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Just
kid-in
Indian ads increasingly
use children as models. Advertisers find that they have a
high recall value. What's the secret behind the success stories?
TWF correspondent Nabamita Mitra goes behind the storyboard
to find out.
A group of adults
sitting around a cuddly baby is trying to decide on a name
for him. Suddenly silence falls as they mull over this great
problem. Just then a voice pipes in, 'D-I-N-K-U'. It was the
baby who suggests a name for himself. Can you recall this
advertisement often flashed on your telly? Or are you not
so sure being exposed to a clutter of so many commercials
with chubby looking babies and young kids promoting various
brands? In this new age of media explosion, when ads increasingly
reflect the realities of a global village, young models are
hogging the limelight even in product promos beyond the baby
products. Be it a commercial for a financial company, or consumer
goods, admen are using fresh, innocent faces to enhance the
impact of their message.
Why this sudden trend of using child models in sundry ads?
Surveys show that projection of a child's face to promote
any brand, over and above the obvious ones for children's
products, hooks the Indian market more successfully than any
other. The Indian market, though cosmopolitan these days,
still holds tight to the emotional strings attached to the
family values inherent in the Indian social milieu. So using
a child in a campaign immediately builds the emotional connection
with the target audience. A child is always a welcome sight
and the message reaches faster. "Children are the most
successful and the safest bets in a campaign. Using a female
model in micro-minis and tank tops may be objected by a large
segment of the population", says Sudarshan Ray, creative
head of Ulka Advertising Agency.
Then there is the advantage of cost effectiveness.
According to some experts, using child artists or models is
much more economical than using an adult model. But many oppose
this school of belief. Using kids means much more hard work
and more time spent than using a professional adult. The kids
are normally fickle minded with uncertain mood swings, which
in many cases means extending the shooting schedules, resulting
in a costlier process. So cost effectiveness may not be one
of the important reasons.
Actually, the most important reason for this growing trend
is perhaps the creative department's response to market demands.
According to adman Prakash Pradhan, "Creativity always
follows what market demands." Their objective is not
to overanalyze research, but to make it a part of the creative
process. The story line of the ad is the sole decider of the
character used. In ads like of the Tata group's, where a little
girl spreads her hands, and the word 'Opportunity' appears
beside her photo, the message is instantly conveyed. No one
except a child can symbolise the vast opportunities in life,
the future achiever of the country.
When the Life Insurance Corporation ad shows
a sleeping baby with a blue ribbon lightly wrapped around
the waist, can there be any better visual to show the precious
gift of financial security for a person. Or when you see a
boy of hardly nine years, learning the characteristics and
advantages of a water purifier and declaring boldly, Aaj se
is ghar ka doctor main hoon (From today onwards I'm the home
physician), then the message is grasped by the audience quite
readily. There cannot be a better communicator than children
who fulfill the bondage of emotions.
Or take the Raymond's ad where a child cuddles
blissfully in the arms of a suave man, of course dressed in
a suit by the company, and he becomes 'A Complete Man', an
achiever in the professional field but a good father at home.
He is the metrosexual man reflecting the contemporary times.
However, rumbles of discontent have also been heard from some
sections at using the child in this marketing game. But as
long as the child is not portrayed in an unethical way, there
is little scope for objection. When the cable network reaches
homes with ads on a plethora of consumer goods, the aim of
the advertiser is to catch the attention of the viewer. One
way is to incorporate the potential of the child's appeal.
As a campaign with children prove successful, the others follow.
After all nothing succeeds like success. Now who will dare
to say, 'They are just kidding!'
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