The commercial for this automobile is a great example of all that one must not do in the business of advertising. It’s just a criminal waste of ad money
 

Before I come to the commercial itself, here's a problem in my head: What category of car does the Skoda Fabia belong to? Quite frankly, after many exposures to the new TV commercial, I am left perplexed.

Is it a sedan or a hatchback? That, in a nutshell, is the story of the commercial, allegedly created to get your mouth watering on the new design of the car.

Now, Skoda Fabia has been running different campaigns for the past two years since its launch. Each time a new slogan arrives. Clearly, things haven't being going good for the car, and that perhaps explains the need for a new design. And after dithering with many ad messages, they have finally settled on the most obvious one: 'Now, that's Fab'. So, 'looks' is what it will now be sold on.

And to do that, they have released a 'catalogue' TV ad, where various parts of the car get highlighted. Tyres, mirrors, doors, windows, dashboard, etc. But in order to sex things up, they have used 'lifestyle' accessories to cue in each car part. Surfboard, jewellery, glares, eagle wings, etc. Each one match dissolves into a car part.

But all this happens so quickly, at the end of the TV commercial, you are left scratching your head over what hit you. And oh, in all the mad rush, the minor detail that the car is a hatchback gets left out.

A big blooper, if you ask me. Because, being a chhota car buyer, I assumed this is a bada gaadi for the surfboard wala baba log, and logged out from the 'brochure' even before trying to decode it.

Yup, it's an extremely poor commercial. It's cold, it's confusing, it's un-involving, it's self-absorbed, it's packed with clichés, it's gimmicky, it's very sixties, and it's very, very boring. And if the badly edited visuals don't piss you off, the continuous drone of the voiceover, rapidly belting out even more clichés, certainly will.

In short, it's a great example of all that one must not do in the business of advertising. A criminal waste of ad money. I find it shocking that the brand manager even considered approving such a
suicidal ad.

Finally, I think ad agencies and automakers must take an oath from here on. Especially after watching this fabulous disaster. Never again will catalogue advertising be done on television. Because if we consumers need a catalogue, we will go and get one from the showrooms.

We DON'T want to view them on our TV sets.— Anil Thakraney