They are bold, they are in-your-face and they are now going viral. Brand wars have been around for ages and this time Bajaj Auto Limited, in its latest ad for the Discover 125 motorbike, mocks rival Hero MotoCorp. In the TV commercial, owners of Hero MotoCorp’s motorcycles are shown being apologetic about their rides, sounding almost wistful and vying for a better product in Bajaj’s Discover 125.
Many of us still have a taste of the Pepsi-Coke war that made its way in the early 1970s. In 2000, Pepsi even published a “We love Coca-Cola” print ad on April Fool’s Day, stirring up quite a few giggles. And looks like the creative one-on-ones are back again with the recent print media war and lately the automobile brand war.
Raunak Vazir, an account executive with JWT Mindset Hyderabad feels that it’s the people who provide fodder for these campaigns. “In the ad world, before a campaign hits the floor, there are surveys done where people give their inputs and feedback on a certain product and finally, it’s the audience views that go into the ad,” says Vazir. “It’s a publicity stunt to gain that initial attention,” he adds, and although the memory remains fresh in the audience’s mind, “the war subsides eventually”.
But while it’s mostly about selling one’s product through an ad, how ethical is it to take a dig at one’s competitors. Saral Talwar, executive director of Talwar Group, feels it is unethical. “It’s more like an ‘in-thing’ in the market right now to take potshots at your competitor, but there are ethics that one needs to follow,” he says.
Rensil D’Silva, executive creative director at Meridian, seconds Talwar’s thoughts and feels that there is nothing positive about such ads. “Although such campaigns make news for a while, it’s not a very constructive way to build a brand,” he says, adding “Such digs go viral, but the consumers don’t involve themselves in it for too long.”
The consumer, however, understands and looks at it quite differently. Akash, a Bajaj motorbike user, fails to see what’s wrong with brand wars. “Ultimately, it is a market and everybody is trying to sell their products. How they attract the attention of its audience is up to them. As long as it’s subtle, it’s fine.”
