[icernet] Peddling dreams in tough times

[Arul Selvan]

  An advertisement is a medium. It carries a message from a manufacturer 
or service provider to a customer. We all know that. But what we do not 
know, or care to, is that the medium often becomes the message. And the 
message, well, the message that the medium wanted to convey in the first 
place, is lost in a bewildering variety of frills.

Indian advertising, despite its slick, smart strides over the past few 
years, has not been able to get rid of its bagful of tricks that is 
clever by half. There are so many, many advertisements which are wide 
off the mark. A rum company presents a calendar full of skin-clad women. 
A car manufacturer has a movie actor and actress to push its product on 
the fast lane. In these cases, the companies and advertising agencies do 
not seem to pause and ponder whether their places of labour achieve what 
they are meant to. Will a guy looking at the models on the calendar 
remember the brand of liquor they had hoped to promote? Will a 
star-struck fan care to pay attention to the contraption the celebrities 
were trying to peddle? The malaise in Indian advertising runs deeper 
than this. Often, technique is used not as complement but to the 
detriment of a commercial. Have you seen the increasing number of 
advertisements that rely on sheer gimmicks, such as fast-cuts and freeze 
frames?

Indian advertising is at a difficult intersection. Though armed with a 
marvellous technology, it often overlooks content. The form thus assumes 
meaningless importance, and sometimes communication suffers, writes 
GAUTAMAN BHASKARAN.

Source:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2003/05/11/stories/2003051100680200.htm