Paanchvi Pass - SRK on your car

My good friend Nirav shared his experience with Shahrukh Khan's Paanchvi Pass*. No, he didn't watch the show but was involved in a great Viral gimmick. In his own words below

Here's the pictures of the "paanchvi paas" promo tools that we talked about a few weeks back. These 2 glasses were stuck on to the bonnet and back of my car by someone at a crossing, and I spent a good 20 minutes trying to shake them off by sverving the car. On reaching office I took them off and found the magnet which said "Magnet sticks to Iron – a Class V question – SRK Saying Paanchvi Paas"

Nice innovation, but don't know how effective. My guess is less effective than normal outdoor media. But the fact that we were talking about it proves that the innovation at least worked.

What do you know?? Crazy things like this do get talked about!!

* Paanchvi Pass is the Indian version of "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader

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Be ambitious - Aim Higher !!

An Indian gaming portal had launched this amazing ambient ad. They see to play on a the competitive streak inherent in every gamer. They created 4 levels in a men's restroom. If you are a true gamer, you have to beat level 4.

So how high would you aim? (Hint - I don't really want to know :)) )

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Zuritel car insurance - Can ads get more relevant !!

Well this ambient ad is interesting, one of the few examples of ambient where a real consumer problem is sought and relevant advertising delivered to the consumer at the right time.

Zuritel is a car insurance firm trying to push a policy which covers damages up to 3000 Euros. The strategy they adopted was to find cars, with little dents across town and just sticker them with a "what a pity" symbol as shown in the photograph below.

This is as targeted as you can get in the offline world. Let me know your verdict

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Social Messages use more than shock value to reach out

Every now and then, you see a social message being communicated by an NGO or by the police about the ill health of smoking, drinking etc. Most of these messages try to deliver a shock value suggesting impending doom as the only outcome of the activity you are undertaking. . Intelligence, wit and subtlety seem to be lost causes in most of these ad situations.

What we have below are two examples of social messages, which are witty, intelligent, relevant and eye catching. Check them out and if you know other good social ads, drop me a link so that the message can get a little more exposure through this blog.


1) A WWF ad below cleverly uses green paper in a tissue dispenser to indicate harm you are doing to the world with every tissue you use. Fantastic would be an understatement !!

2) Crashed witches were up on poles with this message "Don't drink and drive this Halloween". A very innovative outdoor marketing initiative. Wonder what effect it would have generated if it had been timed with the Harry Potter Book/Movie release - hmmm...

* References - Ads of the World & Frederik Samuel

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How to drive footfalls to a bar / pub / restaurant

So everyone has seen signboards & direction boards for restaurants, shopping centers and cafes? Of course you have, and you probably think that its been so done to death, that nothing can be done differently...

Traditional advertising is trying to break clutter more than ever before. An ad on a new medium is always likely to attract attention for a while, but gradually consumers develop a blind spot on this medium.

The purpose of many marketers and this blog is to break through this blind spot. The means to achieve the end is - either use innovative media, use existing media differently or create clutter breaking ads. The ad below uses the second option and innovates on existing opportunities to reach the consumer.

Source - Ads of the World

This guerrilla marketing was initiated by Soma Coffee House in Canada. The primary objective was to advertise the addition of a wine bar to the coffee house. The secondary objective was to direct people in the vicinity to the venue.

Not only did they advertise the Wine Bar addition using a sign board / direction board, but also coupled it with footsteps which took consumers to the outlet doorstep. The beauty is that the footsteps were little drunken footsteps, in sync with the added wine bar.

I love this, Cheers to Soma (hic!!)

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Girls get Naughty!! (The ___ Effect)

Pretty young girls mysteriously left their lingerie in Men's restrooms at discotheques in Montvideo. I know your mind is working overtime right now but breathe easy my friends.

Sorry to disappoint you, but the lingerie is a result of printed stickers. Quality of print and the shadow for the lingerie give them a very realistic touch.

This Out Of Home marketing initiative is very impressive. The fit between brand, location, the moment, message and TG is just so perfect. Discotheques + sex + naughty girls and guys who love naughty girls - Just Perfect for Axe!!!

The one below is another kickass idea at a nightclub. Saw this at Ads of the World

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Can brands take you for a "Ride"

In India and probably the world over, branding opportunities have been exploited on trains & buses. Opportunities with taxis have been largely sidelined. I am not talking about printing "Wong's Restaurant - Great Chinese Food" on the door, but looking at branding opportunities inside the taxi.

Taxis lend themselves to Point of Sales merchandise, sales material and sales itself. I have been extremely bored (and hungry) on many a journey undertaken. These moments can be used by brands to communicate significantly more than what is possible on a hoarding or other outdoor media. Costs are relatively cheap as your only spend is on brochure material - which will be carried along only by interested consumers. Some fixed fee has to be paid to the taxi operator

Why : People have nothing better to do on journeys apart from read or eat. Its extra income for the taxi and there is no other avenue to get the consumer to read as much about your high involvement/knowledge intensive product. Many consumers will in fact like to catch up on the latest in investment options.

What to sell : Its ideal for sales material on real estate projects, insurance, investment options, New mutual fund launch, IPOs, Magazines etc. The consumer is well defined as a corporate traveler and likely to be on the lookout for such info.

You might just be able to extend it to sales of FMCG products like Chocolates / Gum / Snacks by using the available space on the dashboard near the windshield to stock limited merchandise

Which taxis : Those used by Corporate travelers. Taxi operators who have tie ups with large companies

How many brands : Very limited space implies very few brands can be stocked - so hop on immediately

Operationally : Sell it to the taxi operator who distributes it amongst his taxis. He is also responsible to train drivers on creating awareness amongst Corporate travelers.

Brand PR : Good for the first guys who jump on

Brand Awareness/Knowledge : Builds not just brand awareness, but also brand relevance and preference

Is Sales Significant : Yes, since its high value and low effort. Also all those who read are favorably impacted.

Just make sure the driver does not push for sales, as that would become frustrating. The driver should just inform the consumer of brochures and magazines available. Can the driver slowly be upgraded into a role of a consultant on the various investment options available?

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Brand Name Promotion - Cool "Stunts"

Just checked out some cool promotion gimmicks at entrepreneur. "Sign Spinners" as they are called, involve using acrobats and balancing artists to twirl sign boards around their fingers. These stunt men are typically located on high traffic junctions and twirl signboards around their fingers. It is a display of great skill.

Reports have it that it has had some serious car stopping effects, and is bound to generate tremendous buzz value for the first brands to attempt it. Its very low cost and involves getting permissions (from the government - All the best!!) at some key vantage points but no major additional expenses.

Of course the message being communicated should be minimalistic and I see only a brand name communication as possible. It automatically has a great fit with website traffic generation & communication of discount offers. Theme message communication looks difficult. There should be more ways to use this medium - Maybe two spinners, also doing a juggling act...

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