The boring DTH TV ads

Ever since the cable operators have troubled the Indian consumer with his whimsical ways and held the consumer to ransom during events such as the cricket world cup which are high in public interest, DTH providers have come up to do away with the ubiquitous cablewallah. Dish TV from Zee Entertainment & Enterprises Ltd. was the first DTH service provider in India. And it maintains its lead in the number of subscriptions.

Currently the industry is going through a price war with as many as 7 players in the fray. Dish TV, TataSky DTH, BIG TV, Airtel DTH, Sun TV and the latest to join the bandwagon Videocon DTH. 5 of them have used brand ambassadors. Shah Rukh Khan for Dish TV, Aamir Khan for TataSky, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor for Airtel DTH and the junior Bachchan Abhishek for Videocon TV. But seriouisly, none of them have had any impact. All promotions done by these players in the TV space have been average. Only Tata Sky’s Aamirs ads have been a bit memorable. No one remembers SRKs Dish TV ads or Saifeena’s Airtel TV ads whereas BIG TV and Sun TV have not used any celebrities with below average ads.

The latest Videocon TVC starring Abhishek Bachchan is one of the most senseless ads ever seen. The ad, simply put, doesn’t have an objective. Are they trying to convey the fast service in installing the DTH after getting an enquiry? Is it a fast food service or something? Its understandable if the thought was to show quick after-sales service or repair service but what is the point in showing such boring people jumping. When the parameters to convey of clarity or convenience or cost is a requirement, this comes off as unrelated. Its earlier ad telecast during IPL 3 was also boringly talking of technology.

Abhishek Bachchan as a brand ambassador of Videocon doesn’t fit any attribute of Videocon. Not that the other celebrities are any better among its peers. It’s difficult to understand the rationale that the ad agency making this ad would have put before the client. And to top it, the client bought the idea. I would surely have loved to be a part of this presentation.

DISH TV Advertisement - totally unimaginative:

There are ads which are not good, there are ads which are bad and the there are ads which cannot be described, simply because they are so irrelevant. There aren’t any adjectives to describe those types of ads. The latest Dish TV (ZEE Entertainment Enterprises’ DTH arm) ad starring Shah Rukh Khan falls in the last category mentioned above.

Please can anyone tell me, what on the face of this earth means “Wish Karo, Dish Karo”? The ad does mention about 200+ channels and satellite giving signals. There is nothing which will be of direct benefit to the consumer. It does not talk of differentiation, or positioning, or doesn’t compare itself with competition. It does not focus on cost or any other special attribute of Dish TV although 200+ channels is a feature, but it isn’t compelling enough a feature to warrant that the customer buys a Dish TV only. The customer is perfectly susceptible to the sales pitch made by the salesman. Here in lies the problem.

Dish TV was the first DTH TV in India and for a long time, it did not have any competitors. Yet it failed to show the advantages that DTH offered. It did not take the first-mover advantage. It went on its own pace. It did not do aggressive promotion and wanted more players come in to create awareness.

The latest commercial is a totally unimaginative. It uses a child in the ad. Children aren’t the target market and neither are they influencers in the purchase of DTH. They do not know the difference between cable TV and DTH TV.