Intex: Mooh Pe Baat

The handset manufacturer has launched three television commercials to promote its newly introduced mobile phone, IN 4470 N, and its main feature -- video calling -- that can be used without subscribing to 3G services. Through the campaign, the company says, 'Jo bolna hai, muh pe bol'.

While everyone in the business of telecom is busy promoting 3G by talking about various services such as high internet browsing speed, video calling and many more, domestic handset manufacturer Intex Technologies has launched a new campaign to promote a new feature -- video calling (without the need of 3G) -- available on its new mobile phone, the IN 4470 N.

To promote the new proposition, the company has launched three television commercials (TVCs), titled
Father
,
Boss
and
Husband
. Each TVC captures different slices of the platform where a person says exactly what he or she wants to on the other person's face, in a situation where people typically hesitate to speak the whole truth.

Speaking about the concept, Vinayak Lal, general manager, marketing, Intex Technologies, feels video calling is an area of interest for telecom consumers belonging to all walks of life. Those consumers who can avail 3G services can enjoy the magic of video calling easily.

"We, therefore, thought of making this interesting offer available to the masses, especially in the Tier II and Tier III cities, apart from rural India through an in-built feature in one of our handsets. So, we launched the IN 4470 N and to promote it, we launched the campaign where we ask people to be straightforward in conversation."

The Intex account is handled from Grey's Delhi office. Talking about the idea, creative duo Amit Shankar and Vishnu Srivastav, executive creative directors at Grey Delhi, explain, "We knew that in 'Joh bolna hai, muh pe bol', we had a strong creative platform that came intrinsically from the product benefit, which was video calling. So, we took situations that were natural and uncontrived, while adding our own twist of honesty and confidence. The humour is set within the situation, and we shot in such a way that the reality comes through, along with the humour."

A good talk?

While the new feature may be interesting to the consumers, the TVC seems to have failed in drawing the attention of the advertising fraternity.

Swati Bhattacharya, vice-president and executive creative officer, JWT, says, "It was a bit of a tease. It neither surprised me in the end, nor rewarded me with some new news. And, there was nothing interesting in the way it was shot that really caught my eye. Quite frankly, it is tepid."

Naresh Gupta, national planning director, Cheil Worldwide Southwest Asia, is somewhat disappointed with its insight and execution.

"If the commercial had to only denote the ability to do video call, then it does, but beyond that everything is wrong. The way the whole sequence is crafted leaves a bad impression about the kind of audience it wants to connect with. The youth of today may be irreverent and in love with life, but are not so disconnected from their roots. Incidentally, can the receiver respond and speak, or is it one way delivery? Doesn't work for the youth of today," says Gupta.