There is a saying in Tamil… roughly translated means, to first pinch the child and then rock the cradle… or – the troubleshooter is the troublemaker…
And that is what Hutch, soon to be followed by other mobile phone operators are doing with their Mobile Manners communication campaign. Hutch now, Airtel and others soon.
I like the ads – great concept and executed very well. This TV commercial shows a man (dad?) playng with his little kid, he takes a picture of the kid, the kid snatches the mobile phone and throws it away. Super : bina izazat photo na kheechein – do not take photographs without permission.
The one I like even better is where the dad (again?) is trying to put the kid to sleep – so ja rajkumari so ja – and the kid bawls till he stops. Is your ringtone disturbing someone? Yes, yes. Let’s hear it for – against, I mean – obnoxious loud ring tones. (It is bad enough to have to hear some new Hindi movie songs on FM radio, but to have them ring in the next seat at work, NO)
And the hoardings which didn’t make any sense to me at first – Ali Baba and the forty tring trings (will try to get a photograph). And Hum aapke hain tring tring.
Libraries, cinema halls, work places, even schools and colleges – no place is safe from these tring trings.
Great campaign. But the cynic in me whispers – why? Did cellphone operators wake up one morning and realize that their corporate social responsibility quota for the year had not been fulfilled? Just wondering… (Reminded me of the statutory warning on cigarette packs, but that is another story altogether)
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Speaking of mobile phones, and on, here is Always on, always good? at Mindspace. Do read it and leave your thoughts.
isn’t it cool tho! i was really impressed when I saw that hutch ad with the father n baby.
of course will give hutch a lot of mileage.. but that’s ok since the msg really *does* make sense!
good blog!
Can’t agree with you more. The first time I saw the Hutch ads I questioned it just like you – why now? But then, now I realize it doesn’t matter when – the important thing is to get the message across. I just hope the message does get across :).
Ah, the need for responsible citizenship surfaces at last. Ironic, though, that most of the smses that make my phone beep (and many of the calls that make it ring) tend to be from Hutch.
So the message is “let us disturb you, but you should know better”!
Ni, I don’t think it has anything to do with corporate social responsibility. It has more to do with getting a place in the mind of the customer. As you said you liked the add campain – most people did – the purpose for which it was made got fullfilled :-))
yeah all, I guess whatever the intentions, it is a good thing… we desperately need to learn mobile manners and such… and I like the ads, so what is the big deal…
*but still… why suddenly…*
anjali, hutch will now send you text messages in the middle of the night to remind you about mobile manners 🙂
More irritating than some of the ringtones are the Caller tunes. Loud devotional music and Himesh Reshammiya rule supreme in the world of caller ID tunes. But one must give it to Hutch. They maintained a premium positioning while offering no differentiated services just through sleek ads (Of course people have finally understood of late, and Hutch has been forced to target the lowest segment)
When warnings to do with ‘cigarettes’ and ‘mobile phones’ are put up in court precincts,(which one saw recently,freshly painted blue boards) then you can safely arrive at the conclusion that ‘mobile manners’ have indeed made a dent on the Indian psyche.
The only problem is, that so jaa rajkumari… song is so ridiculous that now all my friends insist on singing it in horrendously nasal tones. 🙁
Hardly. Just because an amazing ad was made out of an important yet blatantly abused funda of mobile manners, it doesn’t mean that Indians will start respecting the privacy of others. As Navjot Kashyap said in a previous comment, the ad will mainly manage to get the customers thinking as to how Hutch has a softer human side too.
Voyeurism is increasing by leaps and bounds in India. Cameras being installed in changing rooms or in hotel rooms etc are commonly unheard of yet, but just see how easily you can order one from Indiatimes or any other online shopping sites. Voyeurism through cell phones is also on the rise. There are many sites in which people share candid pictures taken by guys through their cellphones. And the main spots for all this include college campuses, in tourist places etc.
People need more than a good ad to make them understand mobile etiquette. Voyeurism is just another irritation we have to deal along with loud and crappy ringtones and people screaming into their mobile phones in public places.
Shivaji, what are caller tones and ring tones? *confused* – anyways agree about the irritating part… speaking of which, have you heard the car reverse horns? grrrr
Kaveeta, I don’t think mobile manners will come so easily… I keep getting calls at all odd hours, and peple just assume it is ok to call at any time. again grrrr
Aishwarya, the song lends itself to such singing 🙂
Kirtan, things may not change overnight but atleast this is a beginning – and I think we def. need stronger communication against cell phones in librarries and conerts and such…
Charu,
Mahesh V of O&M (the man behind the Hutch campaigns) just died of a massive heartattack.
bubby, just read about it on creative criminal. heart attack at 32. so scary…
Can anyone inform where we can download that “Hutch Advertisemnt Song”
Guys who is the second cousin in the new Hutch ad( a actress)? The one on the left she is really pretty . …Not only pretty but God ddddddddddaaaaaamn kind :).
Hutch TVC on slashing of STD/ISD rates: A simple and beautiful advertisement
I am sure that all those who like watching TV commercial must have remembered the Pug which follows the kid with the sweet song “in this beautiful world†being played in the background. This TVC for Hutch created a big impact in marketing of Hutch mobile cards. Sadly, the advertising genius V. Mahesh who was crucial in making of this Ad is no more in this world.
The Hutch though have kept its legacy of good , simple and to the point advertising with its latest TVC on slashing of STD/ISD rates. The ad shows relatives and friends staying in different parts of the world such as “Canada walle Chacha jee,amrica walli mausi, benaras walle mausa jee and so on.. . It clearly satisfies the marketing objective that how the reductions in STD/ISD rates have reduced the distance and the users can connect with their dear ones more often at a much lesser rate. The last line says, “ab rishton ko millon mein napna chod doâ€. It’s a simple advertisement with no glamour and glitz but yet to the point and effective.
I rate it as one of the best Indian advertisements seen in recent time, and yes if one has seen the recent advertisement of Trump regarding the slashing of STD/ISD rates, can easily identify that it follows the same Hutch pattern but the way the message is conveyed in Hutch ad is simple and beautifully communicated .
The link for watching the Hutch ad is: http://www.hutch.in/bottom/tv_commercials.asp
Open the Hutch TVC titled “STD/ISD rates droppedâ€.
thnx amitsinha
it has been since 4 months since i wanted this commercial …ohh its so sweet… can any one plz tell me or send me alink to the full song “in this beautiful worldâ€
Thank you
Where to get the hutch song— “u and me,in this beautiful world.”