Celcom football ads

A couple of tv ads by Celcom lingers in my mind although not for the reasons the ad maker would have intended.

The first one is the weeping woman who sobs away as she watches a soccer match on telly. I dunno if she's crying because she lost a huge bet or her boyfriend left her but she's clearly distressed.

The second one, probably of the same series, is about a man who laughs uncontrollably to the match on tv. I'll call him Mr. Hyena. He acts like he escaped from a mental asylum.

I'm no ad guru but if I remember my advertising 101, a good ad has 2 things. First a call to action, second a dramatization of the uniqueness of the product.

These 2 football ads have a call to action alright. They prompt me to switch channels everytime they come on air. I don't fancy having extremely distraught women or someone like Mr. Hyena in my living room. Not even after a couple of beers.

Perhaps the ad maker assumes that the football-watching crowd's senses is so dull that they feel compelled to go waaay over the top to send a simple message. Its called overkill.

On dramatizing the uniqueness of a product, I think this one crashed & burned because the target group, young cellphone users like me, have no idea what its trying to dramatize. The only connection I've made is that if you watch a soccer match sponsored by Celcom, you will become a hyena or you'll cry your eyeballs out. Neither one makes exciting prospect.

The things companies do to their own brands...