The Diwali Umeed ka Diya ad by HP has been one of the finest commercials of the festive season, by far. It did not get covered in my last review because the campaign broke just a day or two before Diwali, far beyond my submission deadline. But I could not give this classic ad film a miss despite Diwali now being long gone.
Conceptualised and created by Autumn Worldwide, this film shows a young boy helping out a woman selling diyas by the road. He uses his HP printer to create posters to persuade residents in his neighbourhood to purchase diyas from the woman, which in-turn makes her Diwali ‘happy’. The message HP looks to spread through this film is to ‘go local’, but it ends up doing far more.
The woman vendor and the young boy have both done a phenomenal job in enacting a script that is so natural, so emotional. The entire background commentary is very Gulzar-like – poetic and uplifting. The music is well done too. All in all, a heartwarming commercial that communicates well — Tu Jashan Ban Kisi Ki Zindagi Ka / Ek Ujla Diya Kisi Ki Diwali Ka. Simple message, great execution. Congratulations to HP and Autumn for a commercial well done!
Another Diwali commercial that caught my attention was the #MyKindOfDiwali by Citi, created by Publicis. Why I like this piece of advertising is purely for its daring to go beyond the usual narrative. The younger bahu of the family nudges her way into the Diwali puja with her newly done upper arm tattoo. The elder bahu passes a sarcastic comment. The husband of the younger bahu quietly pulls his wife’s dupatta over the tattoo. The mother-in-law notices. She pulls back the dupatta to once again reveal the tattoo! Quite different from the usual saas-bahu stuff you see on television.
The Citi commercial stands out for trying to understand and interpret the cultural nuances of a changing Indian society. The younger bahu with the tattoo symbolises the individuality that today epitomises a new India. An India that is changing, yet steeped in traditional beliefs and well-entrenched cultural values. So, there is tradition, yet there is change. Old archetypical portrayals are therefore passé. A well-crafted brand statement, subtly made. Well done.
Unfortunately, the Diwali commercial for the OPPO F9 Pro Starry Purple somehow and somewhat disappoints. The tear-jerker starring Kiara Advani is both a little contrived and exaggerated. The narrative meanders between a tense family discussion, an effervescent young girl, lots of festive shopping, a recharging pit-stop of five minutes (for two hours of talk-time), an orphanage, a mother, a father, a brother and an aunt. Phew! All cramped into a Diwali ad complete with tears and jhappis. I wish OPPO is told that sometimes less is more.
The good thing about Diwali now is that most brand ads are created for social media and digital. The narratives are long. Each of them tries to tell a story and weave in the brand. In the OPPO commercial, the girl actually goes into the sweet shop and uses the five minutes available while the sweets are packed to get her phone recharged, which would provide a two-hour talk-time. So, the storytelling is designed to create the necessary product window and opportunity for brand spiel. I like these longer ads because they allow more latitude for creative use. The only rider is that the stories should be warm and touching like those of HP and Citi. Such ads make for a Happy Diwali.
(Sandeep Goyal is an advertising veteran)