Ad Review: Canon – Clicking with the youth

Remember the first lesson of your life? A for Apple, B for Boy, C for Cat, D for Dog and so on...well, times have changed and we recommend that you watch the latest commercial of Canon Power Shot to learn the new ‘Aye B Sea D Eeee what the F G Etch...’ to keep up with the times.

Walt Disney once said, “Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language” and depicting this language in a refreshing manner is the latest campaign for Canon by Dentsu. Shot in picturesque Goa, capturing the most candid expressions of life, the commercial demonstrates that ‘basically, essentially, importantly, fundamentally every moment, every second, every mood, every hour makes us click’. A total of Rs 30 crore has been spent on this season’s campaign by Canon which will continue till mid of May.

Agency: Dentsu
Client: Canon Power Shot
Medium: TV

The brief:

With the help of consumer database of the last two years, Canon found out that the median age of the customers buying its products is 22. The idea to create communication that connects with this target audience in their own style, manner and behaviour became the brief for this campaign, shared Alok Bharadwaj, Senior Vice President, Canon India. He further said, “The youth today is spontaneous. They don’t pose. Every moment is worth capturing for them, everything fascinates them. To capture that unconventional attitude and spontaneity was our main objective.”

“The brief from Canon was to target the younger generation. Taking pictures, uploading them and seeking comments has become an integral part of their life and that formed the main theme of the campaign,” said Soumitra Karnik, National Creative Director, Dentsu India Group.

 

The execution

Sachin Tendulkar has glorified Canon commercials for many years. But this time, it was about ‘what really clicks’ with the younger audience. Rather than going the conventional way of roping in a celebrity and then creating a communication around the aura of that person, Canon and Dentsu decided to do the unconventional and roped in Anushka Sharma after developing the whole concept. “We have defied the tradition this time. We did not want to build the idea around the celebrity, rather fit the celebrity in the idea. Anushka was roped in after we finalised the story. Her presence added great charm to the whole idea,” said Bharadwaj.

Speaking about the process that went behind the clicking idea, Karnik said, “We looked at the category and felt that advertising in this segment is too functional, too serious. Our idea was to refresh, re-energise the whole category. We did not want to present a manufacturers point of view about the generation of today but a statement coming from the youth directly. If you look around, youngsters are clicking pictures everywhere and every moment is picture pretty for them. When anything and everything makes them ‘click’, we thought why not showcase the A to Z of ‘what makes them click’.”

Media mix

This is the first time Canon has come out with a 60 second commercial. While there is also a 20 second version, most of ad spots have been reserved for the longer version. 48 channels will be showcasing the commercial, taking it to audience of every genre. Canon has also launched print campaign for its upmarket brand IXUS featuring Indrani Dasgupta, targeted at elite customers.

“Youth and the elite will remain anchors for all our future brand strategies,” Bharadwaj informs. Various contests have been launched online. Mobile ringtones have also been created with the catchy ‘what makes us click’ jingle for maximum impact.

Industry experts speak

The commercial has clicked with experts too, drawing accolades from everywhere. We asked industry experts to share their opinion on the ad. Here is what they had to say...

Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas
The ad is really refreshing and the whole feel to it is exciting. Most of the camera ads are really boring but this one has a zing, spunk and an attitude of its own. It has been successful in capturing the true essence of today’s generation.
 

Stars: 5 out of 5
 

Hari Krishnan, Head, WPP Global Team Ford
Most digital camera ads romance the product and its features or show celebrity endorsers playing themselves and not real people who actually use this product. Anti-shake, anti-shock or auto colour-correction becomes the mainstay of these ads, missing the fun, non-serious and spontaneous context of amateur digital cameras. This ad captures the user’s life and that is what makes it different from the tech-feature-jargon heavy product centric communication. For the ‘shoot and upload’ generation this ad is an interesting reflection of their lives. And of course, the celebrity has been smartly used by making her a part of the crowd and not a goddess who everyone is busy clicking. I am sure this will catch on.

Stars: 4 out of 5

Satbir Singh, Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer, Euro RSCG India
It is a nice thought. Everyone today has a camera and thanks to our phones, photography is no longer about special moments. It is about shooting everything and anything. The ad reflects a day in the life of a consumer. While the core thought of the ad is catchy, it seems rather rushed because of the length and time limitation.

Stars: 3 on 5

While concluding, it is important to mention that Dentsu has got the taste of today’s youth fundamentally right. When you invent words that everyone wants to include in their daily jargon, you know you have clicked. This is exactly what Dentsu’s ad has done for Canon. Every time you see the ad, you discover something new. The ad remains with you even after you have seen it ample times. We give the ad a 5 on 5 as it definitely makes us click!

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