We live in an ad, ad world

Define a good advertisement
Patricia: I think humour should be the main ingredient in any good ad. It's the best way to get people to remember the ad. My favourite is of the crisps where everybody has a good laugh at the guy who eats them. But they (people) also remember the brand, particularly the children. Even if you forget the brand, they don't and they like to buy it.
Elena: The ad has to move you in some way. It has to really shake you up. It could use humour, gimmicks, stunts, stories, anything. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a positive ad. Sometimes, negativity can leave lasting impressions too, provided it's the right thing for the product. I remember a public awareness ad for skin cancer which showed a doll, with a fork through her, getting roasted over a fire. It was so shocking that it caught the viewers' attention and stayed in their memory.
Gaurav: From the point of view of advertising, there are three things that go to make a good ad. First, distinction. When the consumer scans the paper, the ad has to immediately catch the eye. Second, it has to be relevant to what you're trying to do for the product or the client. It should have a certain clarity. Say one thing at a time and try to keep it distinct. As they say in advertising, if you throw five tennis balls to a consumer he might not catch even one. But if you throw him one, there's a possibility that he'll get that one.
Pradeep: When you send a CV to a potential employer, you are sending out information about yourself that will help him choose from a list of applicants. Similarly, in an ad, you give a consumer information to choose a product. Therefore, any good ad has to be, first and last, an effective tool of communication.
John: I am more pragmatic. A good ad must fulfil a client's need. At the end of the day, every client wants to move his product, so an ad must be able to create a need and start identifying with the product by making the ad memorable. But what makes an ad memorable? The campaign managers will say it is their vision, while the creative will say it is their inputs. This is an eternal battleground within the industry.
Rajeev: I think an ad needs to be informative, provide a clear, relevant benefit and, if possible, entertain the consumer. The idea is to motivate the consumer to move the product and that, as John says, is what it must achieve.
Malini: The first thing I'd look for in an ad is information about a product. It should be able to tell me why I need to buy this particular product vis-a-vis another one. It should also be entertaining. A boring ad is not going to stick in anyone's mind, least of all in the mind of a child audience at whom I find most ads targeted.

Viewpoint: In some ads, hype dominates. For example, a bevy of beautiful women following a man just because he's wearing a certain brand of shorts. It must make reality that much more jarring to the common man. How can advertisers get away with such bizarre claims?
Rajeev: Sometimes they do get away with it. But David Ogilvy once said that the consumer is no fool, she's your wife. You might be able to pull the wool over an odd one or stretch the point a little, but that brand is not going to be around for long.
Pradeep: An advertiser is in business to get a positive response from the consumer. He has to go by the consumer's verdict. If the response is negative, it means that the consumer has rejected that brand. That campaign will be rejected. That's why ad agencies are in business – to give the right kind of advice to the advertiser.
Rajeev: Society has protected itself against unfair claims through consumer forums that monitor ads and register displeasure over the wrong kind. More importantly, there is system of checks and balances within each ad agency to prevent just this kind of aberrations. There are formal bodies, the Advertising Standards Bureau for example, that monitor the output of the industry.

Viewpoint: Advertisements aimed at children can possibly lead to dangerous trends with stunts, gimmicks and violence.
Malini: It happens during the back-to-school time of the year. Suddenly you are bombarded with every known and unknown school bag brand in the universe. First of all, the choice itself makes a child miserable. What could compound the misery is if he already has a school bag that is functional, sturdy and good enough to last another term. If the unfortunate parent refuses to be swayed, then it triggers off a whole lot of negativity in the child. The most obvious conclusion is: My parents just don't love me enough! This is all the result of the material values promoted by advertisements that repeatedly underline the message that loving parents are those who buy the world for their children – beginning from the right brand of calcium supplements to the latest bath toy. The fact that all parents are struggling to provide a happy childhood for their children is totally lost in the clamour of the advertising jingles.
Rajeev: If it were not for ads, life and choosing the right gift would be a lot more difficult.
Elena: But I don't agree that these material values are the fault of advertising. It's human nature to want what we do not have and I don't see how you can blame this on the ad industry.
Malini: Agreed, but as adults we may be able to reason and curb the urge to splurge, but children are more vulnerable to the message of consumerism. They want everything and more of what they see. And they see plenty of that around. Of all the age groups they may be the most regular viewers and also the ones who have memories like the proverbial sponge.
Gaurav: I don't have children, but I would disagree on this. It is the responsibility of parents to inculcate certain values – not to be materialistic, not to be carried away by all they see. You can't start sweeping the streets till you clean up your own house. Parents should begin teaching children the importance of making the right choices from a young age.
Elena: I can't imagine myself feeling unhappy when I see an Armani suit that I cannot buy. Obviously you are going to see things in shops when you walk past them that you may never be able to afford. But you can't make yourself unhappy over that. You just walk past and forget all about it the next moment. I can't see myself spending a miserable life because of such materialistic pursuits. Perhaps it is my upbringing that prompts such a response.
Rajeev: That and also the fact that we are adults.
Malini: It is the very small children who are affected most by advertising. Adolescents will very blithely switch channels when advertisements come on. I've asked a few of my students whether they would use a soap endorsed by celebrities, and they say they couldn't be bothered.

So is that good news or bad for the advertiser?
Rajeev: As an advertiser, I shouldn't really worry about it for two reasons – first, adolescents will very convincingly put up a front to show they are not impressed. Second, they do not really influence purchase decisions. Of course, if you asked them what shoes they wanted to buy, they probably would name the ones they have most recently seen in an ad....
Elena: Most of the time, though, youth decisions are led by their peer group's choice. I don't see advertising influencing such dec