Friday, April 23, 2010

Adsworth-Tata DoCoMo My Song

The new Tata-DoCoMo ad rocks. Hats off to their creative agency (DraftFCB Ulka).

The ad is for their My Song "Hear your tune when you call" service. It is different, simple, humorous, contemporary and non-jingoistic.

A hesitant young girl stands before her mother who is cutting veggies and says "Amma, I want to show you something". The mother looks at her in anticipation and the girl turns around, pulls her shirt up showing a tattoo on her lower back. The mom after two seconds of trepidation, gives a brief smile and says "Very nice". The girl gives a surprised smile and the tag line comes up for My Song (to hear what you want to hear) The two actors have done a wonderful job with their body language and expressions defining the unsaid.

Lovely ad! Made me really smile. Tata-DoCoMo seems to be carving a niche for different services and their different ads too. (The Hutch Zoozoos didn't impress me much this time, though there were a couple of good storyboards, probably because of over-exposure)

And here is the ad

30 comments:

TheUncanny said...

Me too...I wanted to do post on this...lovely ad, The first time i saw the ad, when I saw the girl turn around I was like "oh,god..wat she gonna show"...Almost feel laughing on the floor when I saw the gothic bat tattoo..kool one..

TheUncanny said...

weeeeee...me the first!!! hehe

Ramesh said...

Sounds like a great ad. Alas, thanks to my net nanny, I can't even see the link you have posted.

Some ads are truly memorable and game changing, aren't they. This one seems to be of that genre.

Appu said...

I think, nowadays you are more like 36 going on 16 :) :)

I havent yet seen this ad, cause no tv you see ;)

RamNarayanS said...

@TheUncanny-That surprise of what the girl would do was the one that made me break into a broad smile as well. Loved it the first time I saw it. I'd say a brilliant ad. It wasn't cheesy, vulgar or dialogue heavy. :-)

@Ramesh-I wouldn't categorize this as a path-breaking ad or something similar that could run for a Cannes Lion, but the understatedness, things left subtly unsaid and the way the characters emote and react are what makes this TV commercial stand out. If the nanny sleeps some time, you can look at the YouTube URL for the ad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeJ_QCZ4kjI

@zeno-This has nothing to do with age. The ad hit the right chords in me. Maybe a similar scene could happen at my home in a few years from now. :-) Ya Ya, you don't have a TV and that's why the embedded YouTube link is there for you to see. :-)

chennaigirl said...

I liked the mothers expression. It showed variety within seconds u see. It varied from shock, panic, embarassement to fun atlast. Wonderfully captured emotions.

@Zeno - Sura songs varaikkum updated ah irukkeenga apparam enna TV illennu oru korai ;)

RamNarayanS said...

@chennaigirl-Rightly said. The emotions flicker one after the other in those 2 seconds of pause. It is so subtle and it beautifully links the fact that a parental generation can be acceptive and appreciative (or how good it'll be if it was like that, from a current generation's perspective)

Zenovum oru mahaa Vijay rasigan like P. Summa padam kaamikkaraar, anti-Vijay post ellaam pohttu. ;-)

Appu said...

I was jus trying to pull ur legs!

@ CG Yeah i definitely do like his movies like villu kuruvi vettaikaran and dying to watch sura first day first show if possible ;) [nah not due to the T factor] Hunting [not just searching] for a daring [not darling] soul to accompany me!

gils said...

ada aapecerungala...antha adla hilightay antha ponnu thaan...atha pathi orutharumay onum solalaiye!!! enna koduma saar ithu

Sandhya Sriram said...

Hey its a nice ad.

i think the concept is new and the ad gives the punch to the concept well

RamNarayanS said...

@zeno-:-) :-) Neenga engayo poyitteenga.

@gils-Ennaththa sollaradhu naan. :( Enna sollanamo, adhellaam neenga teenagers sollunga. :-)

@Sandhya-Yes, The ad story and the service concept gel very well.

Sorcerer said...

Yes..I liked that ad..

Its to the point!

R-ambam said...

nice ad !

RamNarayanS said...

@Sorcerer-Welcome and yes, it is a neat ad.

@R-ambam-Yes, it is nice. One of the other ads, I love is the 3 roses ads. The couple are so endearing with their flirts.

Unknown said...

I love the expression on the mother's face. The whole things gels a little too well with the tagline these guys have. Nothing extra ordinary, yet gets the message across to you :)

RamNarayanS said...

@Anu-You anyway take digs at your mom every now and then. ippadi yaedhaavadhu pannittu, log the happenings. hee hee hee.

Unknown said...

Cha... ipdi sollitteengle Ram.. damage... :(

RamNarayanS said...

Ok Anu, I [Ctrl-Z] my statement. :-) :-) [neenga romba nallavangannu naan certify pannattaa? :)]

Uttara Ananthakrishnan said...

oh yes, it was beautiful!

ambulisamma said...

No No world is becoming manipulated,how can RamMmm certify this as nice ad and post it even here,senora is not reading this post i guess.

RamNarayanS said...

@Uttara-:-D

@ambulisamma-Señora will read this post. Generally, both of us liked the ad as it was humorous and indirectly poked fun at the polarity between a teen and her parents. Actually, I felt that my daughter may be like that girl in the commercial in a few years down the line. :)

Haddock said...

Yep that ad was well made.
And the DOCOMO tune itself is so good and catchy.

Gladston SamraJ said...

Only the girl looks so cute.

RamNarayanS said...

@Haddock-They use that tune creatively. Hope they don't overdo things.

@gladston-Yes, she is. :-)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for embedding the ad. It was wonderful. I felt like that mother. Shock, disbelief and I think the last thought could have been, Thank God it is at a place where she can cover it when she goes to work ;-). But heck, I am a mother of 2 teenagers. Great ad and what a lovely upbeat Mom!

My3

Anonymous said...

What crap. This whole blog seems so contrived to praise an ad that was so disgusting and sick. cant see this ad doing anthing for anyone except a laclustre model who seems to have got the break of her life and least to say a revloutionary product idea communication. Never seen such crap in my 15 years with adverstising firms
soumya iyer

RamNarayanS said...

@My3-Ha Ha Ha. True, that shock and acceptance was what defined the ad. :-) :-)

RamNarayanS said...

@Soumya-Looks like you can't (or don't want to) appreciate subtle humor and pour vitriol. :-( What is crap for one may not be so for others and you'll obviously know being in the advertising field, as you say. Tell me a perfect ad, even one with a Cannes Lion, and someone can point out chinks!

And ma'am, saying the blog post is contrived is out of whack. I am not in the ad industry to play faves with any agency.

I don't want to dissect the ad, and it is nicer with the things unsaid, but here it is. The tag line is hear what you want to hear and the ad needs to be looked at from the teen's point of view. The setting is traditional, semi-orthodox, typical upper middle class family (the suprabhatam in the background, the house's wooden panels for the doors, the dining table et al). The girl obviously expects a verbal lashing for her getting tattooed and that too in a risque area, and still tells her mom. The mom, runs through her emotions and then accepts the fact, which is what the girl would have liked to hear. And that is it.

Did I say it is a pathbreaking ad and does it have to be? No!

FTS said...

hi it was wellsaid reg the ad. can anyone help me to get the clear image of the girl showing the tattoo

RamNarayanS said...

FTS-You are asking the absolutely wrong person. :-(