Advent of creativity

From here it looks like you could use some new underwear.There's a sticker for Orient Tiles, the Indian tile company, stuck on a ceiling. ...

From here it looks like you could use some new underwear.

There8217;s a sticker for Orient Tiles, the Indian tile company, stuck on a ceiling. It says, 8220;Next time, use Orient non-slip tiles8221;. Presumably, the sticker is above a slippery floor. People slip, fall flat on their back and then see the sticker. Of course, you don8217;t have to slip and fall to get the message. You see the sticker on the ceiling as you pass by, imagine somebody else falling and seeing it, and chuckle at the thought.

Then there is the Economist ad on the roof of a double-decker. The line reads: 8220;Hello to all our readers in high office.8221; Aptly, it could only be read from the windows of high-rise office blocks.

Even if you stick to conventional media, you can always use it in an unconventional way. Take the in-shop poster for Lakme Winter Care lotion. It8217;s positioned as the non-sticky, therefore better, alternative to cold cream. The poster invites you to touch it 8212; and it feels sticky because the front surface is covered with a layer of gum. By thus bringing out the drawback of cold creams, it encourages you to switch to Winter Care lotion.

An ad becomes much more noticeable if it is three-dimensional. Many direct mailers have used this to their advantage. Print Vision, a Mumbai-based exhibition of advanced print technologies, showcases innovative printing techniques such as scratch amp; sniff inks. The organizers sent out an invitation consisting of a packet with a message outside telling people that there was something inside that would help them appreciate the exhibition. One opened the packet to find a bottle of nose drops.

Three-dimensional outdoor can be dramatic too. The Mumbai Traffic Police have put up a hoarding near the Babulnath Temple discouraging people from drinking and driving. It features a real bashed up car. The copy reads: The Millennium Bash.

Cinema advertising can be turned into an event by going beyond the standard image on the screen. British Airways has done this beautifully with its advertising for a weekend getaway deal. The commercial running on the screen shows a couple holding hands on a Parisian street. Suddenly, a woman planted in the audience stands up and starts shouting.

Story continues below this ad

8220;Bill?8230;Bill? What are you doing?8221; The man on the screen looks towards the audience with an extremely guilty expression 8212; he has been caught with another woman by his wife. While the man is trying to made some lame excuse the 8220;wife8221; storms out of the cinema hall. The commercial on the screen ends with the voice-over: 8220;Why not surprise your loved one with a British Airways holiday this weekend?8221; The audience must have enjoyed this enactment more than the actual movie. And surely, they will remember it far longer than any regular TV commercial they have seen.