You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.

Today I am going to write about tv commercials. As most people probably know, I only write on things I feel strongly about. And good tv commercials, I simply like. Be it funny ones, inspiring ones or especially effective ones. This is a passion I believe I could share with many people.

This writing is inspired by episode 3 of The Apprentice 3, in which both Magna and Net Worth sucked at their ads. We in Malaysia did not get to watch Magna's ad, tapi dari idea, macam agak bodoh la. They were using sexual connotation and taboo subjects (even for Americans evidently, as they all thought the ad is not appropriate). And Net Worth's ad was too cheesy and plain stupid.

As a layman (but a commercial lover), I think a good tv commercial must drawn you to watching them, and at the same time make you understand the product. And if you are lucky, your ad could inspire people. It is not enough to simply use pretty girls or hot guys and expect people to got inspired and buy your product.

There is a new tv commercial for shampoo, focusing on wanita bertudung. So the ad is catchy- one jambu guy studying at the library and saw one cute girl (wearing tudung) dan bermulalah sesi bertukar2 pandangan sambil tersenyum2 manja dan batting eyelashes sambil tersipu2 (dalam library ok?). Alaah serba-serbilah. Dengan lagu yang comel menghiasi iklan. Mungkin ramai yang suke, mungkin ramai yang berenti apa yang mereka lakukan untuk menonton iklan itu.. tapi persoalan utama adalah: Adakah mereka akan beli produk tersebut?

My answer is, based on the ad alone, I would not. Saya tak paham pun kebaikan produk itu untuk gadis bertudung seperti saya. Kenapanye? Akan harumkah jadinya rambutku maka menggamit jejaka di perpustakaan? Kalau setakat harum, semua shampoo pun offer the same thing. Keharuman. Oh ada sesuatu dalam shampoo tu khas buat rambut yang terperap sepanjang hari? Kenapa saya tak diberitahu melalui iklan (yang panjang duration nye) itu?

A good ad would offer me that information. I am not an advertising expert, but I am a consumer, dan ini pendapat saya seorang consumer yang selalu dan suke menonton iklan (dan kadang kala terpengaruh membeli dek kerana iklan yang bermutu dan berinformasi). Maka jika ada sesiapa dalam advertising line or suku-sakatnya terbaca penulisan ini, just regard this as a constructive criticism from a tv commercial fan. Boleh?

By the way, I think a slightly better (ehem) ad for the aforementioned product would be somewhat like this:

Di sebuah kolej, petang yang panas. Gadis bertudung A baru pulang dari kelas yang berlangsung sepanjang hari, lalu merungut kepada Gadis bertudung B. Gadis bertudung C juga menyampuk kerana mempunyai the same problem.

A: "Panas betullah pakai tudung all day long. Gatal kulit rambut aku ni haa. Rambut jadi flat. Kering tak bermaya."

B: "Ak aa lah A. Aku pulak, rambut jadi oily je asyik terperap dalam serkup, tapi duduk dalam air cond. Bukak tudung masa nak solat je. Not that I'm complaining pakai tudung ni. Sebab memang wajib and I am not questioning suruhan agama ke apa. But if only there is any product that could settle this problem."

C: (geleng-geleng kepala dan buat muke sweet. By the way, selalunyelah, Gadis C ni mesti yang paling cun sbb dia protagonist kan. So kite boleh letak Wardina di sini, cun and wise. Gadis A kite beri pada Bienda. Gadis B ialah Waheeda. Mengapa sume artis? Oh face it, we'll listen to them) "Laa. Korang tak penah gune ke shampoo baru from *toot toot*? Aku gune shampoo ni dan alhamdulillah works very well for my hair. Rambut taklah melekit, tapi tak jugak kering. Takde dah rase gatal2 kulit kepala. Just after few tries, rambut aku sangat bermaya, macam pegi buat milk bath untuk rambut pulak."

Everyone go: "Iye ke? Tengok2. Nak try." Sambil gigle2. Okay? Lalu gunalah imaginasi anda untuk seterusnya.

It may be somewhat cheesy, but at least it is fun (ada ramai artis cun ok?) and represents everything about the product. Maka gadis bertudung seperti saya will go, "Oh ye ke? Bagus tu. Aku duduk kat Honours office tu dari 7 pagi sampai kadang2 3 pagi dan terperuk je rambut dalam tudung (dan serkup ok?). I should give it a try." Mwahehehehe.

Okay, did I make my point there?