects, celebrities as models in the ads and professional directors to launch an ad – the effect was mind boggling.
Some Indian ads won awards all over the world and we could finally hold our heads high when it came to ads. However, somethings never change!
When it comes to toothpaste ads, they are still terrible!
The same concepts; guy or girls feels embarrassed & low on confidence as they don’t have shiny white teeth. The voice over claims that the reason is their old toothpaste, so switch to brand XYZ! Cut to the next scene, the object of the guy or girl’s affection, suddenly notices and is drawn to our formerly low on confidence protagonist. Low & behold! the guy / girl throws his/her head back and laughs a fake laugh, showing pearly white teeth. The object of their affection slides in and starts laughing (for no apparent reason) and the brand’s catch phrase plays on the screen.
Why do they look like they are in pain when they are supposed to be laughing and why do the res of us never catch their joke? I dunno!
Sounds like every toothpaste ad I’ve ever seen — and I’m Canadian! ;)
It’s settled; toothpaste ads are sick the world over ;)