MotoYuva: 50, going on 20

MotoYuva’s latest ad attempts to drive home the Motorola-youth connection in the backdrop of the generation gap, as a middle-aged man attempts to feel young again with the brand

Hair dyes can wait: Aunties and uncles can look forward to feeling young with the newly launched youth phone, MotoYuva W270.

In its communication thus far, the MotoYuva range (unleashed by Motorola in the latter half of 2007), has banked on cheeky irreverence as its tone of voice. The first ad (Billu Beta) for the W180 showed a man trying desperate tricks to grab the attention of his son, who is addicted to his MotoYuva phone and its features. The second ad (Garam Masala) was for the W230, and showed a boy tuning out his angry father’s voice when he realises that the music he is shaking his head to (on his MotoYuva) matches his father’s livid expressions. The core thought behind these ads was that the youth of today speak a language that their parents do not understand (Ab Apni Suno).

Fixing a date with the girlfriend

Dad gives youth a shot

Imitating his son

Dad finds himself an amused audience

The MotoYuva phone

In the third ad in the series, the W270 ad, Motorola’s agency O&M has tried a more mellowed approach with the parents, by including them in the whole ‘Be Young’ process.

The ad

opens on the shot of a man coming home from work to find his young son speaking into his MotoYuva phone, setting up a date with his girlfriend, using college lingo such as “See you, babes”. As his son hangs up and walks away, we see the father picking up the MotoYuva and imitating his son (thereby, pretending to be younger). He even practises a few awkward dance moves around the room in an attempt to be young, but stops in embarrassment when he sees that his wife and son are watching him in amusement. The tagline concludes, ‘Style aisa, ab jhoomenge sab’.

The two earlier ads clearly seem to have alienated parents, so why the sudden inclusion? Says Abhijit Avasthi, executive creative director, O&M, South Asia, “The inclusion is there, but we have still maintained the generation gap conflict that is peculiar to the MotoYuva ads.” In fact, the parent (the father thus far) is still the butt of the joke, he says.

The whole brief was to portray the stylishness of the phone, which brings out the desire amongst people to feel the young vitality associated with it. “There are some things which one can pull off only when one is young,” says Avasthi, “and any elder trying to ape that just makes a fool of himself.”

Lloyd Mathias, director, marketing, Motorola, Southwest Asia, says that the MotoYuva range is a way of “arming” the young with “markers” that can make a statement about them.

“MotoYuva in a way is a club meant only for the young,” he says. “The TVC just throws up an endearing and real situation that all of us on the wrong side of youth can empathise with.”

The ad is targeted at 18-24 year olds (college goers and yuppies) and aims at highlighting the difference between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’.

Avasthi further adds that the communication works on the insight that when a father gets angry at his 18 year old, is he getting angry at his son or himself? “Youth is something we all covet and perhaps the realisation that our time is gone just plays up the frustration of having lost out on a few carefree moments that only the young can afford,” he explains.

The ad has been created by Loveleen Raina, Vikash Chemjong and Basabjeet Majumdar of O&M, along with Avasthi. Rajesh Krishnan of Soda Films directed the film.

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