Campaign : Now You Can!
Brand: Edelweiss
Company: Edelweiss Capital
Agency: Ideas@Work
The Campaign
There are two ads in this series. While one attempts to define ?can?t?, the other defines the people who say so. The first one begins with ?can?t? written on a piece of paper which gets crushed and then follows it with various visuals, each of them bearing a distinct statement which appears on the screen describing what is ?can?t?.
Like that of a man with his legs tied standing on the edge of board on a ship and falling backwards into the crystal blue sea which has been used to describe ?a fear never faced? or a photograph of a car being shredded with the description, ?another plan down another shredder?. The second one starts with a man in an upside down position with ?Can?t? written next to him. What comes next are a series of visuals which explain the ?Can?t? variety. A man scribbling numbers and equations on a glass board but ?has never read the markets?, so says the description.
Or papers flying towards a man walking on the street with the description, ?Can?t offers a million reports?, and when he reaches an intersection with street signs both saying ?One Way?, the line ?But never a single opinion ever? appears. Both the ads end with a man coming and pulling down the ?t? from ?Can?t?, followed by the phrase, ?Now You Can? and the Edelweiss logo.
Our Take
The latest campaign from financial services company Edelweiss speaks of unlocking India?s potential by making things happen. Using great visual imagery, it paints a picture of work, growth and dreams saddled by the burden of ?can?t happen?. And Edelweiss is the harbinger of hope, promising ?Now you can?. The ad is a preclude to expansion of Edelweiss in the retail category and thereby reaching to a wider audience. And that is where the message falls short. While it scores high on creativity, can a wider audience relate to it? Perhaps not. Every frame of the ad as well as the characters are so polished and suave, oozing a typical westernised culture and lifestyle. Something which the vast majority of even urban dwellers cannot relate to, forget the citizens of Bharat. It definitely has an appeal for the corporate and uber rich class, but don?t they know Edelweiss already? And apart from making it happen, does an average viewer get to know how or what Edelweiss has to offer? It?s too much of a brain work for a TV audience whose attention span is fast reducing.
Ratings
*****