Back in demand from its original avatar as the Friday Afternoon Lecture Series :)
The original Friday Afternoon Lecture Series
27th May 2011
The original Friday Afternoon Lecture Series
The "It's still Friday Afternoon Lecture Series"
It’s still the Friday Afternoon Lecture Series J-1
Mad about Movies
This capsule is being sent from one professional to others and not as the weekly update from the GM of McCann Kenya.
Not surprisingly most of the people who have asked me not to stop this series seem to love movies and this one is addressing that passion.
Mad about Movies.
When a cat sits on a mat ….nothing happens, it is boring, where else will cats sit? But when a cat sits on a dog’s mat… you have a screenplay happening J..This short film from Denmark is one of the finest examples of storytelling that I have seen…and therefore in my opinion, one of the finest films I have seen.
Avatar was a world wide hit and became for a time part of the popular culture. This link gives you an overview of the technology that was employed in its making.
Enter the Dragon was one movie I watched a million times and never got tired of itJ. This clip is from the Guy Ritchie film Sherlock Holmes. I liked it because it is an intelligent man’s take on bare knuckle boxing. Great way of shooting a fight sequence, Guy Ritchie in his element here!
I guess that will do for now. Till the next Friday … Have a nice weekend
Vinod Natesan
27th May 2011
It’s still Friday Afternoon Lecture Series -2
OLD SPICE or NEW SPICE
Old Spice was a brand I was quite fond of as a teenager and that was clearly “Once upon a time in the 80’s in India”.The visual of a blonde beauty, staring transfixed at a surfer as he braved the seas, was etched for long in my mind and without really knowing it, the strains of the western classical piece “Carmina Burana”, were also playing in my head. Later on, as a young professional in the 90’s I had a chance to work on the brand which was being marketed by the P&G India team and came to understand the imagery and thought process that went behind it. An anti-septic in function, the harsh lotion was positioned as a symbol of masculinity, a “cowboy of the seas” in a manner of speaking ! Splashing on the lotion without wincing, was the ultimate in machismo. The fact that it was scented and had a perfume, was the route to enhanced sexuality and masculine appeal!!
I had forgotten all about it till I recently saw the new TVC for Old Spice which I am told actually revitalized an almost anachronism of a brand. The campaign format has very clearly it has undergone a metamorphosis, with the ad clearly targeting the lower income women who shop for deodorants for the men in the house along with the groceries (consumer insight?). The campaign worked apparently and won numerous awards internationally. Most men I spoke to, did not like the male talent (understandable J), but the brand remained top of mind ..:)
Bacardi and the power of music.
If music be the food of love, play on …wrote the Bard and this TVC by Bacardi does just that and was a huge hit in India in the late 90’s and literally skyrocketed the brand in the urban youth market.
They continue to use great music J
Have a great weekend and be good this winterJ
Vinod
