The festival season every year is heralded by the memorable ads that marketers release not just to push their brands, but also to connect with their customers by tapping into the festive spirit of happiness and celebrations. So important is this season in the marketing cycles of companies that brands typically keep aside 40-45% of their annual ad spends for the festive season. Aggressive, smart advertising and brand promotion is the need of the hour as product launches, festive offers, discounts, special packs and much more, are unveiled by marketers.

This year too, despite the undercurrents of an imminent economic slowdown, brands have come out with high-decibel advertising to mark the occasion. Across categories such as electronic appliances, real estate, textiles, gems and jewellery, luxury products and fast moving consumer goods, brands have come out with with some ordinary, some outstanding and some simply brilliant ads to make a deeper connect with the consumer. In this edition, Brandwagon, with the help of a select group of experts drawn from the advertising world, checks out the best television ads of the season. Our panelists are KV Sridhar (Pops), national creative director, Leo Burnett, Amit Shankar, executive creative director and creative head, Grey Delhi, Raghu Bhat, co-founder, Scarecrow Asia, Russell Barrett, creative head, BBH India and Titus Upputuru, national creative director, Dentsu Marcom.

Interestingly, two of the five top ads on our list ? Tanishq’s ‘Bangles’ ad and World Gold Council’s ‘TV set’ ad ? belong to the jewellery category, indicating perhaps the Indian consumer’s penchant to adorn herself during the festive season. However, there is an interesting addition this year of an online shopping portal campaign, flipkart.com. Also, this year, there has not been a major marketing splash from any consumer durables major. Cadbury and Coca-Coca, the two multinational brands on our list, continue their tryst with the Indian youth with their Diwali ads. Enjoy reading more about this year’s top five festive ads and why have they made it to this list.

What women want

Campaign: Bangles

Brand: Tanishq

Company: Titan Industries

Creative Agency: Lowe Lintas

The Film: The ad opens with Amitabh Bachchan thinking about the fact that after 38 Diwalis, he finally knows what gift to get for his wife. He goes to a Tanishq showroom and asks the salesman for diamond bangles. The salesman tries to explain the quality of the diamonds but Amitabh tells him to keep quiet as he already knows about it and that is why he has come to Tanishq. When Amitabh goes home with the bangles, Jaya Bachchan is putting on a similar pair of bangles. Amitabh wants to wish her Happy Diwali with his surprise gift but realises that he has picked up identical bangles. While Jaya tells him that she picked them up herself, Amitabh tells her that he bought two more of the same for her. As she accepts the gift, she expresses concern that she will not be able to differentiate between the bangles that she bought and the ones her husband has gifted her and it would have been better if he had bought her a ring. Amitabh looks into the camera and whispers ?what to do?.

Expert Take: All of our five panelists have voted for this ad. KV Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett India thinks that it is a good ad but stops being great because of the predictability; the charm, however, comes through the greed for more stones. ?Great casting, I must say on a lighter note!? he says.

Raghu Bhat, co-founder and director, Scarecrow Communications says, ?When everyone is shouting, it pays to whisper. The Tanishq ad plants the gifting idea in the mind without hard-sell. The minimal dialogues and top-class performances lend credibility and watchability.?

Russell Barrett, creative head, BBH India says, ?This ad looks rich and elegant. Somewhere, you realise that ?the look? still plays an important part of whether you like an ad or don?t.?

According to Amit Shankar of Grey, the ad captures the insight that when two people have been together for a long time, their tastes become similar. He says, ?The beautiful chemistry between Amitabh and Jaya is a testimony to that. All this while reaffirming that Tanishq is the brand of choice for the Bachchans. Emotional, fun, quirky, Happy Diwali!? Dentsu Marcom?s national creative director Titus Upputuru says, ?Festival finds an extension of what the brand said earlier. Mr Bachchan, now wiser, tells the guy in showroom, ?pata hai, pata hai?. Quite liked that. And the husband-wife banter. Wife coming out as the smarter lot. Husband saying the last dialogue without saying it. Nice.?

Mother of mine

Campaign: Lonely Maa

Brand: Cadbury Celebrations

Company: Cadbury India

Creative Agency: Contract Advertising

The Film: An old woman enters the room with a cup in her hand. And simultaneously, we hear the voice of her son in the background who is telling her about his promotion at work. While this goes on, the mother settles herself on the computer desk. The son goes on to tell her how happy his boss is with his work, and how his friends are a bit angry with him since he doesn?t have time to meet them anymore. Now the old lady tries to switch on the computer clumsily and unfolds a paper which has directions written on them as to how to use the computer. The son tells her that there is no point in meeting his friends as he can talk to them through email, chat, SMS, video chats, etc., and birthday wishes and festival wishes are taken care of through Facebook. By this time, the lady is struggling hard to find the Facebook url and once she finds it, she cannot get the right password. She looks extremely upset. While the son goes on talking about how it is a digital world, the old woman spills her tea on the keyboard. The VO says that it is your mother, not your friend. And adds: ?Kuch meetha lijiye, aur unse jaakar miliye? (Take something sweet along and go and meet her).

Expert Take: Three of our five panelists have voted for this ad. KV Sridhar, NCD, Leo Burnett believes it is a very insightful TV commercial. ?It slaps you even in your wildest dreams if you intend to greet your mom on a Facebook wall. Very well done,? he says.

Russell Barrett of BBH too says the insight is lovely with the story captivating and the casting great. ?It is an idea, considering the world we live in, whose time has come: An ad that asks us to disconnect to connect.?

Amit Shankar of Grey India feels that it is another great from Cadbury. ?It touches the right emotional chord. It reminds us that however advanced we may have become, nothing replaces the personal touch when it comes to bringing alive the spirit of Diwali and, indeed life. And what better example than a mother-son story mithaas gholne ke liye (to make it sweet)?? he points out.

Shopping Bonanza Online

Campaign: Diwali Shopping

Brand: Flipkart.com

Company: Flipkart.com

Creative Agency: Happy Creative Services

The Film: The ad opens with a couple (played by two kids) who has just returned home after shopping. The husband tells his wife that he is exhausted by the shopping spree but the wife reminds him that they still need to buy a new television. He then complains about the crowded shops and suggests that they buy the TV from Flipkart.com. The wife is a bit doubtful about this but then the husband tells her that they will get a higher discount and he can eventually buy more gifts for her. The wife asks him what gift is he planning to buy for her and he replies ?dollhouse?. The VO then takes over ?Best prices on all products, Flipkart.com online store.?

Expert Take: BBH creative head Russell Barrett calls it a nicely shot ad. ?Loved the acting. It?s not a new idea, but still, lovingly put together,? he says. The ad is number five on Grey?s Amit Shankar?s best festive ads list. ?It is simple, clear and well executed. But very close to E*Trade babies campaign,? he says.

Titus Upputuru of Dentsu Marcom says, ?I think this one again is true to what they have been doing as brand a while ago. Also has a good chance of standing out in the clutter of fireworks on TV because of casting kids as adults in festive garments. The understated acting by kids is superb.?

The gold rush

Campaign: TV set

Brand: World Gold Council

Company: World Gold Council

Creative Agency: BBH India

The Film: A mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are sitting opposite each other on a bed. The mother-in-law starts the conversation and tells her daughter-in-law as how she wasn?t too happy when her son Venkat chose her but now if Venkat is happy, she is happy too. The old lady then smiles and says that she wants to give a prized possession to her. On her tenth Diwali, her husband (Venkat?s father) had given her a prized gift and now she wants to pass it on to her daughter-in-law. While the daughter-in-law is extremely happy, the old woman pulls out an old dusty black and white television from under the bed. The daughter-in-law is stunned. The voice-over then says that had Venkat?s father given her gold jewellery instead of a TV 30 years back, then the daughter-in-law would have reaped the benefits and suggests that this Diwali everyone should invest in gold instead of spending.

Expert Take: ?The age old belief of investing in gold rather than electronic junk is a very powerful massage to the middle-class mindset, the most effective ad of the lot,? says Leo Burnett?s KV Sridhar.

For Raghu Bhat of Scarecrow Communications, this ad proves two things. A gold ad doesn?t have to end with a warm soft-focus image of a smiling woman. And that, India is ready for humour in gold advertising.

?This ad brings wisdom into festivity. It tells us the best thing to buy during festivals with an interesting execution of an age-old tradition of a mother-in-law passing on family heirloom. The surprise of an old TV, the sort we grew up with, takes the barfi,? says Dentsu Marcom?s Titus Upputuru.

Shine a light

Campaign: Khushiyan baatne se hi badhti hain

Brand: Coca-Cola

Company: Coca-Cola India

Creative Agency: McCann Erickson

The Film: In this TV spot, a group of four friends are shown lighting diyas at places that are most dear to them, when one of the friends decide that this year they should light two extra diyas for special places. They go on lighting diyas at various places like their classroom, principal?s room, next to the girl?s hostel watchman, canteen, bhoot bungalow, etc.

Expert Take: This Coke ad is on everybody?s favourite list. ?I love the intent of the ad, what a beautiful way to celebrate and bring happiness by lighting two more diyas!,? says Leo Burnett?s KV Sridhar though he adds that the execution lets down a bit. ?A single story would have been more powerful.? For Russell Barrett of BBH, the ad is ?fun, happy, hummable and will be popular?. He says the ad is ?another one of the really entertaining ?music video? commercials that we all like.?

According to Scarecrow Communications? Raghu Bhat, the song uplifts the TV commercial. ?The idea of lighting up two extra diyas is great even though the purpose remains unclear. Instead of using inanimate objects, the diyas could have spread happiness amongst people,? he says.

Amit Shankar, ECD, Grey feels that it is the best ad of the lot. ?At a time when Diwali has become a time for parties or an opportunity to spend a long weekend at home, Coke has taken us back to the time when it was about lighting up the house, both literally as well as metaphorically. And it stays true to Coke?s philosophy of Open Happiness by urging you to go and spread the cheer among all those who have touched you in one way or the other. Toh iss Diwali, do diye zyaada jalao … Definitely,? he says.

?Khushiyan Baantne se badhti hain. Well said. Nice execution. Voices sound real and fresh. This one is true in terms of celebrating the festival as against being tactical in nature. Hopefully the ad has a good digital/activation leg which may garner participation,? says Titus Upputuru of Dentsu Marcom.