Sunday, July 12, 2009

For some things money can't buy

Ok. Now you must be a dork if you can't figure out which ad(s) I am talking about. If not, let me elaborate: "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard".

And without exception, you all thought of the word: "priceless". And that's what this post is all about! The priceless campaign of MasterCard. There's this Indian ad of MasterCard, that I must say is brilliant in its concept and execution (like all MasterCard ads).
Watch first. Till then I reserve my comments.


Rating - ****
Great ad. It is what every Indian would like to give his parents (well, I'd like to think so!). It has been built around the Indian ethos of taking care of your parents well and delighting them. So, I especially connect to it. (I hope to do the same some day!). There are so many other ads I have seen and can recall, but could not find them on YouTube.

Now, let me tell you how a typical MasterCard story goes (like you already don't know!).
It starts off with the narrator explaining the price of each thing. And it ends with how the cumulative effect of all this spending is that moment of joy, which is "priceless". And then, they end with the punchline.
I am certain most, if not all, of their ads are tailored around this story board. Atleast, the ones I have seen seem to revolve around this concept. It is said that this campaign was designed to allay fears that commodification has set in, and that materialism has taken over the world. And the punchline tells you as much.

But observe from my view, and you will see something more to it. Of course they are telling you there are some things that money can't buy. Which implies that for the rest (which is most), you need money. Notice how subtly they communicate that even for those "priceless" moments, you need to shell out those green notes! Which brings us back to what they have to offer. Spend money. So what if it costs you? You are left with those "priceless" moments. Which works well for a credit card and debit card company, don't you think?

And another highlight has been the association "priceless". For a thing that actually tells you that everything has a price (it's after all money, honey!), it has managed to own that brand property. And they have taken it beyond a punchword (can't call it a punchline!). To understand what I mean, at leisure, visit the site "www.priceless.com".

They have heavily capitalized on that brand association and what you have is an ENTIRE site built on that platform (apart from their own official website). You have "priceless picks" (a pun on "priceless pics"), where you can upload and share pictures of the priceless moments you have had.
Then you have "priceless tv" which airs all their international priceless campaigns, from which you can choose and watch. Then they have their promotions and offers, with the best in lifestyle, entertainment, travel and shopping on which to splurge!

In all, a good concept!

And the campaign? Priceless.

5 comments:

Vijitha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vijitha said...

Good observations!

- Some Things Vs. Most Things
- Money needs to be paid to get those "priceless" moments!

Good job Sis'! ;-)

ജെ പി വെട്ടിയാട്ടില്‍ said...

very interesting.
an add request was sent to orkut

Sh@s said...

Well-dissected :)
Its true that money can't buy everything but money does get you a lot of things. hmm...paradoxical :)

Vinitha Valsalan Rakesh said...

@ Shas: Thanks. Well, now you get one more to the list of paradoxes life has to offer ;)