We adore our celebrities. So much so that Airtel’s latest campaign, featuring actor Shah Rukh Khan, took the No. 1, 4, 5 and 7 ranks in the Mint-Synovate-TVAdIndx survey in October.
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The top-ranking Airtel ad scored 81 on the ad reach index, bolstered by 98% brand recall and 83% awareness among respondents.
Husband-wife duo and Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan’s romantic capers on the small screen, albeit staged, propelled the Lux Peach Cream TV spot to the No. 2 spot in the survey that gathers the voices of 898 randomly chosen common consumers across New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Lux Peach Cream ad earned 97% on brand recall and 79% on awareness, scoring 77 on the ad reach index.
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Yet the Pond’s commercial didn’t fare too badly even though it didn’t have celebrities. It had 100% brand recall, taking the third spot with a score of 74 on the ad reach index. A second Pond’s ad ranked No. 10.
In the telecom segment, two Idea ads featured at No. 11 and No. 13, with the Tata DoCoMo ad at No. 6 and the Reliance Mobile ad at No. 8.
Also See Full MintSynovate-TVAdIndx survey report
However, our expert Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands, isn’t too happy with the Airtel ads, or the others from competing brands. As he says: “Airtel’s Shah Rukh Khan commercials are full of faux-introspection, Indicom’s work is faux-profound, Tata DoCoMo reeks of faux-bonhomie and upliftment, Reliance with Hrithik (Roshan) is just short of creepy and Idea with its ‘walk and talk’ extensions is walking determinedly towards absurdity and irrelevance.”
The Lifebuoy ad, No. 12 on our list of top 15 ads, has ruffled the feathers of consumer activists, with its promise of 100% protection from the swine flu virus. This ad scores 59 on the ad reach index, getting 97% on brand recall and 61% on awareness.
On the ad diagnostics list, which measures softer parameters such as likeability, enjoyment, believability and claim, three ads—Bajaj Allianz, Videocon UltraSlim and Usha Pumps—took the top positions.
Five of the top 15 ads in the ad reach index list also figure in the top 15 ad diagnostics chart. What’s interesting is that 11 of the top 15 ads in the ad diagnostics chart scored 100% on likeability.
1. Airtel
Rediffusion Y&R
A boy holds out a ring to his girlfriend, but is too shy to say anything. Actor Shah Rukh Khan, sitting alongside on the arm of the sofa, wonders aloud: How long does it take to express one’s feelings? “Yes,” urges Khan: This is relayed immediately in a woman’s voice, as if over the phone, and the couple hugs.
2. Lux Peach Cream
JWT
Actor Aishwarya Rai Bach-chan, fresh out of the bath, blindfolds actor Abhishek Bachchan. She playfully teases him, her soft and smooth skin defying his attempts to catch her. The song “Sone se bhi sona lage...” (She feels better than gold...)” plays in the background.
3. Pond’s
Ogilvy and Mather