Disappearing Screen Space: Products Facing Identity Crisis?
Recently, I was trying to recall an advertisement in which a boy and an elephant share a relationship that 'grows deeper with time'. But, all I could remember was the story. What was the product? A network connection? Well, it was IDBI Bank's latest campaign. The screen space shared by products in advertisements has tremendously decreased. Advertisements, these days, have an abstract theme. They first create a need by emotionally connecting with the audience, and then introduce the product. They aim to reach the value-minded consumer with innovative and conceptual advertising executions. Remember the ad showing a number of dolls resembling women in different professions? How many of us could guess that the ad was about a hair product ( Livon )? The recent Cadbury Eyebrows Campaign (2009) launched in Britain is a fine example of the trend in the advertising industry we are talking about. The list, however, is not exhaustive. Nike's 'Failure' Campaign, Br