Knowing the Pulse
Saw the new Bajaj Pulsar ad? I did too, and exept for the music, it didn’t do too much to me. So i asked a few guys who like bikes how they felt about the ad. And they all seemed to love it, and hence the post.
Pulsar will never get my attention, only because i am not interested in bikes, but for its target audience, I think it has done a remarkable job. I did a quick google for their website, and found it quite easily, the video is available for download. Good. But what’s great is that they have loaded the video on YouTube and has (the last time i checked) got almost a lakh views.
Why is it great? Because these are not people who are forced to see it on television because they couldn’t find the remote in time (or are too lazy to flip the channel), these are people who have actively searched for it and then, maybe even forwarded it to their friends. There will also be people like me who went to see where that neat soundtrack came from.
So, the cynic asks, will it actually sell more bikes, especially if the crowd is made up of people like me you who go there to get a soundtrack. Yeah, i still wouldn’t buy it, but I’d rave about the ad to a dozen friends, I will post about it here (even though this is hardly read 🙂 ), and the bikers who don’t know about this will know about it, and when they consider a bike change (maybe this will make them), they will remember the ad. The price, the mileage, the chips inside, all can be shared through the brochure, but not the soul and passion, and thats where I think, the ad scores. Because the rest have become a commodity, that creates a differentiation. Its a good lesson on how social media/web 2.0 can work for ‘even’ bike companies.
And they are right, this is how virals get made, sorry happen.
until next time, pulsating
This entry was posted on March 19, 2008 at 12:02 pm and is filed under Advertising, Brand, India, Internet with tags Pulsar, Viral. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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March 19, 2008 at 5:13 pm
so did u manage to find out who did the music? the music is reallllllllllllly Trippyyyyy..
About the ad.. it will work.. because stunts always gets the adrenalin pumping amongst the youngsters.. the fact that the particular ad has come under the hammer along with a lot others .. i do kind of stand by ASCI on this one.. questioning it.. point being that why does every bike have to be shown as a stunt machine? or a fair and lovely, axe equivalent.. u get girls if u have me? somehow i feel that youngsters and u cant blame it on anyone.. are not mature enough to think logically.. bikes are going to be the mean machine for them.. and these crazy and really cool stunts only get them to try them.. it gives them the rush.. its the age and everyone of us go through that.. just feel that instead of giving them a push can just keep it at the minimum possible.. no matter how har u try and say its the individual who has to draw the line.. YOUNGISTAN mind u in most cases is not capable of that.. they try all these out and then go and bump themselves.. Bike accidents are scary.. and i have been a part of one.. thankfully bumped my head but managed to not lose my screw by gods grace except for having bandage on my head for a month.. but it can really be crazier than that..
Anyways whats the big idea in this one? questioning from the advertising perspective. its just another bike stunt ad.. maybe standing above the other stunty bike ads because its been executed well and has a killer music score to ad to the killer bit.. though i fell the execution could have been better because except for a few top shots.. the road seems to be distracting .. because the angle is such that u see the roads more than the guys doing the stunts in the corner of the screen.. anyways it still makes go whoaaaaaa.. i did..
The big idea to me was Bajaj Avenger.. done by lowe.. I FEEL LIKE GOD.. that was a killer one.. its one guy who reteirates his life experiences.. one most average people would go through.. and then its about being on that bike out there.. feeling free.. feeling like a god.. u a manager and inchanrge of your own self and not answerable to anyone.. its the attiutude which is mind boggling.. the bike adding to that attitude.. the bike isnt the hero here.. like u cant do without the bike.. its the guy who is killer..and the bike is an add on to it.. u r not puting the person down infact .. you are a part of that guys attitude and sexy awakened life.. 🙂
Thats killer and the big idea.. am sure pulsar ad is going to work for them.. its just the whole social responsibility crap.. though hard core marketers probably wont agree to me cuz it about geting their bike to sell.. which it will in anycase.. so why bother.. but maybe take that leap and maybe become that great brand and not just a cool brand.. 🙂
March 24, 2008 at 7:38 am
ah well, if we’re talking of illiterate youngsters who dont see the mandatory warning, can’t help it… ads cannot be held responsible… thats like blaming the newspapers for carrying an article on the sensex rising, ‘hey thats why i bought shares’…..
onto the ad, well, its the combo of all that you said that does the trick… neat stunts, good music, from my pov subtle branding… the post was on the ‘virality’ of it…
i did like the avenger ad, though its later versions sucked… and what if the idea was to make the bike the hero? 😀
March 24, 2008 at 12:08 pm
yeah the follow ons of avenger definitely sucked.. but that one ad did it all.. well sequels always seem to have a problem in anyline of work.. originals always work better..
i didnt blame the ad.. just said.. took to a different level of social responsibility bit.. i dnt know if u r a rider.. but most get a high with the speed.. and things like that which actually look more human than post prod jobs..always intrigues them.. believe me one doesnt bothered about the warnings.. not because they cant read it.. maybe they just go into this other stand altogether.. well why does listening to floyd fuck peopl’s mind wen they are at their worse.. its not like u sit down for everything saying detach.. its the power of the medium itself.. be it music, stunts or watever else it is..
regarding the idea being to make the bike a hero.. its the guys who are the hero’s here not the bike who can do the stunt in the first place.. and even if u think otherwise.. its boring..been there done that by almost everyone.. everyone wants to make their bikes hero.. u got to try and do it beyond stunt way for a change.. stunt is a medium which will always open your mouth.. nad if u have the monies.. u can keep recreating amazing production value commercials..
like i said hardcore marketers would disagree with me.. because for them it all boils down to just selling..
March 25, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Of all the ‘stunt-ads’ this is a real cool one. It’s another matter they are trying to sell a bike (director: Oh, yeah, right… we are supposed to be making a commercial for a bike right? Ok, throw in the badging in the final shot!). Seriously, I have always noticed ad agencies in India nearly always tend to focus on power/macho ism when it comes to trying to sell an automobile/bike. Take the Ford Fiesta for example; you watch a guy trying to light up a field or something with his ‘matchless’ Fiesta!
I am in the market for an upgrade of wheels, and based on reviews from actual owners of Fiesta, there’s much more to the vehicle than setting Fields on Fire (for which you need to do an elaborate setup)!
It’s the same take I have on the Pulsar ad: will a potential buyer go for the Pulsar ‘coz he can do the Salsa with other Pulsar owners in the middle of MG Rd? Or, would he actually base his decision on a ‘minor’ product feature like low maintenance costs?
(Director: since we have already canned the ‘wheelies’, let’s try something new – the rider will run with the bike on his head: see, no wheels on the ground stunt!)
Whose money is it anyway?
March 26, 2008 at 6:17 am
tanaya: for me, the avnger ads would work in a niche, stunt ads are mass… again, my take was on the creation of a viral, to which the stunts, the music, the subtle branding all contribute
arun: i think everyone wants to move from a commodity (stats) approach to an attitude approach (stunts/josh/avenger type)…. looking at it from a purchase point of view, a guy who’s in the market will definitely check out all options at the retail outlets, there you have to communicate the ‘minors’.. but in a mass medium will you use stats or stunts to make the guy sit up and take notice, thats the qustion, i think, all these guys are grappling with… meanwhile this post’s thought was on the ‘virality’ of it, and if it helps 🙂
March 26, 2008 at 9:20 am
the argument here “KEEPING THE RETEIRATED EVERYTIME BY YOU VIRILITY FACTOR” is the fact that there has to be other ways of making people sit up and notice than the ghisa pita same old i can do the stunts better in my ad than yur ad.. thats all..
March 28, 2008 at 6:59 am
I thank god that mt pov about the latest Pulsar Mania ad didnt change even after reading the comments above. My take on this ad is that
For me it looked more as a Brand/ Corporate film than a particular product ad. They do show ‘180’ and ‘220’; but these help only our glancing and observing power to improve! The previous Pulsar ad if you remember (a pulsar competing 4 more pulsars) was a better one for me. I believe the latest one is just the continuation to this. ‘Definitely Male’ campaign has already done the trick years back and then the product itself made sure it sells and wins. As one of you mentioned that the technicalities, power, engine size etc are commodities now a days, the only way to sell more bikes according to me is make films like the Mania one.