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Business News/ Industry / Banking/  Spot Light | Small bite
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Spot Light | Small bite

Spot Light | Small bite

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Reviewer: Anu Joseph

With around 11 years experience in advertising, Anu Joseph, executive creative director at Creativeland Asia, has worked on brands such as Hippo, Saint Juice, Frooti, Appy Fizz, Café Coffee Day, Deutsche Bank and Arrow.

CampaignThe latest campaign for NestleKit Kat shows that when you take a break, life will reveal something extraordinary, such as a squirrel wooing his lady love with a Bollywood number.

What did you think of the campaign?

Well, “Have a break, have a Kit Kat" is a beautiful, timeless idea that’s been explored quite memorably across the world for years. But not in India.

The squirrels ad has two things going for it. The dancing squirrels. And the Bollywood number. Nicely done CG (computer graphics) make the pelvic thrusts catchy. But I guess a great spot would have more boxes ticked. Two boys sitting in a park, even though one of them seems to be working (or is he gaming?), is already a break by most standards. Therefore, the setting is quite ordinary; so is the casting. Tune into any cartoon channel and you’ll spot a thousand animals dancing and doing even cuter stuff. So there I’ll have to untick another box.

How does this campaign match up to Kit Kat’s previous ads? Despite the awesome proposition, none of the Kit Kat ads made in India till now have caught my fancy. This one definitely is the better of the lot. Probably, it has just about enough to take a small bite out of Cadbury’s huge pie.

Does using animals in commercials help up the funny quotient or does it just attract unnecessary controversy?

It doesn’t matter really. If the ad requires an animal, use it (shoot it abroad or create it). There was a time when an animal controversy could give your brand a lot of PR mileage. That’s over now. It’s nothing new and, therefore, is a blind spot.

Animals doing human things is funny. That’s the basis of many a cartoon series—from Mickey Mouse to Donald Duck to Tom and Jerry and, therefore, the easiest funny, the most predictable funny and the path of least resistance funny. Unless there’s depth in the thought, it’s going to be ordinary.

Which is your favourite ad in this category and why?

To compare apples with apples, let me compare another chocolate brand that uses animals. I love the international work that Cadbury Dairy Milk has been doing over the last couple of years. The gorilla playing the drums to Phil Collins’ hit In the Air Tonight not only touched a chord, but also resurrected the company in the UK. The latest ad, The Flying Ostrich, is beautiful too. It’s about that feeling when you have an awesome chocolate and these manage, in the most eloquent and poetic manner, to capture that feeling. And in a cluttered category, these will really stand out.

As told to Gouri Shah.

gouri.s@livemint.com

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Published: 20 Aug 2010, 08:32 PM IST
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