Fa deo and the courage to hug
TBWA has remembered the simple hug. The simple, but exuberant, hug, with your arms held out long in front of you before you envelop the other in a warm, tight embrace.
Over the years, I've been commenting on two kinds of ads: ads that are, in my opinion, very good or very bad/irresponsible. Other ads, the good, the okay and the bad I give a miss.
Yesterday, after ages, I chanced upon a brilliant ad as it popped up on my Facebook page. A TVC for Fa Deo, by TBWA India and produced by RU films and directed by Ravi Udyawar
Here's the TVC, in case you haven't seen it. It's long; it's a director's cut, seen only on digital media. Shorter versions appear on TV.
The TVC is refreshing at so many levels. Thanks to Axe, most TVCs attempt to project deodorants as sex magnets. Spray deo on yourself - and the opposite sex will run towards you, shedding all their clothes preparatory to instant sex, the TVCs seem to say. More importantly the magic of the deos, thanks to Axe, was that they were effective even when the user looked like a loser.
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Screengrab from the ad[/caption]
Over time, the industry forgot what deos were originally intended to do - neutralize body odour thanks to whatever cause.
The industry also forgot that there were many more situations that caused touching and intimacy beyond sex. They forgot about the simple, platonic, everyday, impulsive hug.
TBWA has remembered the simple hug. The simple, but exuberant, hug, with your arms held out long in front of you before you envelop the other in a warm, tight embrace.
The outstretched arms - would you have the courage to do that without the confidence that you were body-odour free?
To me, this commercial (released in May, how did I miss it?) is a milestone in TBWA India's life. It moves away from the effects of the pressure to win awards - a pressure that they have felt. The Fa TVC is unlikely to win awards, but it'll touch a chord with consumers - and with the client.
Anant Rangaswami was, until recently, the editor of Campaign India magazine, of which Anant was also the founding editor. Campaign India is now arguably India's most respected publication in the advertising and media space. Anant has over 20 years experience in media and advertising. He began in Madras, for STAR TV, moving on as Regional Manager, South for Sony’s SET and finally as Chief Manager at BCCL’s Times Television and Times FM. He then moved to advertising, rising to the post of Associate Vice President at TBWA India. Anant then made the leap into journalism, taking over as editor of what is now Campaign India's competitive publication, Impact. Anant teaches regularly and is a prolific blogger and author of Watching from the sidelines.
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