To top it all Zoozoo ads just won the PETA award for not using animals in their ads. I agree that brand recall is low and brand development is also low, but all the hype it has created just might benefit Vodafone. Moreover it might get converted into an international campaign

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090523/jsp/entertainment/story_11006551.jsp

meet a zoozoo

some time – there was an article in DNA where all of them were introduced

Agree on the low brand development part, but the aim of a viral campaign is exactly this: to create a hype which leads to awareness. Question is do they need a viral campaign at all at this point? This campaign would have been perfect for a 3G service I guess, but may be not for VAS. But at the end of the day, I would definitely like to watch “Star of the Match”, “Beauty Tips” or “Stock Alerts” than Madhavan & Vidya

I understand that the Zoozoos create hype. But did the hype translate to more people switching over to Vodafone and/or using their VAS. If it just increased awareness, was it not a very cost ineffective method?

Don’t really agree with most of the stuff said in the post. For instance, the point about the ad test, my grandmother is 70, and she remembers most of the ads. That fact, just like the survey amongst your friends means nothing, since we both could be fooled by randomness. And the fact that they did remember some ads and that Vodafone promises better VAS might be good enough for the people at Vodafone.

And I believe the point behind the 29 diff ads was to make sure that there is always something new to give the audience, and more importantly, to give the campaign an unmatched strategic depth. The Vidya Balan and Mahadevan series have only two ads running at the moment: the one about the recession and the one in the tent. The ad about the recession seemed to encourage consumer spending on the product (similar to brush twice a day), while the other one was more relevant to VAS.

Admittedly, in my opinion, the quality of content on the idiot box right now would be improved dramatically if they ran Vidya Balan ads 24/7 (or maybe even a slide show of her images, with a little bit of Priyanka Chopra thrown in…), I still feel that the Vodafone ads are more informative, out of the box, and have the required punch needed to capture the mindshare, and as regards building Brand Character, if you are seeking VAS, which one would you choose, a fun brand with the widest VAS spectrum, or one that is caring, but hasn’t really bothered to communicate all that it can offer.

Of course, my views are my own, and until the final numbers start coming in, these are just the speculations of a bored twenty something slacker. I don’t claim to have my finger on the pulse of every single consumer, but I do feel that the Vodafone ads are too strong to be written off.

PS: How many articles does this make on Strat.in about Vodafone?

PPS: If any TV executive is reading this, if you are seriously considering the proposal about the Vidya Balan thing, could you also add some Angelina Jolie?

Doesn’t it seem that the Zoozoos are going the ‘Pug-way’? That is, the pug becoming a bigger brand than Vodafone itself? (Clearly reflected in the sales of the Pug dog after the ads were telecasted)

I believe this has happened because Vodafone has attempted to set templates for itself, which has both its pros and cons. It is putting your brand into a neat little box gives it a very clear definition – like this is who we are – and people start recognizing the brand within the confines of the said box.

So I guess the trick here is just to make the templates that work for your brand but also in bringing about a change fast enough. I would say Vodafone has a much larger territory to parade within than Mastercard which I can’t imagine stepping beyond “There are some things money can’t buy…”

whatever folks, meet the man behind the ZooZoos:
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/the-man-behindzoozoo/359524/

some more info about them:
http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/may/29/slide-show-1-welcome-to-the-world-of-zoozoos.htm

and finally, the actors are revealed:
http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=44&contentid=200905132009051320112535869b0a560&sectxslt=

while u sit and ponder whether the campaign has worked, a few things the brand has achieved: 1. vodafone has been the most recognised brand in the last month, bigger than teams and even political parties. 2. everyone from my driver to my grandmom love the brand 3. sure the zoozoos are popular, but are they independent of vodafone? Think again. 4. 29 ads was a brilliant strategy. It gave people something to look forward to – in ad breaks! No brand has ever achieved that in this country over a period of time. Mebbe the writer shud spend some time thinking what the objective of this campaign really was. 5. The brand has recieved the highest free media coverage I have ever witnessed. 6. With close to 4 million views, it is the most viewed viral ad in the world all of this month! 7. With over 2.8 lac fans on facebook, it has the largest following in india by far! think mickey mouse has 3 lac fans…I cud live with a dud campaign if u call this a waste of money – am sure the guys at vodafone aren’t complaining either

All these 29 ads promoting VAS for Vodofone became famous only in the big cities, as it is from these places the majority of the different Value Added Services are being used. But for normal small city/town/rural user all these VAS doesn’t hold much of an importance. For them a mobile phone is just a mode of communication to keep in touch with their near and dear ones. For them the brand recall value of the Tata Indicom ads for Digital enhanced networks would more as compared to the Vodafone as it targets their basic use of a phone. Also as some one said earlier, after watching so many ads how many users have switched to Vodafone?

So I would just iterate that the Zoozoo ads are popular only among the urban population who frequently use the Value Added Services of Vodafone.

Doesn’t all this discussion about the presence (or lack thereof) of strategy in an ad campaign imply the success of the campaign itself? It’s all about “phootage” after all

This is looking at it from an advertising point of view. Talking about translations into revenue is hard enough anyway.