Being a young country, it's kinda obvious that a lot of advertisements would have young Indians as their target audience. These two ads however, we felt, stood out amongst the rest.
Even though the latest Levi's commercial isn't made in India and neither does it feature any Indian face prominently, it does speak directly to the youth of the world.A husky Bob Dylannish voice narrating Charles Bukowski's poem The Laughing Heart, urges the young to 'Go Forth'.
With stirring images of what the brand calls 'youth optimism' the commercial urges the young to seize the day.
Bukowski's poem itself is rousing but the wonderfully shot and directed ad takes it to a completely different level.
Interestingly though, the ad has been banned in the UK after the recent riots because some images in the commercial apparently sent out the wrong message.
These were a few fleeting shots of young people standing up against the cops, which well don't quite send the right message at this point.
The riot scenes apparently were suggesting May Day riots in Berlin but that obviously didn't quite go down well with the folks in Britain.
Anyway, do watch the commercial. And for those who want to read the Charles Bukowski poem. Here's the text:
The Laughing Heart
Your life is your life
don't let it be clubbed into dank submission.
Be on the watch.
There are ways out.
There is a light somewhere.
It may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
Be on the watch.
The gods will offer you chances.
Know them.
Take them.
You can't beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
And the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
Your life is your life.
Know it while you have it.
You are marvelous
the gods wait to delight in you.
Aritel's 'Har ek friend zaroori hota hai'
Image: on Rediff iShare: Aritel's ad celebrating friendshipWhat's life without a good friend, right? Airtel's latest commercial that everyone's been singing is an ode to friendship and all those dreamy college days and all its concerns from copying to shopping.
And why not! As one of the company's spokesperson pointed out, almost 200 million Indians are between 15-25 years of age and these are the onles who are most clued into technology using mobile phones and iPads to communicate -- via text messages, social media and skype!
Sure enough the commercial has managed to strike a chord with its signature line 'Har ek friend zaroori hota hai' and has pretty much caught everyone's attention, including ours. Watch it!
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