Tata Tiago raises a laugh in irreverent ad

The digital video created by Soho Square imagines a car theft as captured on CCTV.

Like it or not, this is certainly a different kind of brand video. Uploaded on YouTube, the story starts with a CCTV view of a parking lot. A Ferrari drives in and parks badly in front of two cars, one of which is a Tiago, the hatchback from Tata. The owner gets out of the Ferrari, locks it and moves out of the frame.

Tata Tiago's new digital ad

A masked robber, hiding behind another car, emerges with a metal scale, unlocks the Ferrari, and just when the viewer thinks he will drive off with it, he brakes a few metres ahead. He jumps out, uses the same scale to open the Tiago, and zooms off with it. While the viewer is still wondering what will happen next comes the super, ‘Tata Tiago. The car for the city.’ The 59-second video is silent except for a faint whirring sound in the background.

The ad, which was uploaded recently, has been conceptualised by Soho Square, directed by Porus Kharegat and produced by Box Office.

Anuraag KhandelwalTalking about the ad, Anuraag Khandelwal, executive creative director and creative head, Mumbai, Soho Square, says, “Car ads generally focus on product features. But Tata Tiago recently became the second best-selling hatchback in the country after Maruti Suzuki Celerio so people already know the car and are happy with it. We wanted to do something different. We told the client that we wouldn’t be able to show the car features because if you are shooting on a CCTV camera you can’t zoom in and out. And they were bold enough to buy it. So we had a bit of fun.”

Did the client have an issue with a shot of a Tiago being stolen so easily? Khandelwal responds that the story is about a thief who is hell-bent on stealing a car. “He can open a Ferrari, so can he open a Tiago. He can also open an Audi, BMW or even a Mercedes. The idea was to show that Tiago is a car for the city. It is not so much about selling Tiago but about the car’s attitude - the car is as cool as is the ad.”

By the standards of digital brand videos, the story is short. The core TG for Tiago is SEC A and B, 22-50, male and female who are first-time car buyers. The ad will not appear on TV.

We asked our digital experts to review the ad and this is what they had to say.

Carlton D'SilvaCarlton D’Silva, chief executive officer and chief creative officer, Hungama Digital Services thinks, “If the ad has been shot through a CCTV camera it’s not very convincing. I believe the execution could have been better and more believable.” He also feels that the situation is too exaggerated.

Suraj NagappaOn the other hand, Suraj Nagappa, vice president, Isobar India, finds the idea and execution excellent. “Who would have thought that a film with a low budget and minimal script could be so entertaining and have such a rich narrative?!”

He adds, “To make it more realistic the agency or the production house could have used a real car-lifting footage to create more impact. The agency could have completed the ad with the thief getting caught, sending out a clear message that only free thing they will get when they steal a car is a day-trip to local police station.”

CREDITS

Agency: Soho Square Advertising & Marketing Communications

CCO and Chairman: Sumanto Chattopadhyay

ECD and Creative Head, Mumbai : Anuraag Khandelwal

Creative: David Vaz, Shahrukh Irani, Anurag Agnihotri

Director: Porus Kharegat

Production House: Box Office

Line Producer: Splice Studioz