Duality coexists

It was just yesterday that I was discussing with a colleague how almost every automobile ad has the same surreal landscape in the backdrop; how most automobile ads show happy families, good roads (mostly in a cold place like the Himachal Pradesh), or race tracks.

However, there are few who choose to do away with the cliché. Czech automobile maker Skoda has been radical in their advertising communications for a long time. We are not denying the fact that they too have used to the same beaten setting, but there are times when they did not. One of those is the recent launch campaign of its SUV Skoda Kodilaq.

In the advert, Skoda show how duality coexists in the universe. Pegging on the two extreme characters of power, the brand underlines socio-cultural issues alongside revolutionary moments of the past that changed the way people look at the world. Titled ‘#ReconnectwithGood’, the advert is conceptualised by Publicis India.

The ad weaves in the beautiful face of power while also presenting the evil face of it. The ad is very thoughtful and well scripted. It highlights the most significant moments in history, right from the French Revolution to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and the revolutionary Salt Satyagraha by Mahatma Gandhi. Besides highlighting the publicly known events in history, the ad also mocks the social stigmas of today such as acid attacks on women.

The ad takes you through the duality of the power of authority, of love, of money, of mob, of courage; and concludes with a message that says, “Whatever your power, it should be beautiful.” Following this, the brand finally unveils its latest SUV Skoda Kodilaq. That is less than 30 seconds of showing just the car in a one minute forty seconds film.

The ad is clever, well scripted and definitely stands out from the rest; majorly because of the way it has treated the character of the car – a harmonious combination of great power and design. It is very rare for a car to be both beautiful and powerful, and to justify this amalgamation in a film is even more challenging.

Hands down, the one and a half minute advert does justice to the car while holding a strong cultural relevance and drifts the viewers toward the path of optimism and goodness. The positioning was very well reinforced by the big idea – Power should be beautiful.

What strikes the viewers besides the treatment of the subject is the dramatic visuals (all in monochrome), the supers on each event, and of course the unusual background score (There is always two roads).

At a point in time when automobiles have become commodities with similar features, it has become increasingly challenging to keep up the distinction. And in a market such as this, a unique and relevant value proposition works. The advert in all its glory will definitely keep Skoda in talks (good), but what will ultimately is Skoda’s commitment to quality and performance.