Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Zoozoos

Everybody and his uncle seem to love the new Vodaphone ads. I am referring to the series of ads with the zoozoos. You can’t miss them if you follow IPL. They are all over the place.

Being a cartoon lover myself, I enjoyed the hilarity of some of the commercials myself; even more considering the fact that they are not animation but actual people masquerading as cartoon characters. Shot apparently in South Africa, a lot of planning seems to have gone behind to achieve a new perfection in the films. Great show!

But the devil inside me has a doubt. While we love the films for what they are, do we remember what the films are for? Do we know what each of the different ads is trying to say? Here is the construct of a few films. Try and guess what the ad is trying to establish.

A zoozoo comes out of the trial room and screams at another one dressed alike

A zoozoo speaks something in the bottle and throws it at another

Four zoozoos walk on a street together listening to the radio

A zoozoo teasing a crocodile with a fish

Two zoozoos driving a car and crashing at an intersection

Two zoozoos in a restaurant and the girl zoozoo throwing stuff at the other

We know they are all Vodafone ads. But do you know what each of these ads is trying to say? More importantly, how many of us do you think would know what they are trying to say?

The ads are funny and entertaining, no doubt. But on them building awareness about the different value adds of Vodafone, I doubt!