Century Ply - "Sab Sahe Mast rahe" - Review

Century Ply is the largest seller of multi-use plywood and decorative veneers  in India. Recently after 4 years it has come up with its angry Gorilla TVC which was released on aug 28^th which happens to be world anger day where you can let out all your anger and feel relaxed. The idea of releasing the ad on that day is interesting as the concept is apt for the day! It even fits the tag line “Sab Sahe Mast rahe” which indicates the strength and durability irrespective of the load / out burst on  it . The ad was designed by Bates group of Kolkata.

The ad opens with a huge gorilla which pounces on him after scaring the kid eating chips. The gorilla throws the car in rage then tries breaking the front wooden door but fails. It finally enters the house via roof and scares a middle aged man (35-40)who is seated on table. The table remains intact while many other surrounding things are smashed and destroyed. The man runs and hides in a cupboard. The gorilla chases him and tries to break the cupboard which again doesn't flinch. In a mirror reflection they show the man’s wife who is extremely angry at him as he forgot their wedding anniversary. She gives a warning “better not to forget next time.”

Again in the end they are seated at the dining table where the man asks “So how many years has it been” and wife turns to an angry king Kong again which by the  end bangs the table with its fist where century ply cards are displayed finally revealing what it all meant. Read below for a detailed insight in to all the elements of the ad.

 Humor and striking the emotional cord  : The  ad is undoubtedly humorous which makes the customers wait curiously so that they can see what is it all about ? They will feel delighted to see in the end that its century ply so the doors and table were all intact. It even strikes the emotional cord as the ad shows the anger emotion of the wife who doesn't spare a husband who forgets their anniversary. It is 100% humorous and interestingly executed which makes audiences smile throughout as they keep guessing and finally crack the puzzle of what it is about. In a way it connects the customers who would love watching the ad.

Displaying the strength and durability : The campaign succeeds in displaying the core functions and benefits  of century ply – Strength and durability . The wife aka angry gorilla cannot enter in to the house using front door in spite of all the strength she uses to break down and so has to take an alternate route. Similarly even if all other things are getting damaged the wooden table, doors remain firm so it successfully shows that the century ply products are strong. However durability could have been shown little more creatively, like the ad could have ended like this.

Husband and wife seated on dining table after 10 years with some grey hair on their heads and husband hesitates and then asks “So how many years has it been” turning the wife again to a gorilla who bangs the table but table shows the same strength it showed 10 years back. In this way humor quotient would also have increased and we can say that century ply products are durable for ages.

Few  missed initiatives : Century ply claims that their products  are 100 per cent borer and termite-proof.  The focus should also have been on value-addition  and product innovation along with main features, such as veneers, laminates and also Eco-friendly and non-carcinogenic products. Century ply could have stand apart and gained more brownies than green ply or age old kit ply by implementing the anti termite feature in the ad keeping the humor intact. This actually is told in voice over but gets unnoticed due to the growling gorilla. Also Century ply claims their decorative veneers are boiling water resistant hence even this element could have been show cased where the wife throws boiling water but the product stays put!

The content and the intent of the ad is great but the above implementation would have added icing on cake and made it an aspirational product!

It is Century Ply’s 26^th year and all their products have satisfied customers so far. Their ads and initiatives along with their association with some meaningful cinema like Aarakshan and also My name is khan where  Rizwan Khan’s spirit resembles Century ply and propagating noble causes like right to education they clearly showed they are different and creative and their contemporary life  style statements connect to modern living.    

Also they have connected with their users / fans  via facebook with an interesting contest where you can win an Iphone 5 by sharing the anger at "Share the Anger contest". 

I shared my anger so when will you let go yours;-) ? My tag line to win a cool I phone 5 - SAB SAHO SHARE KARO MAST RAHO!

Credits:

Client: Centuryply

Creative agency: Bates Kolkata

Executive creative director: Arjun Mukherjee, Souvik Misra

Group business director: Soumya Chowdhury

Group brand manager: Sreeparna Gupta

Creative team: Arjun Mukherjee, Diptanshu Roy, Anurag Acharya, Kamalika Baral

Production house: Lemon Yellow Sun Films

Director: Vinod P Vijay

Animation: No Label, Poland

Media agency: Mindshare