Shada Moner Manush

There is beauty everywhere. And these are the people that an Optimist lives for. Something that renews and rejuvenates one belief in the inherent good of mankind and particularly our fellow citizens. Unilever presents this years 10 Shada Moner Manush (Humans with a pure heart!).

These year's 10 recipients come from varying religious, geographical, age, gender and economic category. They have been nominated for differing work they have done in different fields. But they share one thing. The desire to put others before self. To put their nation before themselves. To do good for mankind (and in one case the environment!). They are examples one should bow our heads to. And pray that hopefully one day we can be like them. And even if we achieve a little bit of that. I think this nation will be so much more than it is today.

This year's Shada Moner Manush are (picture left to right):

* Shudhir Chandra Bardhan
* Rokib-Ud-Daula Akonda
* Shrimongol Tilokand Mohathero
* Md. Shamshuddin Mandal
* Kanai Chondro Das
* Fazilatunnesa Bulu
* Dr. Khalekuzzaman
* Manobendronath Sharkar
* Jahanara Begum
* Md. Jahir Alam



We at Adcomm are proud to be part of this process.



Here is what the Unilever has to say about this.

Nowadays, in this tech-savvy world, people are becoming more and more self-centered. The complexities of the modern world are making people think of themselves as they don’t have a choice. The so-called moral values are lost in the maze of globalization. To keep up with the pace people don’t have time to look anywhere else. We are tapped by a society that has stopped thinking and feeling. Don’t we have anything left?

Yes we do. When we get to know that a working person from a remote region of the country is working to help others, completely ignorant of his or her own benefits. Instead of thinking of personal financial betterment the person is thinking about people, the society, and the country. Unmoved through the hazards of life, they continue to help humanity. We can’t help but hope when we know that quite a number of people, in different regions of Bangladesh, are silently doing their duty for the people. Maybe it’s true that most heroes are anonymous. That’s why we don’t get to know about them much. But the fruits of their works are benefiting thousands, protecting the nature, improving the society. Ones who rise up from the limits of selfishness and think about welfare of the society they are mostly selfless and unspoken of. White stands as a symbol of all that is beautiful, soft and beneficial in the world. And these people have a white heart or in other words they are “SHADA MONER MANUSH”.

In the year 2006, Unilever Bangladesh Limited has taken up the responsibility to find these blessed people from all around the country and introduce them to the people, so that everybody else will follow their example. The call to these people went out in the form of advertisement where people were encouraged to find “SHADA MONER MANUSH” and ones who did would be rewarded. The hype was so intense after the announcement was made in all the television channels and newspapers that three thousand recommendations were submitted. After cross-examining all the recommendation the top ten “SHADA MONER MANUSH” were chosen.

Making of Freedom Sanitary Napkin TVC

Our production company Screaming Girl Production just produced the superb TVC for ACI's Freedom Sanitary Napkin. The brilliant script was by Shawon of Grey Dhaka. Meticulous direction was by the very talented Piplu.

Here is the making of video. Enjoy!

And here is the first of the two TVCs

BBF: Ad critique 3 : Building Material

The third installment of my ad critique column that appeared on the June 2008 issue of the Bangladesh Brand Forum magazine.

Off the bat I must apologies to Amitabh Reza for saying in last month’s review, that he produced the Banglalink Desh 3 TVC. I was wrong. He is wise enough not to repeat the same mistake thrice. The dubious distinction for that ad belongs to Kislu. Thanks to all who pointed out this error on my part. Also for all those emails and sms’ telling me what you thought of the critique. I believe conversations like this can go on to make better ads. Keep your comments coming. So on to the new month.

One of the most difficult and unsexy product to advertise is building material. Especially since most of the brands competing are very similar in its composition. What can one say about cement that hasn’t been said? And rods that go behind the cement that can’t even be seen. Can we make consumers stand up and take notice? PHP glass was one of the first to attempt that in Bangladesh. Quite successfully I thought. Their competition Nasir Glass also started off well. (Though don’t get me started with the new set of ads that they have on now). Well the two brands I review this month do attempt to brand a commodity. A very difficult and unenviable job indeed.

BSRM: 

We had participated in the pitch to win this business along with the Agency that eventually won the account – Unitrend. As the campaign rolls out, I see that they did a better job than we had proposed. To begin with, I like the logo they have created for a company that has a long history and heritage. The three interlocking rings give a reassuring feeling of strength. And I love the static executions - Helmet and Lock made out of reinforced steel rods. At one look you understand what they are talking about and does not need any copy to explain anything.

They also went on to make two TVCs. The first one highlights the fact that the company has been in the country for a long time and have been a part of the evolution of the nation. The second TVC is a forward-looking appeal to build a nation and launches the new Extreme steel rods (I guess) formally. Two very strong ideas. At the same time they build on heritage while picking up on the nation-building mood that is waiting to bubble over.

As far as executions go, I thought the launch ad was weak in many areas. A TVC of this magnitude should have been better produced. Though the idea was strong, I believe the execution let it down. I had to see it a few times before I figured out what they were talking about. The story line was week and the computer graphics had much to be desired. The worse part of it was the music track. It didn’t have the empathy that visuals tried to convey. Often when producing commercials, we focus on the visuals and forget that audio is an integral part of the viewing experience.

The second TVC did the opposite. It has a super music direction. However the song needed to have more oomph in it. Needed to have the urgency of Nazrul’s “chal chal chal”. The current lyric, when I spent time trying to listen to it, was really motivating. But one needed to make an effort to figure it out. I am afraid the consumer will not give you that luxury.

Gazi Shubhro, who made the TVC, is one of the stars in the production business today. I liked the gritty feel and fast paced editing. Though near the end it fell through. A little bit more production value, specially in regards to computer graphics, would have taken the TVC to a greater height.

Unfortunately where this TVC came short was, that it was supposed to launch the Extreme brand (sub brand). While I must applaud and acknowledge the client’s realisation that even 

a product like steel rods need branding, as a consumer I am still not sure what this brand stands for and if it is any different from any other products BSRM or its competitions have. My wager for the month is that consumers will ask for BSRM and not remember the Extreme name at all.

End of the day I think the Agency overall did a good job. It will get the desired impact of making the BSRM name more familiar not only to people wanting to buy the steel product, but also to those potential investors when this company floats their IPO in a few months.

On production value for TVC 1 I’ll give it a 4 on 10 - it could have been so much better. On idea, a 5. On production for TVC 2 I’ll give it a 6. On idea a 6. Overall: Campaign 6.


Crown Cement:

I must say I didn’t get the floating building on a boat idea. But over all, it is very creatively done and a welcome break from the cement ads we see with buildings coming up. I enjoyed the fact that the compulsory song and dance routine so common in cement ads was missing. The

 message was so simple. Crown makes earthquake resistant cement that is being exported and consumers are justified in spending a premium. The “talk into the camera” style was very refreshing, and the acting of the man, super. I believe that this TVC will do well for the company. I am not sure which agency or producer is responsible for it, but my hats off to them. And to the client, for being brave enough to take a gamble on such a “risky” idea.

I must mention here two other ads. One from a few years back – 

Premier Cement. It scored very high on my WIDTOI (Why I didn’t think of it) scale. I am sure all of you remember it well. It was the ad which had shots of people across the nation (From Tetulia to Teknaf) at times holding hands and a very catchy jingle going on saying everyone has this desire to own a house. (Shamnay, pichonay jara; odero shopno achay; uporay nichay jara; odero shopno achay) Its insight was so strong. Everyone has a desire to build and Premier Cement allows you to do that.

And the other is the set of Seven Ring Cement ads that are on TV now. 

The latter, I think, will go down as a case history in Bangladeshi brand building. That is, when they teach about how to kill a brand in one easy step! What a complete let down.

For the Crown Cement TVC, on production value I’ll give it a 7 on 10. (Must have spent a bundle on getting those boats in place). On idea a 6. Overall: my highest till date – 7.


Nazim Farhan Choudhury is a busybody at large with Adcomm Limited. He has over 14 years experience of pretending to be an advertising man. To his utter surprise he even succeeds fooling some people some of the time. His greatest fear now being that after reading these writings he will be exposed. You can as usual send angry emails to him at farhan@adcommad.com or visit his blog http://nazimfarhan.blogspot.com. Or send over fat envelopes filled with greenbacks for great reviews next time!