Vodafone's Indian zoozoos to be introduced in global markets

Zoozoos, the white animated characters with ballooned bodies and egg heads in the Vodafone ads that have won the hearts of one and all are set to go abroad, in another instance of Indian ads being used in other markets.

Earlier, a couple of ads made by the then Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), now Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) for the Indian market were used in other South Asian markets. Two-wheeler maker Bajaj also used its Indian ads for its market in South East Asia, while one of Perfetti's Alpenliebe chocolate commercials was used in Europe.

"Yes, we will take zoozoos to other markets. They are not yet out. As an international group that is what we do. We will take the best of what is happening in different markets to other markets," Andy Halford, chief financial officer, Vodafone Group, said recently.

The Vodafone move is also indicative of Indian ads raising the quality bar. "There was a time when creativity was dominated by the North. However, the capital of creativity has shifted to the large consumption centres like India and China now," said Harish Bijoor, a brand consultant.

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"A lot of the techno-gadget ads made in India, such as those of Samsung, LG or even Vodafone, can definitely be aired globally the way they are. In the past few years, Indian ad film makers - the newer, more experimental bunch - have brought a lot of styling and technical finesse to the art of commercial making," said Vipul Thakkar, executive creative director, Mudra South.

"The ideas are definitely something that's giving other countries a run for their money. The clients are more open to out-ofthe-box ideas. The planners are more exposed to international strategies and agency honchos are more willing to put their weight behind their creative team, though there are a few who are still stuck in the buy-one-getone-free era," said Thakkar.

India is creating good ads and these are more appreciated in other Asian countries because they relate to grassroot products, said Bijoor. However, Thakkar said, "I think India as a market is very diverse from the South East Asian countries. Using pan-Asian models doesn't cut much ice in India. An MNC giant can get away by projecting a Thai model as Malaysian or Indonesian but hardly an Indian."

Vodafone has managed to surmount this problem and grab eyeballs with its zoozoo ad. "The zoozoo is clearly a case study in India given the large fan following on social network media and how they continue to be such a rage. The new avatar of the 'super zoozoo' was a great invention and seems to have once again captured the minds of the people," said Sneha Iype Varma, executive producer, Nirvana Films, a Bangalore-based production house that shot the ads.

Courtesy: Mail Today