The hilarious new Tata Sky Aamir Khan and Puppet ad

Some great news for Aamir Khan fans. We can now see Aamir Khan in a completely new avatar in the latest hilarious Tata Sky ad. Tata Sky and Aamir have always come together in interesting ways in all of the TS ads that we’ve seen so far, This also makes viewers wait for the new Tata Sky ads. Despite these heightened expectations, Aamir Khan does not disappoint at all and really shines in his new role as a ventriloquist. With this ad, Aamir Khan has added another feather in his already feathery cap!

In this ad, another star of the show with Aamir Khan, is the cute looking blue colored puppet referred to by Aamir Khan as “TV”! The puppet, whose face looks like a TV screen, embodies a television enhanced by Tata Sky DTH Actve Services. The ad features a funny and witty conversation between Aamir Khan and the puppet.

The ad begins with Aamir Khan, the ventriloquist performing on the stage with his hand on the puppet placed in the bag. He introduced himself a “Bunty” and refers to the puppet as “TV”. The puppet or “TV” as he is called appears sad and dejected. Aamir Khan pretends to be concerned and asks the puppet as to why is he looking unhappy. The puppet appears dazed at the perceived lack of concern from Aamir Khan and replies in a very sarcastic tone. He says it doesn’t matter that he has to wake up at nights when Aamir wants the recipe for Gulab Jamuns or wants to shop early in the morning as he is actually quite happy! The puppet is inferring the Actve Cooking and Actve Mall which are available on Tata Sky as a part of Actve services.

Aamir Khan then attempts to console the puppet saying that the reason for this Tata sky’s Actve Services. The message then says that if you have Tata Sky Actve services, the TV will dance on your finger tips. This is followed by the main punch line which is, the puppet says “Yeh Actve Service ne mujhe puppet bana diya hai” or “This Actve service has turned me into a puppet”. This line explains it all. What Tata Sky wants to convey is that you can harness the sheer power of “TV” by using Tata Sky’s Actve services. The TV will become a “puppet” in your hand, the way puppet is in the hands of Aamir Khan. This is conveyed through a very subtle interplay of visuals, analogy and interplay of words. Aamir laughs and the “TV” realized that he indeed is a puppet and this is where the ad ends. Overall, a very interesting, witty and hilarious ad from Tata Sky, again something unique & interesting, that you can only expect from TS. Don’t forget to check out this one!

To view the new Tata Sky puppet ad on Youtube, check out the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJq4kV-TiAw

Tata Sky ads: The new Aamir Khan and Gul Panag Tata Sky Ads

Tata Sky has introduced two new ads of Tata Sky featuring Aamir Khan and Gul Panag. Both there ads have the trademark Aamir Khan – Gul Panag ad humor in them. In the first ad, Aamir Khan , Gul Panag and a little girl (presumably their daughter) appear to be sitting around a table and having their dinner. Aamir Khan looks naughtily towards the camera and remarks that “family dinners” are supposed to be had with your family and not in front of a television set. He then states that the TV program is being recorded on Tata Sky Plus. What I really like about this ad is the social message it carries, that a family needs to have dinner together where they can bond and converse. Unfortunately, in most nuclear families, parents come home in the evening and then everyone eats in front of the TV with little or not social conversation. This ad brings out the helpfulness of Tata Sky+ in bonding the family better.

The second ad really distinguishes itself by the use of situational comedy. The ad opens by Aamir Khan speaking in the mirror about how when there is a good movie on, the wife always wants to go out for a Chinese dinner. He claims that he is not missing the movie as it is getting recorded on Tata Sky+. But then Gul appears thereby resulting in a funny misunderstanding. The ad is very well conceptualized and shot.

You can view both these ads at the following Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jan5rIVEuOU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Wy1SoZnLs

Tata Sky Ads: Tata Sky+ Aamir Khan ads

Tata Sky+ has launched two new Aamir Khan Ads. Like all other Aamir ads for Tata Sky+ , these ads too are quiet funny. Also, they come depict the real time situations to which you can relate closely.

Take the first ad for instance, in which Aamir Khan is desperate to go to the loo during the match but worries about missing a crucial sporting moment. I had been through this situation a thousand times over, before I bought Tata Sky+. So I know how it feels. Thankfully those days are over and for this I thank Tata Sky Plus. Just like Aamir in the ad, I too Pause live matches when I have to run to the loo. Then, I can catch up with it without disturbing the flow of the match.

In the second ad, Aamir refers to people rushing home just to catch their favorite program or show. Aamir then suggests in a subtle way that if these people had Tata Sky+ at home, they would not drive rashly just to reach home in time. This ad incorporates a public service message about not driving responsibly. When I saw the broken mirror ad, I was struck a strange coincidence. Last week, someone driving very rashly broke my rear view mirror and I too have that mirror with me at home. So I understand very well what Aamir is talking about in this ad. So I would request people not to drive to rashly and buy Tata Sky+ instead of rushing home just to catch up with something on TV.

To view these two ads, check out the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvyojMcpILA&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9DbIklRCBY&feature=channel

Tata Sky Ads: The new Tata Sky+ Asin ads

I saw the new Tata Sky+ ads featuring Asin which Tata Sky+ has recently launched. Like all the other Tata Sky+ ads, these ads too feature tongue-in-cheek humor in interesting situations. Both the ads are shot in different contexts with common theme binding them, which is about not missing your favorite programs on TV. In both these ads, I see an interesting subtext. While the first ad generally appeals to a predominantly male audience, the second ad appeals to women.

The first ad features Asin in the drawing room watching television. She remarks that there are two serials going on two different channels at the same time, but she is not missing any. While she is watching one, the other one is getting recorded. Then, she jocularly states that since you don’t have Tata Sky+, you can watch the two serials between the breaks. This ad predominantly is targeted at men, who may want to watch a sports match but also catch up with news in the evenings. This ad attempts to answer this dilemma by suggesting that you watch one program and record the other for later viewing using Tata Sky+.

The second ad features Asin cooking in the kitchen. In this ad, a very interesting parallel is drawn between Tata Sky+ and some exquisite delicacies, thereby reiterating the fact that Tata Sky+ is a premium product just as dum biryani and kebabs are premium foods. Asin suggests that if people work to eat then they should pamper themselves with delicacies such as Dum Biryani and Kebabs. She then remarks that her serial is getting recoded on Tata Sky+. Adding a bit of tongue in cheek humor, she suggests that since you don’t have Tata Sky+, you should have dal-chawal instead, lest you miss your favorite program. This ad smartly targets female audience. In the late evenings, when most daily soaps are on, women are busy cooking in the kitchen for their family. Tata Sky+ is an ideal solution for such women. They can record their programs while they cook for their family. The subtle comparison with dum biryani is to bring out the fact that just as you savor and enjoy dum biryani, Tata Sky+ too is to be experienced and enjoyed.

To view these ads, check out the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-rkOwSSvHA&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdwxJOUB7Kg&feature=channel

Tata Sky DTH Ad wins the prestigious Bronze Lion award at Cannes

In the field of advertising, the most prestigious awards are the Cannes Lions. They are awarded at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival (IAF) held in Cannes each year. Advertising professionals from all over the world gather to compete to be recognized as the best in their field. Advertising entries from all over the world are evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges comprising of veritable who’s who of the international advertising world. And a select few are awarded the prestigious Cannes lions awards, recognizing their global excellence.

This year, at the Cannes Lions 2009, “20 Million Experiences” ad campaign for Tata Sky has won the Cannes Bronze Lion award. A proud day indeed for Tata Sky as well as for India! This “20 Million experiences” ad was conceptualized and executed by their media partner Maxus India.

Regarding the idea and the strategy behind “20 Million experiences” campaign, Tata Sky+ had introduced a technologically advanced feature that lets one pause live television. But, no one knew how it worked. As no other product offered this pause option in India before, believability of the feature was the core problem. Consumers needed to be convinced of the product. And as they say, Insight - Advertising informs you but experience convinces you. Conventionally, Tata Sky could have chosen to demonstrate this feature through kiosks in malls. But due to its limited reach, Tata Sky and their media agency Maxus had to come up with another solution. They decided to use the television instead, and in a manner that would deliver maximum impact to millions of Indians. They picked the most engrossing content, and attempted to do the impossible – pause it! ‘The pause’ became the content. The message being that live sporting moment could wait while you take the important phone call.

The whole campaign was executed superbly. In a crucial cricket match between India and England, when India’s star batsman was about to swing the ball, the match paused! Viewers were baffled. All they could see was a still batsman and a ‘pause icon’. This was immediately followed by a band at the bottom of the screen mentioning- ‘Even you can pause live television with Tata Sky+’ for 10 seconds. And the match resumed. This was a first in Indian television. This was replicated in three more National TV channels in three different genres. This effort reached over a massive 20mn Indians in one go. Message was simple and impactful because it disrupted live content and explained a helpful feature. The focus was on TV channels that had higher preference amongst the higher income group–Tata Sky+ prospects – like Neo Cricket, Sony, NewsX and MTV.

The results and effectiveness of this brilliantly executed campaign were for all to see. Brand awareness zoomed 23% ahead of Tata Sky’s nearest competitor. The brand sold 10,000 units within the launch phase. Synovate Research’s independent study ranked Tata Sky+ amongst the top 5 campaigns for the month. It has also generated a strong Buzz and made media rethink conventional ways to deliver product experience. And now as a crowing glory, they have won the prestigious Cannes Bronze Lions award! Another great milestone for Tata Sky!

To know more about the Tata Sky+ “20 Million Experiences” ad and the Cannes Lion awards, check out the following links:

http://www.advertolog.com/paedia/prints/2009/06/26/318181/

http://www.exchange4media.com/cannes/2009/fullstory2009.asp?news_id=35086

Tata Sky Ads: Tata Sky DTH - New Ads for South India!

There are these three interesting ads that TS has released in South India. All centering around the “Tata Sky makes Cricket Jingalala” proposition.

All these ads have another common element, the TS south brand ambassador, the erstwhile likable-girl-next-door – now a-superstar-in-the-making, yes you’ve guessed it right, Asin.

The ads are shot with three different contexts, “Iron”, “Doorbell” and “Telephone”. These contexts basically work on impressing upon the audience the fact that watching cricket on Tata Sky is such a magnetic experience (because of TS’s life like picture quality), that when we’re at it, some of the other general stimuli of day to day life fail to elicit response from us. For e.g. As highlighted in these ads, a contemporary south Indian couple (played by Asin & her costar), who is glued to cricket on their Tata Sky so much that a “burning Iron” or a “continuous door bell” and “a constantly ringing telephone” fail to get their response!

The strength of the attachment to Cricket on Tatasky is beautifully reflected through the “conscious negligence” of day to day events which generally get attended to rather quickly (you pick up the phone when it rings, you jump out to look at the “Iron” when you smell it burning or you are fairly prompt in opening the door when the bell rings), But the magnetism of cricket on TS is so strong, the life like picture clarity engrosses the viewers so much, that they quite surprisingly become immune to other day to day, significant stimuli around them.

These ads are short, effective and spot on with the messaging (that cricket is best watched only on Tata Sky's because of its life like picture clarity). Quite nicely filmed too. Asin as usual is very real life in her portrayal of the character and overall ads deliver the message quite effectively.

Take a look at the "Iron" ad below.



The other 2 ads could be seen on the links below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ-KWlTweg8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDJC57y57Ks

Did you notice the new Tata Sky Plus ad?

I just saw it today, and couldn’t help writing about it. It’s basically another ad in the Aamir-Gul series. I liked it because it has a very interesting social dimension to it. As the other ads in the Aamir-Gul series, this one’s too humorous, however it does put across an interesting social message, in a tongue-and cheek, yet authentic fashion. The social message is that of family relationships.

The context is that of a friend that Aamir is talking to, over snacks at their (Aamir- house, about why he should not bother about “Women’s singles tennis match” on TV, and let his wife watch her favourite daily soap instead. Aamir is perfect in playing a social evangelist helping his friend understand the importance of compromises that wives make in their day-to-day living to harmoniously align themselves in their spouse’s life, and hence he (Aamir’s friend) shouldn’t really bother about missing a tennis match on TV!

While Aamir is at his convincing best, Gul is shown watching her daily soap on TV, apparently enjoying Aamir’s conversation more than the show. Because she knows Aamir’s just being too ideal, as he’s already recording the Women’s singles Tennis match on their Tata Sky while Gul watches her daily soap. He’s going to enjoy his match later, once Gul’s done with her TV.
Humorously though, but the ad is effective at 2 levels, one, in brining out the importance of the “Record” feature of Tata Sky Plus and two, in bringing out the “effectiveness” of Tata Sky Plus in positively contributing to a Husband-Wife relationship (atleast by reducing their quarrels over the TV!)

Checkout the ad, by following the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6nQouuqJmc