"stop@nothing" says A-star

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Seriously? Is that a punch line for a car? Stop at nothing? Did the punch-line-thinking people realise they are in a serious business called advertising? Or were they in a real hurry because they forgot the deadline to deliver the line? A-star, the new offering in the Maruti Suzuki stable has an advertising punch line which says "Stop at Nothing". Hmm...how about crossing pedestrians? Or the RED TRAFFIC LIGHT? Or for a cow which decided to cross the main road at Brahma's speed? Does A-star come with brakes which get spoilt from overuse? I tell you, its a dangerous line that. Especially for most people who drive in Bangalore who dont stop for anything anyway. Its a bad social message being sent out. I think the censor board should take objection to the fact that the A-star ad promotes violence. Whats that you say? Nobody takes ads seriously? Well there are people like me who take some at face value. Thats the story behind my Motorokr, more of which will be in my next post. I think the Maruti folks should take a leaf out of the book of Bajaj Advertising. Did you check out the latest XCD Ad? They have always had impressive commercials starting from their Hamara Bajaj pitch. If its only cars we talk about then Tata Motors has put up good commercials especially the zany Indica ones. Advertising shouldnt be about star value (I dont think Farhan Akhtar even does justice to the "star" value that the advertisers of A-star might have been obliquely referring to) but more about the sellability. Companies should stop assuming that a celebrity can sell products with a song and dance or a smug expression. There needs to be a storyline, a build up behind the ads. Motorola (my sob story aside) did not just depend on Abhishek Bachchan to sell their phones but made him part of their storyline. Thats the kind of interesting advertising people will always remember thus enhancing brand recall. Unless ofcourse one doesnt stop at anything ;)