Intex Mobile: New features with a smile

The latest commercial for Intex Mobile attempts to grab attention using a humorous approach, communicating the handset's face-to-face live video chat feature

A smile goes a long way, and it could be so, literally, with Intex Mobile handsets. The company, which was among the pioneers to introduce dual SIM cards in mobile phones, has come up with yet another innovation, which enables callers to engage in live video chat.

Targeting a young audience, the brand continues on the lines of its

earlier commercial

(for dual SIM card phones), and chooses slapstick to convey the message in its television commercial for the IN 4470 handsets with Live Video Chat technology.

BEI Confluence Communications, the agency handling the creative duties for Intex, has developed a humorous story around the technology. The ad has been directed by Krishnendu Mitra of One Films.

The TVC shows a prisoner who is about to be hanged. When asked for his last wish, the smart prisoner asks to chat "face-to-face" with his girlfriend in South Africa. Much to his surprise, the guard gives him an Intex handset with Live Video Chat technology. The ad closes with the prisoner begging his girlfriend to keep talking, lest he is executed.

Talking to afaqs!, Ammar Mohammed, creative director, BEI Confluence Communications says, "A good joke gets remembered the most. With the recent clutter in handset advertising, one saw that while most advertisements were feature-led, they did not have a good story. In our case, the phone's feature is the most essential part of the story and it shows."

Babu Abid Hussain, manager - marketing, mobile phones, Intex Technologies (India) agrees, saying that the attempt was to break the clutter. "It was a deliberate idea to not have a celebrity endorser, lest the product is overshadowed by the celebrity's presence," he says, referring to advertisements by competing brands.

Hussain insists that the focus of the brand has always been to introduce new technologies at affordable prices. While the handset is reasonably priced, the technology comes with a catch. To enjoy the video chatting feature, it is a must for both callers to be using IN 4470 handsets.

Intex's current television campaign is being supported by print promotions pan India. Radio promotions are slated to begin by the third week of May. The company has also tied up with online portals and has road shows planned ahead. Intex's projected ad spends for the financial year are around Rs 50 crore.

A good laugh

The TVC has evoked approving responses from the fraternity, with the pundits appreciating the thought, which does not lose the core purpose of promoting the product.

Joono Simon, executive creative director, Mudra South says, "As always, making people laugh is the hardest thing to do. This spot communicates the phone feature with clarity. And it isn't so dry; it is served with some humour. Though the gag is a bit lame, you do not want to send it to the gallows, because it is not a total waste of the client's precious moolah."

Brijesh Jacob, managing partner, White Canvas too has his funny bone ticked by the idea. "The product demo is done in a very interesting way. The agency has done a good job, but only till the script part," he says.

Jacob complains about poor production quality, and particularly the acting, which he finds over-the-top to the extent of hamming.

However, he says that it is a nice platform for the brand to say that it is there for its consumers to make their dreams come true.

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