Not 'Juxt' a watch

Juxt Pro, Titan's second offering in the Juxt series, is a fully touch-enabled smartwatch.

Juxt, the smartwatch launched by Titan in January, recently got an upgraded cousin, the Juxt Pro - a fully touch-enabled smartwatch with 20 different dial options that inspire the tagline 'One Watch, Many Faces'.

While Juxt, with its analog dial and a starting price point of Rs 15,995, was intentionally designed like a 'traditional timepiece with smart features' to facilitate broader appeal, the Juxt Pro, priced at Rs 22,995, has quite a 'gadgety' look.

And, now that the Juxt series has entered the league of high-end, conventional smartwatches such as Apple, Fitbit Surge, and Samsung Gear with Pro, it will be unfair to call it 'just a watch'. Highlighting this thought is the #SmarterByFar campaign that accompanied the Juxt Pro launch.

Conceptualised by Ogilvy and Mather, the campaign is led by a TVC which depicts an office scenario where the protagonist gets upset with his boss and colleagues when they compliment his Juxt Pro by calling it a "nice watch". Irked, he goes on to demonstrate the Pro's various features in order to convince them that it is not a watch.

Commenting on the insight behind the campaign, Sirish Chandrashekar, marketing head, Titan Watches, says, "Today's young Indian is obsessive about his technology, and Titan Juxt Pro is the smartwatch that does it all. This film is single-minded in showcasing in an endearing manner how loaded the watch is."

Elaborating further, Azazul Haque, executive creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, says, "We thought of how tech-lovers get offended when others do not know the value of their 'techy' possessions, and hence, tried to present it in the simplest way."

Like its predecessor, the Juxt Pro can be synced with Android and iOS devices through the Titan Juxt app and Bluetooth. It provides features such as email and social media notifications, text messages, phone finder, converter, calendar and appointment reminders, activity tracking, and monitoring of fitness goals, and allows incoming calls. It also has in-built music, camera, and safety apps.

Titan Juxt Pro, which targets the modern multi-faceted man, is available in two variants – Matte Black and Steel Black.

Just as smart?

"The idea of pride of ownership and an almost rabid 'salesmanship' of something you love, while not new, is sweet and always works," says Surjo Dutt, national creative director, FCB Ulka. He finds the execution slick and the performances "nice and believable". Yet another executional highlight for him is the contemporary and uncluttered look and feel of the ad.

Appreciating the way product features have been described, Dutt adds, "Explanation of a new product or category is a must. There are too many slick looking ads that never make a point or explain what they should; fortunately, this is not one of them."

He, however, feels that the baseline is a "big miss, which does not beautifully cap or telegraphically explain the idea". It's just a random collection of words that brings the commercial down.

Says Sunil Kukreti, senior partner, R K Swamy BBDO, "When you have a watch which costs loads (Rs 23,000), the mortal fear of the watch owner is that it be dismissed as a mere 'nice watch'. This is the springboard for the idea of the TVC. The owner promptly launches himself about the virtues of Juxt Pro with part indignation and part showing-off."

According to Kukreti, the premise is based on an easy everyday setting and while one can't fault it, the nuances could have been more enhanced. For him, the ad pales in comparison to previous Titan ads which have been endearing and high on emotional quotient.

Yet, acknowledging the need for it to be informative, he states, "It has a good balance of conveying the functional benefits while trying to retain a layer of emotion through an easy conversational style. The need to be one up is most pronounced in the peer group, and if you can be one up in front of the boss, that's the icing on the cake. These insights are well-crafted in the ad."

According to Pooja Rawat, associate vice-president, Lowe Lintas, the ad seems to be focussed upon explaining the product features, and rightly so, because the category of smartwatches is still relatively new.

She, however, points out that given that Juxt Pro is a smartwatch with presumably high-end technology and a steep price point, the execution seems to be quite ordinary. "It doesn't do justice to either the product category, or that it is premium category. The audience is told it is not a watch, but the brand fails to say what it is if not a watch," says Rawat.

But, she feels that the ad does give out the message that the quite expensive Juxt Pro could be easily mistaken for another 'nice watch', and that is not desirable for a brand.