A lot has been said about the Indian Railways – be it good or bad. There have been problems galore – tragedies, accidents, ministerial issues, problems of poor stations, on-board food issues, poorly managed railway tracks across the nation and what not. But then, in the midst of all this, the railways built during the British era for their use (and not actually for ours – interestingly) has helped bind and link up the different parts of the country ala regional integration.
The Indian Railways like most PSUs doesn’t believe in advertising or marketing. And why should they? Carrying over 20 million passengers daily across the length and breadth of the nation is no mean task. So obviously you would think why would it need advertising right? Wrong.
The Indian Railways is one of the lead partners of the Commonwealth Games (it may be because they did not get private sponsors…but that’s a different story). But Indian railways seem to be utilizing that opportunity to full effect. Why not? It’s a great chance to remind the nation as well as the world (Read: Commonwealth Nations) as to what the railways has done for the country.
So what is the new ad campaign all about?
It includes a certain number of people who are playing a game “Chuk – Chuk – Gaadi” (Everyone must have played that in their childhood) and moving on streets, roads, rooftops etc. It features the old user popular Hindi song “Rail Gaadi”.
The campaign is an attempt to show the human side of the Indian railways. It’s an honest attempt to show how the Railways connects people, hearts and places together to play its own small part in regional integration. The tagline for the English TVC is “Magic of India – Indian Railways”. But the Hindi tagline is a much better reflection of what the Railways is trying to communicate to the audience “Desh Ka Mel – Bhartiya Rel”.
I personally feel that this is a fantastic idea the Railways has come up with. The most interesting thing about this commercial is that it is simple and subtle in its message about connecting the nation together.
Brilliant is what I can say! What do you think of this commercial?
The is well done – i am sure the message rings in and there should be good recalls.
Suggest you check out http://www.pumicemedia.com/spoton.php for a repository of latest Indian Ads.
Nitika
Still feel that the campaign would be ‘class’ if there were girls/ women too. If it is a point missed, it can be acknowledged – no issues, there is a greatness in acknowledgment too..
@Renu @Megha @Preeti
Yes I agree with you that they should have included some females in the ad. But then not including them, does it really show their gender bias? I mean it must have just been a point they may have missed. Though if they really have done it on purpose, then its really sad.
No not taking this ad personally, was just curious to know if it had a deeper meaning but guess its just accidental .
I completely agree with megha – The ad is great, but why are only men ? where are the women? having women in the ad would make the ad ‘the best’ even though there may be a hidden meaning – why no women ?
yes i have been trying to analyse this ad as to why a single female is not included.. may be some deeper meaning.. its just annoying not able to understand this fact or they have simply just forgotten to include any..
I have been a great admirer of Indian Railways. The advertisment is a great metaphor. The high point it makes needs to be supported by an even higher service. Linen, Catering, Cleanliness, Senior Citizen assistance, Safety and In Travel Security – all these need to be outstanding too.
Agree with Mohit..it stands out that they’ve totally missed out on including women in the train !! i saw it a few times to make sure i didn’t miss them…but shockingly, not a single women in a group of 50 guys!! doesn’t reflect well on the public sector..whatever they are trying to portray..they can’t just ignore women so blatantly!
it is unnecessary for Indian railways to do campaign. They are wasting our money. Money can be spent for development purpose. Lot of accidents and incidents are happening on daily basis. They have to think how to reduce these things and should think about providing better services.
There are no competitors, but they are doing advertisements and campaigns. ):
Funny!!!
The advertisement has been done by an ad agency and not by railways. Moreover the railways is the official partner of the CWG and this advertisement more than our own people is for the people of the other Commonwealth Nations to show what our railways really stands for.
When I thought of my showing my 4-yr old son a song related to trains, I could think of only this one! Just fond memories…
One thing – I always enjoyed travelling on Indian trains – a place where meet, connect, chat, have a good time – and sometimes becomes a lifetime of memories.
(no such thing ever happened on flight for me).
For the younger folks, the soundtrack is “Rail Gaadi” from the movie Aashirvaad, sung by Ashok Kumar, and written by Harindranath Chattopadhyay, the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu.
Saw the ad…Really loved it…its so simple and cute..Its a fantastic idea :-)
Not a single female member in the entire human train!!! Gender bias or something deeper which I may have missed??
Really loved the Ad. Good to see that even public sector is gearing up on the advertisement and good will making front.