Apr 4, 2006

Corporate Con: Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi

Image courtesy bajajauto.comI had a rethink and I decided to re-write this.

You have seen the new Fear The Black advertisement for the Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi, right? Stupid, stupid, stupid advert. The company has a reputation for classy, gripping, relevant ads, and now they have this. What's wrong with it? First, the lady singing the song, 'these boots were made for...' isn't singing the song very well. Nor does it fit with what's on screen. The silly recorded engine soundtrack (this is true for all Indian bike ads) just makes the whole thing look cartoonish. And finally, the storyline of the ad is neither new, nor gripping. It's not even memorable. Two years hence, not only will this ad have sold no 180s (it might sell a couple of goggles though), no one will remember it existed.

What's wrong technically? In motorcycle terms, that is? The Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi is a superb road bike, designed for on-tarmac thrills. So why make it go slowly through the dirt, and speed up the footage. Why jump it? It's no motocrosser. Then, there is the cartoon-ish dam traverse. Why? Why make the motorcycle look unreal. Why make us laugh at the who stunts by experts routine. Graphics are graphics. Who in their right minds would try to repeat that? And if they were mad enough to try, wouldn't Darwinian selection take care of them?

Sorry dudes, the simple wheelie ad was great. The DTSi wheelying past the Classic Pulsar was te apex. The wheelie down the airstrip was the beginning of the end. And this one, is it.

Creativity rating: -6,121,311/10
Relevancy rating: 0/10
Danger to public rating: 0/10
You'd have to be terminally stupid to try the dam stunt, no?

Overall ad rating: 0/10

3 comments:

SamY said...

neither did I expect that from bajaj ... the guys who took the country by storm with their ... "hamara bajaj" campaign ... until this one I'v loved every one of the Pulsar Ad's ... very profound ... in fact if I am not mistaken ... these r the guy who put up the 180 spin stunt on their ad 8-> ... and now what a letdown :(

Anonymous said...

HI is there a link where i can hear this advt. on net, or get lyrics of the song, shoes are meant to be walking... thanks

rearset said...

Dude! that's Shoes are meant for walking... The original is by Nancy Sinatra, and Jessica Simpson just did a cover for the movie Dukes of Hazzard. The lyrics are all over the net. Try lyricsondemand.com, for instance... Fortunately, there is nowhere on the net you can hear the mangled version in the advert.