• Which is the most creative television advertisement in India till date ?

    by Arun Prabhudesai on June 14, 2007 |

    83 comments

    There is something I enjoy in India that most of the other people hate.

    The Indian TV commercials.

    I find them very very creative. Some of the best advertisements in recent years have been from Pepsi and Coke. The rivalry between these two soft drink giants in India has bought out the best of creativity in their TV commercials.

    The Indian TV advertisement market size is estimated to touch 3 billion dollars (12,000 crore rupees) in year 2007.

    The following advertisement is my choice of best creativity in Indian TV advertising. Many of the readers may not agree,however, according to me it has an exaggerated creativity and brand image that Happydent white chewing gums has created due to these ads is just amazing ! This one is actually third ad in their series. The earlier two got progressively better (The Photoflash by teeth and the Cow Teeth), but I thought this was way better than previous two and very expansive. I have not been in India in last year and half, so if there is another ad which has come in, please let me know !

    The Airtel Ad is without words, yet very moving ! excellent choice Shubham !

    I would also love to hear readers choice for best advertisement on Indian TV. Please leave a comment and I will feature it here with attribution.

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    Author

    Arun Prabhudesai is founder / chief editor at trak.in. He jumped the Entrepreneurship bandwagon in early 2008 after a long 13 year stint in I.T Industry. You can follow him on twitter @trakin and Facebook. Arun’s Google+ Profile
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    Shubham June 14, 2007 at 11:11 pm

    The best ad I think would be airtel, the one where they give various lines like “one finger can break a billion hearts, one voice can move a nation, another can break walls …. ” it is really an amazing and extemely moving ad.

    Reply

    Lakshmi Aravamudan August 19, 2007 at 12:42 am

    The Airtel ad is indeed the best of its creativity!!! very touching and moving. but relating to the service requires more the repetition of the same ad to register in mind. some people might skip the last frame. Some people might remember every scene but not AIRTEL!

    Reply

    bhamism September 2, 2007 at 10:39 pm

    Creativity wise, yeah Airtel gets the cake….but I think overall execution wise, relevance etc … havent seen a better ad then “that cadburys ad”

    Reply

    stained September 13, 2007 at 5:24 am

    there hasn’t been a fevicol ad for a very long tym, but they still are one of the best ads that i hv seen..
    in the current scenario, The ads by mentos are preety good and a few months back there was an ad by Bank of India featuring a Boy and his Piggy Bank.. beautifully crafted, vch surely touches the emotions of the viewer..

    Reply

    anusha lewis November 5, 2007 at 7:14 am

    the fewiquick add in which the fisher man sticks fewiquick on a stick and catches fish is a very creative add.

    Reply

    christie November 12, 2007 at 9:17 pm

    If you guys like ads, http://www.indibiz.tv is all about ads. No interruptive soaps, just commercials!
    It is the first interactive online video directory for brands – recall, compare and respond

    Reply

    puneet gaur November 20, 2007 at 7:37 pm

    2 ads that we seem to forgetting here are:
    1. hamara bajaj ad…still gives me goosebumps….
    2.fevicol ad in which a creaky bus is shown with unimaginable number of passengers…

    Reply

    raji November 22, 2007 at 5:25 am

    i think the safari ads… the first one with kim sharma(guessing) hitch hiking… in the middle of a river(cool background score)… n then the new series of “RECLAIM YOUR LIFE” ads… are too good… the latest one in it… which speaks of lines in it… n ends with – “the lines which matter the most are the lines that u make”… reclaim ur life- ads have added mystical touch to their product… something that stands apart… sets u free… which i believe is quite appealing…

    Reply

    Sunil Kumar Tiwari December 15, 2007 at 2:01 am

    I think that
    * the advertisement of the HDFC Standard life insurance
    with the tag line of ” Sar utha ke jiyo ” can be
    considered as one of the best advertisement of indian
    television.
    * Second can be the advertisement of Bajaj XCD 125cc which
    shows the innovation,creativity and passion as it shows
    the assembly in invisible(graphical) phase first then
    onwards starts to apeear in final shape.

    Reply

    Nalini January 6, 2008 at 7:06 pm

    The most recent airtel ad is one of the best – it shows two boys playing football in no man’s land.

    Reply

    puru January 21, 2008 at 3:28 am

    the recent vodafone alert ads are fabulous. The one ‘calm mind can overcome a storm’ is quite thrilling for the background score. Cheereo!!!!!!

    Reply

    Sudhey February 9, 2008 at 7:55 am

    The ads mantioned above are gr8 but my fav one is the recent ad of motoyuva, in which they synchronise the actions of the lad’s dad with the song Garam Masala !
    It is really one of the funniest commercials on tv today, and much beter than motoyuva’s last one

    Reply

    atul srivastava February 18, 2008 at 7:17 am

    i think that idea ads very creatively they say na jat na pat .

    Reply

    Vinod andrews March 27, 2008 at 11:49 am

    All the aboive mentioned ads are good. However I feel that Voda fone ad in which they show a person listening to only one song all his life and passing on the same to his son KABHIE KABHIE MERE DIL MEIN and also the MENTOS new animated Ad. I think Vodafone had always the best ads even when it was hutch.

    Reply

    Arpana March 27, 2008 at 9:36 pm

    The most recent, I love the series of ads that Virgin Mobile has come up with. Its different, innovative and promotes out of the box thinking.
    1) A boy gets caught by a traffic police for jumping the red light. He is fined but he shows his empty wallet. The policeman tells him to call his father. He gets his ‘dad’ online to speak to the traffic policeman, where he refuses to give the money and tells the policeman to throw his son in jail. The policeman gets sympathetic towards the boy for having such a harsh father and lets him go. Later we get to know that the father was catually a friend of the boy.

    2)A daughter tells her parents that she has no interest in boys. The parents get very scandulous. Then she receives a call from a guy friend regarding a trip to Goa which she refuses. The parents then insist that she go to Goa. The mother is still apprehensive but the father says ” ladka hai, achha hi hoga”. And later she is shown happy and calling her boyfriend that the trip in on!!!

    Reply

    sg April 2, 2008 at 1:26 am

    i definitely agree with the happy dent ad being extremely creative. however, i dont really think much of the airtel ads. in the end all one had to do is change the airtel logo with that of vodafone and then what? what is the basic reason behind an ad? it might be a strong visual but conceptually it lacks strength.

    Reply

    SA May 23, 2008 at 2:12 am

    My vote goes to Feviquick and some of the old Fevicol ads. They were really good.
    Here is the list of my favourites:
    Feviquick
    Fevicol
    Mentos
    Sony Bravia

    Worst Ads:
    Manoranjan ka Baap–IPL cricket

    Reply

    sumit June 29, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    my favorite add is of airtel where two boys are playing football….it really show humanity and tell us there is no limit………….its above the limits…..

    Reply

    MICHAEL BALAROUTSOS July 2, 2008 at 2:39 pm

    hello from greece
     the song of the promotion video HAPPY DENT is AMAZING…..
    HOW  THE SONG NAMED? ANY BODY KNOWS?

    Reply

    sonali August 31, 2009 at 8:44 pm

    ITS LIKE’ TERA MAN ROSHAN TERA DIL ROSHAN’

    Reply

    Supriya July 9, 2008 at 10:53 am

    the virgin mobile ads are really good.
    among the older ones, i loved the kinley ad where the kid gives his pregnant mom water in a bottlecap (for the baby)
    also the old cadbury commercials "kuch khas hai hum sabhi mein", especially the one with the girl dancing across the cricket field celebrating her boyfriend’s century.
    the nike cricket commercial!!!! where everyone plays in a traffic jam! sure looks like fun ;)
    the new maruti suzuki ad :come home in a maruti suzuki 
    and finally the TATA tea ad : the one with the politician (utho nahi, jago re!)

    Reply

    Esha July 10, 2008 at 9:46 pm

    I think d ad of MAX Newyork LIFE INSURANCE is really v gud…wher a woman enters home n keeps lukin here n dere 4 her husband n doesn’t get ne response 4 a while..it clearley depicts d logic of risk and uncertainity attached to death and hence d insurance…"Your partner of lifetime"..

    Reply

    yogesh kumar September 14, 2008 at 6:10 am

    Accoding to my opinion I think top rated avertisement I have seen is IDEA network, it gives a new way to the advertisement industries as well as the viewers who think that advertisement only sells products or nothing else but it sell product as well as aware viwers about importance of education.

    Reply

    Sudarsan Sen Gupta September 14, 2008 at 11:25 pm

    In my opinion, the most nice and creative TV  AD is of Complan in which two
    children very nicely explain the quality and composition of the product.

    Reply

    pallak September 18, 2008 at 6:32 am

    well…acc. to me airtel keeps it emotional appeal always alive…
    the best ad is where two boys are playing football… amazing

    Reply

    yogesh kumar September 21, 2008 at 4:17 am

    i know there sentiments in airtel ad but there is no social awareness and India as we all know that It is far away fom Education level oo gorund level Don’t you think there are lots of advertisement which can touches our sentiments.

    Reply

    DS September 28, 2008 at 5:07 pm

    Hi,

    can some one please tell me what trade press (creativity magazines/sites) is best to read when looking at the Ad industry in India

    thank you
    DS

    Reply

    Sudarsan Sen Gupta September 28, 2008 at 11:03 pm

    The AD of SPECIALIST WIRE is now amazing and nice. It has compared
    each of our field of specialisation.

    Reply

    mukund joglekar November 12, 2008 at 5:15 am

    One of my most favourite adverts on TV: The Chlormint_Panwari_2008 spot. (The one showing why poor Ghanshyam is obliged to eat Chajju panwala’s favourite mint instead of his own favourite!) Entertaining, humourous, full of gags, effective. I started to list the number of gags, and quit counting around 30 (the thing is just 56 seconds long)! The gags include outlandish sight gags, and many cultural tongue-in-cheeks. Excellent audio commentary. Very good editing.

    Reply

    Subhashis Roy December 13, 2008 at 7:35 am

    I would like to know the name of the lady who is in the current Borolin AD…who plays the role of mother.

    Reply

    ella January 9, 2009 at 12:16 am

    how did u estimate the indian advertising market?? i thot it was much lesser

    Reply

    Namrata January 11, 2009 at 10:45 pm

    I like jaago.com ads the way they are tring to encourage the people to be a part of indian politics is commendable.

    Reply

    Sheela February 2, 2009 at 3:00 am

    I would pick the havell’s ad as my favourite….shows the son moulding a small peice of wire to enable his mother to make chappatis for him on the roadside…very touching…the background score is also soothing….

    Reply

    anju February 10, 2009 at 8:16 am

    i m so happy to see a lot o ppl sharin der views… well ill say i >love ol de vodafone ads(alerts,sms offers,caller tunes) they no wat they wnt an they show it in such a gr8 simplicity and anyone an everyone gud relate to such a situation,

    >i love the latest ing vysya ad wiv mere des mein paisa sirf paisa nahi he.. beautiful background score…
    >an i love de ad wer the kid hide her tooth 4 her bro to buy the car i don rem which bank its thou..
    >i love the mentos ad wer the guy pretends to run out of the class an den enter.. really creative
    >i love the tanishq ad wiv asin wer her husband adornes her wiv diamonds jus to envy the ladies lookin on cuz de wer annoyin her wiv de flowers on their hair.. the greyish bluish tint is awesome and the way de hve highlighted the diamonds in a backwater scenario awsome

    Reply

    OMNATH.K.S. February 27, 2009 at 9:18 pm

    HI,
    According to me, the advertisement from nokia is the very best one. Because the purpose of advertisement is to cover the customers.. The nokia, doing this… Good one….

    Reply

    sachin chandra gupta March 16, 2009 at 10:49 am

    yeah i m an theater artist, doing mba in hr. I really appriciate some of the advertisements.
    1..one which is very well choreographed the advertisement of ‘happydent white’in which many young men were hang on the lamp posts,on shandeliar in a palaceand some other good scenes..

    2..the second one is recently launched by airtel which is beautifully crafted and presenting the real innonance of a little boy when he make a complaint to his papa about his mother with his playing toy mobile.

    3.. anothger i m skipping the name of the company. bt i can’t forget the tag lines used in that ad..”aapko kya chahiye bas khwaab thode jyada” it is trully real.

    the list is very long as indian ads industry is full of creativity…
    thanks..

    Reply

    PRAVIN MADHAVAN March 24, 2009 at 9:59 pm

    Well there’s no doubt that Indian Advertisements are out of the world ! Let me say that though they are quti good, just imagine a guy like Sachin Gupta who is an aspiring MBA student cum artist, could not remember the “BRAND”. So there goes all the money of the company who spent millions in producing the advt but even educated guys do not remeber the brand name !!!!

    Sad isn’t it ????

    Reply

    aditi vats March 29, 2009 at 9:27 pm

    well these dayz itz vodafone’s ad that’s vd tagline “sabko batao” whr a guy who furious vd his class result suddenly saw pass written in front of his name.n a gal loosing her weight to 55 kgs..amazing capture of emotions.
    another ad by lmn lemon drink is smthn i m really upset vd…:-(
    there can be smthn more than a shrinked guy vd thirst can be shown …subjectively i dont like dt ad!!
    but the ad by himani fast relief where humans r turned into machines is shown is just awesome n d background score is beautiful!!

    Reply

    NILESH April 9, 2009 at 9:30 am

    NILESH MAMIDWAR
    Hi,

    I am interested to create advertisement.
    I make some advertisement like Sony Ericsson, Cadbury, HP computers, coka cola etc. but I don’t no where I can show my advertisement. I want to start my career in advertisement industry. Plz inform me what should I do.

    Reply

    Rashida April 20, 2009 at 3:16 am

    I don’t know why but no one remembered those series of Coca-Cola ads by Aamir Khan..
    I they were very creative. We would love to see more of these ads by Aamir..

    Reply

    Preetham April 21, 2009 at 9:54 am

    Vodafone Ads series which they have released for ipl are awesome. Ad will sure sit in ur mind. It’s character are also unique. You can download those from vodafone website only.
    http://www.vodafone.in/existingusers/pages/vodafonetvc.aspx

    Reply

    anjan deka May 10, 2009 at 12:21 pm

    i like d advt of airtel. specialy the inocent boy called his dad with toy mobile(attot bishwas,attot network). another airtel ad was that a small girls asks his dad what to drawing in mid night. there was another creation dat two boyz were playing in no mens land, itz amazing.these are the most creative ad of recent years by airtel to touch comon human emotions.above all, the signature tune of airtel which was made by A.R.REHMAN makes an impact on these ads and penetrates all part of indian markets.

    Reply

    anjan deka May 10, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    i like d advt of airtel. specialy the inocent boy called his dad with toy mobile(attot bishwas,attot network). another airtel ad was that a small girls asks his dad what to drawing in mid night. there was another creation dat two boyz were playing in no mens land, itz amazing.these are the most creative ad of recent years by airtel to touch comon human emotions.above all, the signature tune of airtel which was made by A.R.REHMAN makes an impact on these ads and penetrates all part of indian markets.these are best ad of all time

    Reply

    sher singh yadav May 10, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    in my point of view,Dainik bhasker newspaper’s ad.is best of one.i like MS Dhoni’s punchline: jid karo,duniya badlo.this punchline address to all categories of people.

    Reply

    angel May 10, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    ZOOZOOS ROCK……….JUST LUV THEM!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

    AMIT June 17, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    Hello Friends,

    I’m searching for best advertisment making company or institute, I want to work & study for this kind of creativie advertisement making firm or institute.
    I’m basically a software engineer and working for a big MNC “SAMSUNG”, I get really fade up with this line, there is no any value for your creativity, ideas & imagination.
    I really want to pursue my whole life for creativity, so please guide me the best.
    I’m belonging to NCR region ( Delhi), so is there any company or institute which is mainly working for creative advertisements which can give me the
    proper direction to my dream world.

    Please mail me your views,
    Regards

    AMIT
    aim.dubey@gmail.com
    +91 99588 96273

    Reply

    sonali August 31, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    i think the 1 mentoes ‘dimag ki batti jala de ‘ is a marvalous concept indeed…..evolution of man. wat it realy showed was a conceptual n thoutful ofcorse!!.. 4rm a animal 2 social animal is realy somthin da company has come out wid was realy mind blowin 1………n ofcorse 2 mention da hapy dent 1…jio INDIA!!

    Reply

    maddyyy September 4, 2009 at 10:26 am

    hey there are many more adds which i think , are pretty creative..
    but i wouldlike to ask you all whether the adds acted by kids are more creative or those done by film starz?
    what do u think????

    Reply

    shraddha awasthi October 1, 2009 at 11:52 am

    happy dent alawys came up wid fantastic ad’s n airtel give the best ad’s recently the ad for champions league the frends one all r the best………even cadbury gives the nic ads the best thing abt cadbury is they dont underestimate or compare their product they just show wat best they have ………..

    Reply

    shraddha awasthi October 1, 2009 at 11:56 am

    n plz peple help me i wanna do mba in advertising so which is the gud insitute for advertising……………..plz do reply

    Reply

    rashid October 1, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    i really appreciate all of ur view.i want to make a career in advertising

    Reply

    Rahul B October 17, 2009 at 9:38 pm

    Hamara Bajaj ads!!

    Reply

    Anshul October 26, 2009 at 2:03 pm

    I think the Dhara add (the one i which small boy decides to leave home and then finding that jalebis have been prepared ad goes back to his room)…..
    the word “Jalebiiiiii” were so cute………….

    Reply

    sachin jain November 21, 2009 at 10:57 am

    i think pidilite FEVICOL ads are the most creative ads in the indian television history.
    they are targeting there customer very effectvely without using any big celebrity.
    they make the product as a brand. and their creativity is mind blowing.

    Reply

    sachin November 21, 2009 at 11:02 am

    i think pidilite FEVICOL ads are the most creative ads in the indian television history. they are targeting there customer very effectvely without using any big celebrity. they make the product as a brand. and their creativity is mind blowing.

    Reply

    RITURAJ SHRIMALI , Indore January 9, 2010 at 12:27 pm

    Accoding to my opinion I think top rated avertisement I have seen is IDEA network, it gives a new way to the advertisement industries

    Reply

    sumanreddy February 18, 2010 at 11:47 am

    yes today indian advertisements are nice.I also interested to create new concepts if any one of u have any add company give me chance.

    Reply

    Gagan goyal April 7, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    i nd my family lov advertisement of lux

    Reply

    Gagan goyal April 7, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    i nd my family lov advertisement of lux(aish)

    Reply

    rakesh debbarma April 18, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    i like the ad of parachut by anuska sharma with the tagline ‘champi kiya to darna kiya’ which is also a holi special ad.recently the close-up kissing ad is also a nice ad.my most favourite ad is of tata tea with the tagline ‘subha mein sirf utha mat jago re’.it works for national awakening.in my language the tagline goes ‘phung o ta simi bacha di sicha di’.this is in kokborok language of tripura,india.

    Reply

    rakesh April 18, 2010 at 1:21 pm

    i like the ad of pepsi,coca-cola,thums up,mirinda,liril 2000,lifebuoy,navratna,airtel ,aircel and many more.i can’t finish writing.the internet page isn’t enough!

    Reply

    Hemant May 4, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    One of most creative ads would be MENTOS AD DIMAG KI BATTI JALA DE

    Reply

    RajaRajan May 4, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    I myself very interested in making advertisements and Very keen in doing adds ..The one who wishes or welcomes new creative ideas..just mail me

    Reply

    Sarika Singha June 29, 2010 at 10:37 am

    Hey.. thanks for posting all these videos. By any chance if you have any more old advert images/videos please upload it. I am very interested in collecting old packaging and advert posters. I don’t mind admitting I was born in the 80’s since we had so much fun chewing Big Babool bubble gum which gave out free tattoos, buying chips for 2 rupees, going off for jam sandwich picnics… We had a whole different brand of fun then.. Oh, that reminds me, has anyone seen the new Sil Ad? It’s pretty much the same idea…glad at least some things haven’t changed

    Reply

    NEETESH PARASHAR August 5, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    HEY I AM INTERESTED IN MAKING ADVERTISEMENT. IF THERE IS ANY ADVERTISEMENT FOR ME TO PROVE MY SELF SO PLEASE CONTACT ME ON 8889803907.
    THANK U

    Reply

    Sudarsan Sen Gupta August 25, 2010 at 12:18 pm

    Now the best tv advertisement is of KIT KAT. Then others may be judged.

    Reply

    kalpana April 10, 2011 at 12:58 am

    zoozoo is a good add fevicol ka jod hain and yeah… fewiquik, mentos, cadbury
    some ads do contain messages small and catchy but this airtel ad is too long for people to drive away from the main point.

    Reply

    Cruiser April 22, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    Few ads, now a days are good to watch are:
    1. zoozoo from vodafone
    2. new cadbury ad, “mitthe mein kya hain?”
    3. airtel ad- 3g wala, a boy in army talks to his girlfriend-”soldier ke najar kabhi niche
    jhukna nehi chahiye”
    4. fevicol-a cycle sticks to a truck and irritates the driver by the cycle bell “cling cling”

    Reply

    vipin June 9, 2011 at 12:05 pm

    All the adds that mention on the top are really good but in recent the Passat adds are really very creative and force the viewer to think such an creative adds and beside it i love kit kat break with logo “Break to banta hai “

    Reply

    Nilanjan Naha August 31, 2011 at 4:44 pm

    osswammmmmmmmmmmm…………………
    That's this is Airtel.

    Reply

    Gunja Nishad September 3, 2011 at 7:59 am

    nice advtaising

    Reply

    Sivakumar Shanmugasundaram September 3, 2011 at 8:14 am

    NIZ NEWS INFORMATIVE ONE.

    Reply

    vidisha September 8, 2011 at 12:23 pm

    Nice ads but just check sony’s advt also. I saw sony’s ad for their new range of TVs with xreality technology. It has a beautiful display of all features of this technology. That is why this ad stands out. Technology can become very complex for everybody to understand, this ad wins because it makes the new technology simple to understand. And of course it has great music as well. You can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzQN4CBn-FQ
    Do share your videos on this ad also. Thanks

    Reply

    CSKmail October 5, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    I’m not a student of Advertising or movie making but I remember one AC Black Apple Juice ad aired some where i early 2000 with punch “Kuch bhi hau sakta hai” http://youtu.be/XBd_n_VO8Nc

    I still can’t forget that girl in that commercial. I don’t know whether the idea was original or picked from somewhere but after 11 years memory that sensuous lady still lingers on in my fertile mind ;)

    I think her name is Cicele Issacs but I am not able to find any reference to her on Net, It’s just a silly unfading curiosity that is not going away. So if any one of you happen to know her real name and more about her, plz do me the favor to let me know of this

    Thank to you all

    Reply

    Suvendu Jana October 6, 2011 at 5:00 am

    nice

    Reply

    Sunil Modak November 10, 2011 at 4:48 am

    these two ad.. are mind blowing……i would like to thank the creator who creats like such an advertisement……

    Reply

    Sanjay Soni January 13, 2012 at 10:56 am

    nice

    Reply

    J-B-P April 19, 2012 at 5:42 pm

    make some money…. http://JBP1000.webnode.cz

    Reply

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