Brilliant Advertising matlab Coca Cola

Coke has been producing some excellent advertising in this country (India). But this time I noted something which is a rare phenomenon in India.

Almost all of us who watch some channel on TV must have seen the latest Coke Ad in which in a running train, the waiter (Aamir Khan) walks in with a bottle of coke on a tray. After the train passes through a dark tunnel, he sees that the bottle is empty. Then he hears a burp. Soon, everybody (all of whom seem to be from different stratas of society) on the train starts burping as the waiter looks on. Suddenly, the waiter burps too as everyone starts smiling. Voiceover: “Dikhte hain hum alag-alag par andar se hain hum same same…..Aaja aaja khud se baahar…..Sabka thanda ek. Coca-Cola”.

Look at the Ad video.

THE HITCH

The concept is all good. But, when we see this Ad for the first time, we have to consciously think on it before we understand what (exactly) the Ad is trying to convey. Ad looks like it was made in a hurry.

While I was watching the cricket world cup, I heard some of my friends commenting on this Ad, telling that it made no sense and one of them certainly did not understand it ‘at all’.

NEW VERSION

Now, almost a month later, I saw this Ad on TV again.

But this time I noticed that the Ad was different. This time after the tunnel, when Aamir Khan sees that the bottle is empty, he talks to himself “Kisne piya yeh thanda?” Then everyone starts burping, and again he thinks “Acha, sabne ek-ek ghoot piya?” Then he himself burps and again thinks internally “Meri bhi pol khul gayi”…then everyone starts smiling and the same voiceover.

To me, this Ad made more sense as it is certainly easier to interpret compared to the older version. But that is not all. What caught my attention is a much larger aspect of this story.

BIG PICTURE

First, there are many companies which, in spite of bad response to Ads from audience, continue to irritate the consumers with the same Ads. I was surprised to see that Coke’s agency (McCann-Erickson) is alert enough to note that the consumers are having difficulty in understanding the concept. And they acted on that feedback, and most importantly, the action was prompt.

Second, I have observed that whenever some Ad or concept fails or goes over the audiences’ head, instant reaction is to withdraw the Ads. McCann-Erickson, as expected from a big and reputed agency like them, did not do that. Instead, they launched a simplified version of the same Ad.

Third, the changes are so subtle, they can easily go unnoticed. But they certainly serve their purpose. When I was discussing this with one of my friend I came to know that he did notice the change when he saw the new Ad; and concluded that ‘he’ had not seen the Ad carefully enough for the first time and so did not remember whatever Aamir Khan said in the Ad.

MAIN POINTS

• They received the feedback and acted promptly on it.
• They made changes in the same Ad.
• Changes are so subtle they go unnoticed, but still serve the purpose.
• Those above are my conclusions. Best way to make them your own is to see the old version of the Ad (above) and then switch on any world cup match on SET MAX - you will see the new version of Ad within ten minutes, and note the differences carefully. You will surely appreciate.

Marketing in true sense!

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