Wednesday 20 May 2009

Titan FAST-TRACK Repulsive advertising

Marketers must use their common sense and judgment as they try to connect with audiences.

Titan (a well known Indian brand of watches) has a collection targeted to the youth called FAST TRACK.

We saw an ad for this brand yesterday with the tag line being "move on". Here a young boy and girl meet, have a one night stand (suggested) and then, as the girl tries to build more intimacy, the guy runs off (very fast)... this it appears is a ploy from the girl to drive the boy away...as she wants to "move on".

Repulsive. This is the strongest critique we have done on this blog. But we are really offended by the treatment of young people (and if we may add, condoned) in the ad. Is this really what connects with our youth in India today? Or is this the best output an adman and brand manager keen to sensationalise in the name of connecting with youth.

We have not yet found the ad on the internet, but it appears that an add on the same "move on " concept has been aired before. An example can bee seen at http://rshuba.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/move-on/


Here we cringe at the casualness of the break-up. Is this what "moving on" means to the youth today? Is this what it should mean to youth today?

Coming back to the "one night stand ad", lets assume this is what market research is suggesting connects with the youth today. The girl chasing away the with whom she has spent an intimate few hours? So that she can find the next target. If this is the case, something is wrong with our society. But the point is that a marketer must use judgment to decide whether he wants to build on this insight or he wants to transform this insight.

Is this attitude of young people correct? Would the brand manager want his children behaving like this? Is the answer is yes, he should find help. If no, then the marketer must use his ability and resources to bring positive transformation.

Why cannot young people "move on" from failure or success to take on the next challenge? Is that not a reasonable condition to "move on" from? Lets face it - unplanned pregnancies/ multiple partners/ teenage sex...these are all trends on the decline in the West. Are we saying, the very "internationally aware" youth of urban India have not plugged into the declining rates of these trends?
Wake up Titan, multiple partners have been declared passe!

"Titan" is a reputed brand name that in our books has completely lost dignity with the Fast Track ads.

Ritu and Venkat

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

well...its one way of looking at it....
what i saw in the ad was "she saw a cool guy...so wanted to get closer....but well the guy started gettin too close so she decided to dump him"....and i dont know where being an indian has anything to do with what people do in their personal lives....i think its high time people started letting things be.....the only way india has remained so constant is through change....no one decided then how indians should change those days i dont know why people need moral polices to decide which way we should change now....
its just an ad....let it be.....if you want to comment on something REPULSIVE then talk about mtv splitsvilla...it takes the word cheap to another level altogether ..

Megha's delicacies said...

I do agree that the fast track advertisements reflect a degeneration of values. But it is possible that it s a light hearted look at way youth perceive relationships. I must add that they are made in a very innovative way....

Megha's delicacies said...

I do agree that the fast track advertisements reflect a degeneration of values. But it is possible that it s a light hearted look at way youth perceive relationships. I must add that they are made in a very innovative way....