Class 7 Civics

Making of Advertisement

Advertisements often target our personal emotions. They link our emotions to products and tend to influence the ways in which we value ourselves as persons.

Often we see many celebrities (cricketers, film stars, models, etc.) selling products through advertisements. Their popularity is used by advertisers to convince people to buy the products. Let us understand the concept of linking emotions and celebrity endorsements with the help of the following advertisement.

TVC for Basmati Rice

LT Foods, one of the leading processors and exporters of packaged basmati rice and an upcoming FMCG company, has unveiled a new television commercial (TVC) with Amitabh Bachchan for their flagship brand, Daawat.

In a fast growing and competitive category, where consumers are bombarded with messages on product superiority and attributes, this campaign is a refreshing attempt to connect to the heart of consumers and make them experience the fulfillment that comes from cooking, serving and eating the finest basmati rice.

The TVC brings to life the unique Indian way of expressing our love through the food we serve and eat and how this expression is incomplete without Daawat basmati rice. Developed by Lowe Lintas, the TV commercial titled Pyaar ki Special Bhasha, encapsulates vignettes from day-to-day life created into an emotional story of relationships narrated by Bachchan in a poignant manner.

Rice is the staple food for most of the Indians and basmati rice finds special place in festive eating. In fact, long grain basmati rice is considered as the top notch rice by most of the people. This TV commercial tries to play on this sentiment.

Indians usually do not express their love openly and this is especially true for older couple. However, we often express our love through the food we share with others. That is what the old protagonist in this advertisement is trying to do with the branded basmati rice.

Amitabh Bachchan is a recognizable face with fan following spanning over at least three generations. His use as a brand ambassador gives the much needed creditworthiness to the brand.

In addition to the role of convincing us to buy particular product, advertisements also have an influence on the way we think about ourselves, and our family and friends. Before buying a product based on advertisements, it is therefore important to understand how advertising works and what it does. It often shows the lives of the rich people and mostly ignores the ground realities of the world. Hence we need to critically analyse the use of particular images and emotions in the advertisements. We should not blindly follow the advertisements.

How is an advertisement made?

Given the extent of influence advertisement has on our lives it is obvious that making an advertisement is not an easy job. The main objective of an advertisement is to entice people to buy a particular brand. In other words, after seeing an advertisement people should be drawn towards the brand. This requires a lot of time, effort and money on the part of the advertiser. Briefly, creating an advertisement involves the following steps:

  1. Determining the consumer profile: This is done by conducting market surveys.
  2. Visualizing a campaign: The campaign intended must appeal to the target audience.
  3. Devising a new strategy: This involves:
    • Emphasising on an aspect that is different from that of the competitor. This could be highlighting the product features, personal and social values etc.
    • Giving a brand name: This step also involves naming the brand. The brand name should represent the concept used in the advertisement.
  4. Making a presentation to the client and getting their feedback
  5. Finalising and releasing the advertisement campaign: When the marketing strategy is considered successful, the advertisement campaign is finalized and released in different media along with the launch of the brand.

Running an advertisement on a single medium does not work. The advertiser needs to use almost all the available media to strengthen the recall value of a brand. You may have observed that a new campaign becomes omnipresent on all types of media. You can see the same advertisement on TV, in newspaper and magazine, on huge hoardings and will get to hear the same catch-line on radio. This is further augmented by display advertisements on the internet.