For Coca-Cola, life tastes good in Tamil

Harsha Subramaniam

CHENNAI, Nov. 28

AFTER the Manam pol dinam jamai (freak out as you wish everyday) campaign, Coca-Cola has now taken the Kushiana Vazhkai (Enjoyable life) plank.

In fact, this subtle shift in positioning is in sync with Coca-Colas global Life tastes good brand message.

Kushiana vazhkai is about celebrating innocent moments that bring cheer to our lives, says Mr Vikas Kochchar, Regional Manager, Corporate Affairs, Coca-Cola India.

The new campaign once again features film-star Vijay, reiterating the companys belief in using local celebrities. We use regional celebrities to build a local connect, says Mr Kochchar.

He explains that to keep the essence of the brand and its advertising in tune with the national strategy, the company has used local metaphors to communicate the brands message.

Even in the earlier campaign, a similar strategy was adopted. Vijay, the well-known film star, was used to establish immediate connect with the audience. Added to this was the use of gaana, a popular form of music with the youth in Tamil Nadu.

The commercial apparently boosted the brands preference score by 10 per cent, in a short time.

This has, perhaps, prompted the company to use gaana music and imagery once again in the new commercial.

The response to our previous campaign reaffirmed our belief in using Gaana as the creative route in Tamil Nadu,

says Mr Kochchar.

The new ad film produced by Rajiv Menon, has been on air since Diwali.

The company hopes that this commercial will make a greater impact on Tamil audience.

Coca-Colas campaign in Hindi featuring Hrithik Roshan with the Life ho to aisi punchline, has been on air for over a month now.

`Chennai Dreams' by Coke

Hindu BusinessLine

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, Nov. 19

AFTER A.R.Rahman's Bombay Dreams, it is now Chennai which is dreaming. As a part of its regional language communication strategy, Coca-Cola India is launching a new advertising campaign for Tamil Nadu called Chennai Dreams.

Conceptualised by Orchard Advertising, a Bangalore-based agency, the advertisement is a blend of gaana style of music and ballet. Targeted at the youth, the ad features actor Vijay, a youth icon in Tamil Nadu, and Katrina Kaif, a model. The ad, directed by Rajiv Menon, will be aired on leading TV channels in the State.

At the launch, Mr Rajesh Mani, Region Marketing Manager, Coca-Cola India, said that the new campaign based on gaana music is in tune with the brand's strategy of "building a connect using the relevant local idioms." This is the third of a series of the brand's campaigns in Tamil, which has used gaana music. Mr Mani said that the previous two campaigns on similar lines had worked wonders for the brand and increased sales by about 50 per cent.

"We won the Effi award from Advertising Club, Mumbai for this campaign," he added.

Mr Mani also explained that though the brand value of Coca-Cola remains the same globally, it is continuously searching for local insights for effective communication.

For instance, the company used an exhaustive process to zero-in on gaana as an effective mode of expression among the youth in Tamil Nadu. As Thomas Xavier, Executive Creative Director of Orchard explains, "We were clear that the need of the hour was not for an ad film but for a Tamil feature film in 60 secs."

Shahjahan, Nov 14th, 2001

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2001/11/23/stories/2001112300970202.htm

THE TITLE says it all- the hero lives for love. He is a do-gooder and a virtual god for lovers - because his mission is to surmount all odds and unite every loving pair.

Youth, romance and vibrant music seem to sell at a premium these days. Super Good Films' ``Shahjahan'', written and directed by Ravi, has all these in ample measure. Ashok (Vijay) is the youngster whom lovers rush to whenever they face opposition at home. And Ashok, who is still on the look out for a job, pledges or sells his chain every time he has to unite a pair.

Ashok falls in love with Mahe (Richa Palot) and bides his time (he has a reason for it) to pour his heart out. Soon it is too late. Unwittingly he helps his friend Raja (Krishna) win the heart of Mahe. The lovers come together but there is a lot of unbelievable bloodshed in the bargain.
The climax reaches ridiculous levels, when in broad daylight, at Chennai's Central Station, there is an intense, dangerous fight between the henchmen and the hero, but till the end no one intervenes and there is not one policeman in sight.

Going by the incidents one gets the feeling that all daddies are abominably bad - they slap the wife when the daughter strays and have a bunch of hooligans with them always to stop the marriage. Actresses like Janaki Sabesh donning such insipid roles only adds to the irritation.
New face Richa has little to do but look good. Vijay sparkles in the role of Ashok and Krishna fills the bill of a perfect non-action hero.

Vivek's comedy borders on lewdness and if there is message (!) it could have been better handled.

The percussion in ``Minnalai Pidithu...'' scintillatingly sung by Unni Menon is a foot tapping piece. ``Shahjahan'' could do for Manisharma what ``Narasimha'' did not - as far as Tamil cinema is concerned.

Of course, one cannot but be mesmerised by the lyrical prowess of Vairamuthu, in five out of the six songs.