Elements required

to make a
Successful
Campaign

By
Patoju Sai Harshavardhan

Ad

Objective

The core purpose of this research project is to find out the elements
which are required to make a successful Ad campaign. Iconic Ad
campaign is defined as the most recalled Ad and not based on the
monetary returns of the campaign, for the purpose of this study.

Methodology
The survey mainly focused on collecting the data regarding respondents
favorite television Ad. Once, arrived at the Ads which are mentioned most no.
of times, The Ads are analyzed for the elements which made them
remarkable. The focus is mainly generic and is not pertaining to any
particular sector, segment or product. So, the results and recommendations
of this research study are just indicative of the common elements for any
television Ad, which would make it successful.
In order to find the required elements to run a successful Ad campaign, I
tried to find the favorite television Ads of the respondents and probed them
further as to what they remember about it?
Some of the questions posed were:

Whats your favorite Television Ad?

What do you remember about it?

Any Ad campaigns that they remember from 5 to 10 years back?

The main focus is on trying to achieve the names of the Ad campaigns which
are mentioned most no. of times. Therefore, much probing was not done on
the age, occupation, and other personality traits.

Sample Selection
For the purpose of this study, particular segment of the population is not
selected as the objective is to find results about television Ads as a whole.

Furthermore, the respondents in this survey are selected on a random

basis. But, it may be noted that, majority of the respondents indicative
age is 20-30 years and gender is male.

Sample Size: 350

Indicative age group of 20-30; MBA Students 38% and Working professionals
62%
Geographic regions: Delhi and Hyderabad

Survey Method(s) employed

A mix methodology was used to conduct the survey. The respondents were
approached by the following methods:

Telephonic interview
Personal interview

Survey Results and Analysis

After conducting the survey, the considered list of respondents is 350. (for all
the no. of responses please refer to Appendix A) The five Ads which were
mentioned most no. of times are listed below:
1. Vodafone Zoozoo Ad campaign (16% of respondents)
2. Airtel A R Rahman Ad campaign (11% of respondents)
3. Cadbury Dairy Milk, Kuch Meeta Ho Jaaye Ad Campaign (10% of
respondents)
4. Surf Excel Daag Acha Hain Ad campaign (9% of respondents)
5. Fevi Kwik Chutki Mein Chipkaye Ad campaign (9% of respondents)

Ad Analysis
1. Vodafone Zoozoo Ad Campaign

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efRNKkmWdc0

During one month of IPL second season, it seemed the world cares nothing
but Zoozoos. And we can feel it even now, when the ads and the iconic
figures are not on air. So what can we call this Zoozoo phenomenon? A brand

building masterstroke? Well, let us analyze various aspects of this Vodafone

campaign. Zoozoos are white, ghost-like creatures with ballooned bodies and
egg heads who are used to promote various value added services of
Vodafone. These ads though look animated are actually real humans in the
Zoozoo costumes. The real test of effectiveness of Zoozoo lies in its objective
achievement.
Success factors

The success of ZooZoo is the success of minimalism and simplicity.

Although the production process of ZooZoo ads are not simple,
consumers were attracted to the simplicity of the concept and the
execution.

ZooZoo also highlights the power of storytelling. Each ads tells a very
simple story. After all, brands are made through story telling.

Its not only the power of a gripping narrative that made the campaign
Iconic, it it is the use of these Zoozoo characters that added the xfactor to the mix.

Another factor that aided the success of ZooZoo is the scale of the
campaign. Reports suggest that there are around 25 different ads of
ZooZoo aired during IPL 2 season. This unprecedented scale has kept
the curiosity high among the viewers. It has in fact dwarfed all the
other advertisers in this season.

Key Insights

Creation of a Brand Character

Narratives backing up the
character
Using the frenzy of a television
season

2. Airtel A R Rahman Ad campaign

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnoYvASi6Qc

The ad featuring A.R.Rahman was one of the first Airtel television ads. It
shows how he came up with the signature tune of Airtel. The ad features
A.R.Rahman with foreigners. Thus the ad caters to a mixed audience,
including people from Asia, Africa and Channel Islands. It also touches the
patriotic psyche of the Indian audience by repeated use of the word Indian
in all examples. Thus the ad manages to establish a strong patriotic
connection with the countrys audience. The appearance of the world famous
musician A.R.Rahman is even more attractive in this ad.
Success factors

Airtel, in an attempt to create a signature tune that can be associated

with its brand name had roped in A R Rahman, who is considered to be
Mozart of Indian Music, in 2002.

To the ecstasy of the brand, the music hit a fortune with the Indian
audience and became a huge success.

This fact is clearly substantiated by the respondents who recalled the

Airtel Ad music without any aid. Now the brand is certainly closely knit
with its music.

Key Insight

Music that can

reflect a brand
image.
3. Cadbury Dairy Milk, Kuch Meeta Ho Jaaye Ad
Campaign
Video
link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rf0X0ycQz3I&list=PLFbfrOfx6epYg1xSK3YYpNEAA-7Jue1Zd&index=4
Cadbury has made several TV campaigns with different taglines in order to
target different segments with different positioning. It has evoked a sense of
personal connect and emotions to reach out to audience by making the TVCs
with daily narratives that happen in anyone's home. The Ad campaign was
laid as an attempt to project Dairy milk as a replacement to Indian sweets.

Kuch meeta ho Jaaye is a common phrase among Indians as an indication

to celebration.
Success factors

Target Audience: Catered to all the age groups one after the another,
capturing the complete family

Positioning
as
choice:
positioned
the
alternative/compliment to sweets/desserts

Feel Good: Evokes emotions and mood of celebrations which struck the
chord with audience

chocolate

as

an

Key Insight

Tagline which is already

well connected to the
target audience

4. Surf Excel Daag Acha Hain Ad campaign

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeW7lu7yJjs
Effective communication of the brand is what makes people to retain and
recollect the ads. Surf excel does this with its Daag Acha Hein campaign
where in it shows getting stains are for ones own good.

Brother-Sister fight with puddle, Student trying to rejoice his grieving

Teacher.

Success factors

Cute kids who play brother and sister in the Ad are the awe factor.
Many respondents connected on an emotional level as it shows
brothers love for sister.

Communication : Idea
understandable way

is

communicated

in

simple

and

Non-traditional : Its different from the competitors idea of strains are

not good

Connecting to Ones self: These ads reminds people of their childhood

where they might have missed few things due to the fear of getting
strains. So, it connects emotionally.

Key Insight

Unconventio
nal
(Tagline)

5. Fevi Kwik Chutki Mein Chipkaye Ad campaign

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2rdHkR_x3Y
A suave old man in a beret is fishing patiently. Just then, a lungi-clad
South Indian man walks up to the bank, making a lot of noise, armed with
just a stick. The old man asks him to be quiet. The South Indian man then
applies Fevikwik to the stick four times, and sticks it in the water. Next
second, he catches four fish, much to the amazement of the older man.
The tagline says, Chutki mein chipkaye, Fevikwik.
From the picturesque setting to the very mellow and mysterious
background sounds, the classy snobbish man vs. the noisy local fisherman
and the super quirky punch in the end just makes for a classic
advertisement which is still loved by consumers and advertisers
everywhere. The message of Fevikwik capable of sticking everything in
seconds is clear as well.
Success factors

The vital factors which can be attributed to its success are:

The quirkiness

The exaggeration of the adhesives abilities has resulted in a

humorous outcome.

The tag line itself has added the much required message to be
taken in a catchy manner.

Key Insight

A Narrative that
goes beyond
the products
capabilities

View Point
If we try to find the commonalities among the above described Ads, we may
arrive at following:

All of the advertisements are mostly Emotive and not Persuasive

It may be noted that we are trying identify remarkable Ad campaigns

based on the recall of the Ad campaign and not by its monetary
returns.

So, it is perceivable that recall is a result of memory retrieval which is

primarily linked to emotional connect of the audience.

If we analyze the Ads based on the emotional connect that they

achieved, we could arrive at the elements which can aid in getting
consumers emotions flowing.

Memory:
Cognitive psychologists distinguish between Short-term memory (STM) and
Long-term memory (LTM). All the information and experiences we encounter
as we go through life can end up in LTM. Most widely accepted views of LTM
structure assume we form some kind of associative model, consisting of
nodes and links. Nodes contain information and links connect these nodes
forming a network. A spreading activation process from node to node
determines how much we retrieve and what information we actually recall in
a given situation.
Therefore, given the fact that all the selected Ads for analysis are at least 6
years old, it is much required to see how these Ads were embedded in the
LTM of the respondents.
In order to take a step in this direction, we will take a look at the six traits
identified by Chip and Dan Heath, which can make an idea stick which are
Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credibility, Emotion, Stories. Applying this
frame work to the Ads we are analysing,

 Unexpected
Credibility

FEVI KWIK
"Chutki mein chipkaye"

Stories
Emotion

SURF EXCEL
"Daag Acha hain"

Simple

AIRTEL AR Rahman

Emotion
Stories

CADBURY DAIRY MILK "Kuch

meeta ho jaaye"

Simple
Stories

VODAFONE Zoozoo

Conclusion and Recommendations

A successful Television Ad grabs the attention of the audience, engages
them, and settles in their memory for a long time. In order to cater this
factor the following elements may come in handy

Music that can evoke an emotional connect with audience. As we

have seen in the case Airtel AR Rahman campaign, the tune had
become a huge hit and now the tune is itself a part Airtel brand
image. One cannot lessen the fact that, the music for Airtel is also
well received because of AR Rahman himself, as he already has a
positive connect with the people.
A gripping narrative that can connect to the emotions of the
audience, as in Surf Excel and Cadbury Dairy Milk, in both these
cases the stories are based on human lives and their relationships.
Characters surely help the audience connect to an Ad. So what
kind of characters?
Cute children (Surf Excel Ad)
Celebrity (AR Rahman for Airtel Ad)
Unique fictional characters which are likable and based on
humans (Vodafone Zoozoo)
Tagline that sums up the idea in a memorable manner, If take the
cases of Surf Excel- Daag Acha Hain, Cadbury Dairy Milk- Kuch
meeta ho Jaaye, Fevi Kwik- Chutki mein chipkaye, they all give
the core purpose of the Ad in a memorable way. But what makes
these taglines stick? The following observations may serve as
indicators to their success:

The phrases which are in use in our daily lives like Kuch
meeta ho Jaaye and use the leverage of the already
embedded positive connotation of this phrase.
Take a largely believed statement and say the opposite by
giving the solution with the product being advertised like in
the case of Surf Excel Daag Acha hain which is breaking the
well believed statement that Stains are not good.

All the above described elements can aid in making an Iconic Ad campaign
and it may be noted that it is not suggested by this study to use all these
elements together, as different products and brands require different set up,
to get the required connect with the consumers. The above mentioned
elements namely, Music, Characters, Narratives, Taglines are crucial in
all the successful Ad campaigns we studied, but they take different form in
each situation and product category. If the above elements are chosen as
described above, Ad campaign is most probably close to being in the minds
of audience for a long time.

APPENDIX A
Advertising
Brand
Vodafone
Airtel
Cadbury
Milk
Fevi Kwik
Surf Excel

Description of the campaign

No. of
respond
ents

Zoozoo Ad campaign
AR Rahman Ad campaign

55
39

Dairy Kuch meeta ho jaaye

Fishing Ad
Daag Acha hain
Sachins Ad "Boost is the secret of my
Boost
energy"
Cadbury 5 Star
Ramesh Suresh
Fevicol
The truck Ad,Katrina Kaif Ad
Cocacola
Open Happiness
Life Buoy
Help a child
Indian Cricket team captained by Saurav
Pepsi
Ganguly, with lion and Pepsi
Cadbury
Dairy Silk Ads
Milk
Amul
Hoarding Ads on
What an Idea Sirji, Abhishek Bachchan Ad
Idea
campaign
Morning band Ad, Deepika padukone,
Nescafe
shankar ehssan loy
Nirma
Jingle
Colgate
Active Salt
Imperial Blue
Men will be men
Mountain Dew
Dar ke aage jeet hain
Rasna
Rasna Baby ankita Ads, Doordarshan
Carlsberg
Board Meeting
Center Fresh
Zubaan pe rakhe lagaam
Ambuja Cement
E Deewar kyu nahi thodta
Cricbuzz
Wide
Dalda
Grand Father and Grand Son
Hero
Ham Main Hain Hero
Mauka Mauka
World cup
Mentos
Dimag ki Batti Jala de
Tide
Asian Paints
on waterproof paints
Axe Deo
Bagpiper
Dabur Red
Havels Fans
Incredible India
Jockey
Lakme
LIC
Maggie
Onida
Pepsodent
Raymond
Red Label
Thai
Life
Insurance
Yamaha FZ
John Abraham

38
33
31
11
10
10
9
9
9
8
8
8
7
7
6
6
6
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1