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Motorokr: Abhishek Bachchan’s rocking performances
In keeping with the earlier ‘Abhishek vs Motorola’ campaign, O&M wanted the Motorokr ads to have a cheeky, irreverent tone, with a creative idea that again has Abhishek at the butt end of the joke
There is a thin line between music lovers and music addicts, and Motorola seems to have crossed it.
According to Lloyd Mathias, marketing director, Motorola India, the brand has already established itself on the design platform, with models such as Pebl, Slvr, and Razr focusing on innovation and sleek looks.
But Motorola, despite having stepped up its design and style quotient, was missing out on the music belt. With rivals such as Sony Ericsson and Nokia launching special music edition phones, it was time for Motorola to roll up its sleeves and get into the game. With the recent launch of its own music and entertainment model, Motorokr, Motorola is betting on the ‘better late than never’ strategy.
As a mother prays in the temple for her son to come back, AB, acting out the role, shows up. |
Instead of saying them, he starts rapping on his dialogues |
In another scene, AB breaks into an impromptu jig while shooting for a serious ‘kingdom’ sequence |
When Bachchan’s on-screen wife tells him she is carrying his friend’s child, he again starts dancing |
In a cop-robber sequence, AB jigs away to glory, while the cop interrogates him. The director, Prasoon Pandey, asks him to take a break |
This is when one realises his Motorokr is doing the trick |
A product shot |
In the last shot, he nods his head to music even while playing the role of a dead body |
In keeping with the ‘Abhishek vs Motorola’ campaign, Motorola’s agency O&M wanted the Motorokr ads also to have a cheeky, irreverent tone, with a creative idea that once again has Abhishek at the butt end of the joke.
Abhijit Avasthi, group creative director, O&M, Mumbai, says, “It is the hallmark of a confident brand that it can laugh at itself. Keeping that in mind, we came up with the music addiction theory.”
The ad opens on a typical Bollywood sequence in which a mother in a temple, loud bells ringing of their own accord and all that, prays for her son to come home safe. Enter a wounded AB, who, on seeing his mother, breaks into an impromptu rap song, ‘Dekho ma, main aa gaya’. The bewildered mother looks at him, as behind the scenes, the director orders the camera to cut, complaining, “What is this, AB?”
The next shot has a king, reminiscent of Akbar in ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, instructing AB: “Jung ka eilaan kiya jaaye (Declare war).” To this, Bachchan starts dancing to a jingle built around the word ‘jung’. The third vignette is that of Bachchan’s on-screen wife telling him that she is pregnant with his friend’s child. On hearing this, Bachchan sings out his dialogues happily, “Nahin nahin, yeh nahin ho sakta (No, this cannot be).”
In the last sequence, Bachchan is being interrogated by cops about where he has hidden the diamonds (another Bollywood cliché). AB starts rapping instead of replying, to which the director, enacted by Prasoon Pandey, curtly asks AB to take a break. Once in his styling room, AB puts on his wireless headphones, and nods his head to music playing from his Motorokr. As the features roll out one by one, viewers get to understand the concept of ‘music addiction from Motorokr’. The last scene has AB lying on the floor as a dead body, while his on-screen family members cry. But the real shock comes when AB starts nodding his head to music despite being ‘dead’.
The ad has been followed up with four 15-seconders, with AB rapping about the phone’s features in a Puff Daddy music video style.
“We would define music addiction as a stage in which music takes over a person to the extent that he has no control over his actions,” says Avasthi. Therefore, O&M thought of casting Bachchan as himself, breaking into impromptu jigs as if possessed by music, in the backdrop of seriously melodramatic Bollywood situations. “This becomes particularly hilarious, as he is supposed to deliver some serious lines,” continues Avasthi.
Mathias of Motorola reveals that the ad and the product are not targeted at first time users; the phone intends to compete with iPods amongst its TG, 18-35 year olds who have a passion for music.
The ads have been directed by Prashant Issar of Corcoise Films, who was also behind the earlier Motoslvr commercials. Various Bollywood clichés were discussed before zeroing in on the final five. A courtroom drama and a ‘chor-police’ encounter sequence (the ‘Police ne tumhe chaaron orr se gher liya hai’ type) were among those that didn’t see the light of day.
The background track has been composed by Ram Sampath. Interestingly, Pandey of Corcoise was cast as a film director in the ad. Issar laughs, “I wanted to be cast in the film. But as Prasoon has a mature look about him, he fit in as the stereotypical director with a hat.”
© 2007 agencyfaqs!