The Tata Sky ad is a classic example of humour that hurts. The string of stereotype characters in the ad only makes it look trite
Campaign: Sab kuch mil gaya
Brand: Tata Sky Mega Pack
Company : Tata Sky
Ideation: In-house team
The Campaign
‘Fulfilment’ is the theme the new Tata Sky Mega Pack creative is woven around. It has everyday characters and their stories of momentary happiness. To begin with, there is a skinny little fellow pumping away iron to garner smiles from his pretty neighbour Pammi. There is a mother-in-law exuding a sense of satisfaction with four daughters-in-law at her command. Then, there is a driver whose day is made as his employer’s daughter, dressed in a mini skirt, decides to sit on the front seat next to him. The last scene has a husband heaving a sigh of relief as his angry wife heads out for her parents’ home. Unable to contain his happiness, he exclaims: “Sab Kuch Mil Gaya!” Suddenly, the wife has a change of heart and decides to stay back and the man is crestfallen as if he has lost everything. Finally, a voice-over says it is only Tata Sky’s Mega Pack that can give consumers everlasting fulfilment with its diverse offerings.
The ad is being aired only on Tata Sky.
Our Take
A sound idea is central to a good commercial. A good script and a flawlessly executed film only bolster it. ?Fulfilment? is a good theme for a brand offering entertainment options to consumers but the script to develop the idea makes the new Tata Sky ad fall flat on its face. There is no fresh thinking on the part of the creative team in terms of fleshing out the idea of ‘fulfilment’. One may argue men trying to woo women, mothers-in-law aspiring to lord over their daughters-in-law, or husbands tired of their wives are universal themes but even these themes need to be given a contemporary touch or they end up looking trite. And this is what the Tata Sky ad fails to do. The effort to infuse humour in the stereotypical portrayal of characters completely boomerangs. The only fresh concept that the film has is the driver’s quiet sense of joy with the daughter of the boss deciding to sit next to him in the car but, that also, leaves a bad taste in the mouth. To be sure, women are portrayed as objects of desire in advertisements and the trend is not likely to change anytime soon but one wonders if the creative team really thought that the driver will be able to carry the idea and manage to tickle the viewer’s funny bone. This part of the commercial is undoubtedly a classic example of humour that hurts.
Also, other women characters, especially the wife and the mom-in-law, are in no way a representation of modern Indian women. It may be recalled how women characters have been central to Tata Sky’s advertising in the past. The Actv English ad around two years back that featured a housewife able to speak fluent English after taking lessons on Tata Sky or the recent set of commercials in which women express their happiness with the various services offered by the DTH operator, were, indeed, better efforts.
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