The Emotional Connection - Is it enough?

I saw this ad for Airtel, the largest mobile telephone operator in India, when I was in India a couple of years back. Born in a small town in southern India and growing up there, I was made aware of the lingering animosity between India and neighboring Pakistan, from an early age. Indian history is steeped with incidents and wars with Pakistan and depictions of Pakistanis as the jealous, poor cousins across the border. But there were always some news articles proclaiming that the hatred was at a higher political level, and normal citizens from both countries would get along just fine.

When I saw this ad for the first time, and every time after that, I literally get goosebumps when the boys in the ad enter the no-man zone and the flute music comes on in the background. And millions of Indians make the same emotional connection when they see it too. I decided to step back and analyze the reason for my reaction, as suggested by Marc Gobe, by thinking about the earliest memory that this ad triggered.

Whenever I see this ad, I am reminded of a childhood memory, when I visited the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar, in the northwestern state of Punjab. Every day at sunset, the gate at the border is opened and the Indian and Pakistani guards conduct a parade to take down the flags (which by rule cannot stay up after sunset). Hundreds of people watch the ceremony from both sides equipped with stadium seating. I remember watching the parade with a sense of pride, proudly singing the national anthem. When the gates were closed after the ceremony, people from both sides gathered near the gate, denouncing each other with derisive slogans. I was very young back then and thoughts of political diplomacy and open communication were too far from my mind.

This advertisement makes the connection very effectively by using the voice over, which says 'There is no war or barrier that can keep us apart, if only we talk to each other'. A telecom company, urging us to 'talk' to each other. I cannot think of a more perfect way to deliver this message, considering the context. I find myself thinking back to that moment on the border, mere yards away from Pakistan, wondering if things might be different today.

What influence does it have on marketing behavior?
The ad caught my attention, lodged itself in my memory, and I was able to connect the message to the company 'Airtel'. But did it actually translate to a purchase? Surprisingly, I did not want to switch to Airtel, just because it put forth this great message. I was a customer of Airtel's competitor for a long time. but watching this ad and making the emotional connection was not enough for me to switch over to that provider. Could Airtel have done something different? I think I will have to deliberate on it further. I will update this section in a few weeks, with some new insights.

The Dolphin Code

'The Cove' is a documentary released in 2009,lauded as a remarkable example of investigative journalism, which brings to light a large scale massacre of dolphins near the fishing town of Taiji in Japan. In a shocking revelation, the Japanese government itself is said to have authorized the killing of dolphins, upto a maximum of 20,000 each year. My first reaction when I looked at some photos from the footage was shock. Dolphins, widely regarded one most intelligent animal species, being killed brutally on such a scale provoked public outcry worldwide. Thanks to a good marketing effort by the producers, the 'dolphin cove' received much greater attention than the annual seal killing in Canada, undertaken for similar reasons. I then decided to interpret this event through the lens of a culture code as explained by Clotaire Rapaille.



Upon reflection, I hypothesized that the culture code for dolphins in Japan is either 'FOOD' or 'COMPETITOR'. Japan, an island nation, is heavily dependent on fish as a source of food. Being a volcanic land prone to earthquakes, there are very few alternative food sources. Just like their Scandinavian brethren, the Japanese consume dolphin and whale meat (in spite of the high mercury content cited) in large quantities. So they regard dolphins as food, or in the case of people who do not consume dolphin meat, they are considered competitors for the scarce resource of marine fish. By killing a certain number of dolphins every year, the Japanese ensure adequate food for their own people. We can compare this to the indifferent attitude from people all over the world to the way in which chicken, cows and pigs are killed every year in large numbers, for food.

On the other hand, for people from other countries who are not heavily dependent on fish for food, dolphins represent something entirely different. For Americans and people from other countries where dolphins are seen only in aquariums, water parks etc., the culture code for dolphins is 'PET' or 'FRIEND'. The therapeutic use of dolphins for children afflicted by genetic illnesses, only enhances this view of dolphins as pets/friends. For someone who has grown up watching dolphins perform tricks in water parks, their natural 'smile', and the way they interact with their trainers, killing dolphins is equivalent to killing dogs and pets, which are endearing to children in particular. An analogy could be the situation in South Korea and Taiwan where dog meat is a delicacy, whereas in the US such an act would be most likely met with disgust.

How could marketers use this?
I found an excellent ad by British Airways, which makes use of this culture code of a dolphin being treated as a pet/friend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgQFai5kOXg

The ad shows a young girl watching outside the window of an airplane longingly as she travels to an unknown destination. The clouds move in the shape of dolphins, giving the girl a sense of companionship as she travels alone. The flight attendant places a stuffed dolphin toy next to her, as the voice over says 'Your holiday should begin before you arrive at your destination', while the song playing in the background fades slowly (fittingly the name of the song is 'Leaving on a jet plane'). British Airways makes excellent use of the 'dolphin effect', to connect to the viewers and give them a sense of comfort and companionship associated with the airline.

Other examples include Southwest Airlines painting its aircraft like the orca (also known as the killer whale, a cousin of the dolphin), to promote Seaworld in San Antonio, TX - one of its key markets.