Devina Joshi
Advertising

One adjustment you won’t have to make

Using India’s ‘adjustment’ mentality as a crux, Lowe is out with a TVC for mass brand VIP undergarments from the Maxwell Industries stable, after having snagged the business from O&M in September, 2006

Perhaps India is the only place where one will find a whole new dimension to the word ‘adjustment’. From the concept of ‘cutting chai’ to ‘share taxis’, we Indians seem to have developed a penchant for halving even the smallest portion of the pie.

Using this ‘adjustment’ mentality as a crux, Lowe is out with a TVC for mass brand VIP undergarments from the Maxwell Industries stable, after having snagged the business from O&M in September, 2006.

As is known, VIP’s last commercial (O&M’s creation) showed the ‘hands free’ fit of the undergarments, thereby bringing out the age old ‘comfort’ premise of the brand.

One adjustment you won’t have to make
The film opens on a man sitting on a milepost waiting for the daily transport to come.
One adjustment you won’t have to make
Another fellow comes and asks him to adjust a bit so that he can also share the ‘seat’.
One adjustment you won’t have to make
With already a person on the scooter’s pillion, a well-built sardar fellow sits on its stepney.
One adjustment you won’t have to make
In another scene people are seen sitting on branches of a tree watching a cricket match.
One adjustment you won’t have to make
Cut to the shot of a guy who somehow manages to reach the ticket counter of a theatre amidst the heavy rush.
One adjustment you won’t have to make
In an already packed bus people travel sitting on top of it. VO: “Waise bhi zindagi mein hum kitna adjust...
One adjustment you won’t have to make
...karte hain, shukar hai underwear toh adjust nahin karni padegi. VIP underwear. Fit itna mast, no adjust.”
While Lowe still had to convey VIP’s comfortable fit in its communication, it decided to go back to the roots of the hands free concept, which is actually, a need for ‘adjusting’ underwear when it feels uncomfortable. Says Priti Nair Chakravarthy, executive creative director, Lowe, “Our challenges were many. Comfort is a generic premise with undergarments, and most brands currently use celebrities to convey the message.” Chakravarthy was sure that she doesn’t want a Govinda, Salman Khan or a Sanjay Dutt on VIP as well, as that would create brand confusion. “Once we decided no celeb was going to endorse this brand, we thought of the adjustment idea,” continues Arun Iyer, creative director, Lowe.

So, the agency drew a parallel with how people in India tend to ‘adjust’ for every little thing in daily life, particularly in situations involving crowds, while they won’t need to adjust anymore when it comes to their innerwear.

The film opens on a man sitting on a milepost waiting for the daily transport to arrive. Another fellow comes and asks him to adjust a bit so that he can also share the ‘seat’. Cut to the shot of a man crossing the road by having to sit on the divider for a moment. Following that, he ends up ‘adjusting’ his underwear openly in public.

Next is the shot of passengers struggling to make space in a packed local train during rush hour. With already a person on the scooter’s pillion, a well-built sardar fellow pushes the other man a bit, and sits on its stepney. In another scene, people are seen sitting on the branches of a tree watching a cricket match, and despite the heavy crowd there, a man manages to squeeze by people and find himself an empty spot on the tree.

Cut to the shot of a guy who somehow pushes his way through to the ticket counter of a theatre amidst the heavy rush. Further, in an already packed bus, people are shown as traveling even atop it. Through another series of situations, one sees people squeezing into spots where there seems to be no place for another person. VO: “Waise bhi zindagi mein hum kitna adjust karte hain, shukar hai underwear toh adjust nahin karni padegi. VIP underwear. Fit itna mast, no adjust. (In life, we tend to adjust for almost everything. Thankfully, you need not ‘adjust’ any more when it comes to your underwear. VIP underwear. The fit’s so great, you’ll never need to adjust it).”

Says Anthony Fernandez, marketing head, Maxwell Industries (makers of VIP), “As VIP is a mass brand, we wanted a relatable ad that leverages on an insight which is peculiar to our target group: 25+ males, SEC ABC.”

Fernandez is quick to clarify that SEC A has not been alienated in this ‘mass’ commercial, as “even they can identify with something so basic and Indian”.

The film has been shot by Shivendra Singh of Dungarpur Films, in crowded areas of Mumbai, as well as in parts of Manor – a small town along the Mumbai-Gujarat highway. A music track with the jingle ‘Please adjust Madi’ (Please adjust a little, with ‘Madi’ being a commonly used Kannada word) has also been added for a comical, real-life effect. Furthermore, the sequences around people mostly involve shots of their lower half, for obvious reasons.

© 2007 agencyfaqs!

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