Essay on brand equity

Why recently ads have used old Hindi songs in place of jingles? SWITCH on the telly and chances are that you will catch an old Hindi number. Now, they could either be from the numerousmusicchannels playing retro numbers or songs running on television commercials . And with so many commercial breaks, one sees more Hindi songs as jingles for TVCs than the original song itself. So from ‘ Pehli Tareek’ for Cadbury to ‘ Hum jab honge’ for SBI Life to ‘ I love you’ for Nestle Kit Kat, the list just goes on and on.

It of course warms the cockles of the generation that’s grown up with the songs but it also gets the gen next confused — for some think it’s an original score. So these touched up, remixed hindi numbers — do they make the cut or are they just an easy substitute to creating an original jingle? On the use of a popular number to sell life insurance, Chandramohan Mehra, VP – branding andcommunication, SBI Life says the idea was to keep the tone consistent with the previous films. “ The essence of romance is stronger when we used an old Hindi song. He explains that there is a cycle that jingles follow: “ It’s basically about cutting through the clutter. The cacophony that is around with remixed sounds is easily cut through when you have an old song. Probably, later on, when this becomes oft-used , someone will come out with an original jingle. ” So when an old song is pitted against a jingle, which works better? “ A lot of old songs were written to specific situations which sometimes come in handy like in the case of ‘ Pehli Tareekh’ for Cadbury Dairy Milk.

Riding on the popularity of an old song can be advantageous only as far as getting attention. Thereafter it is solely dependent on how well it gels with the film and the idea” , says Abhijit Avasthi, NCD, Ogilvy. But take the example of TVS Scooty Pep ad that has a score from a Raj Kapoor movie. Given that the Scooty brand is specifically targeted at an audience who might’ve never heard these songs, how do the marketers justify their use of an old song? S Srinivas, head – scooters division, TVS Motors says music was secondary to the plot. “ Here, dialogues wouldn’t work and the song itted perfectly,” he says. So in the case of a scooter, the song may have been secondary, but with an apparel brand like Raymond, the creatives insist use of a well known Hindi number is a natural part of the story and not a jingle . “ The brand is particular about portrayal of very realistic scenarios which people can empathise with thus relating to the brand.

So there is no question of making up anything very exaggerated where people sing originally written verse to each other as in films” , says Sangeetha N, president (west) & ECD, RK Swamy BBDO — the creative agency that handles Raymond. Agreed that people singing original verse might be a bit far-fetched , but is it more cost effective to use an old number than create a jingle? “ If you have a well established tune, it’s easier to build your brand on it. It’s easier to create resonance . If you have songs like this one, it provides you with a jumpstart and you can maximize your investments” , says Mehra. Srinivas of TVS disagrees. He contends that music or jingles does help build a brand, but popular tunes have a limited shelf life. “ This can’t be your strategy all the time” , he says.

Sangeetha of RK Swamy BBDO states that using old Hindi songs costs just as much. “ We have to locate the right song, pay the royalties and do a massive sound touch-up job for modern day airing” , she explains. Thus the jury’s out on whether ads with old numbers help break the clutter or not, but going by the number of commercials using them, they sure are giving retro music a fresh breath of life. SOURCE: http://economictimes. indiatimes. com/features/brand-equity/Why-recently-ads-have-used-old-Hindi-songs-in-place-of-jingles/articleshow/6557078. cms DATE: 15th September 2010.