Remember the Happydent commercial from a few years ago, where a palace is lit up by the kingdom’s subjects with Halogen-bright smiles? According to a Gunn Report survey, it was polled as among the 20 Best Commercials of the 21st Century. In the recently-released line-up of the best ads from 2000 to 2015, this McCann Erickson Mumbai creative for Happydent Teeth Whitening Gum, is the only Indian entity.
Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, Asia Pacific, and CEO and Chief Creative Officer, McCann Worldgroup India, who created the ad, is thrilled. “Conceptualising and writing the Happydent ad will always stay special for me,” he said. “It was immensely satisfying as a creator, and also as an advertising professional, as it strengthened my belief that, apart from communicating and building brands, ideas also dramatically impact hardcore sales. Which is what this ad campaign historically did for the brand. It also taught me a very important lesson that great work can never happen without great partnership with your client and your creative partners.”
Acknowledging several others members of this winning team, Joshi added: “Sameer Suneja, now the global CEO of Perfetti, has great instinct. He was bold enough to let me execute this idea, which would have sounded absurd or risky to some. But above all, [it was] Ram Madhwani, the director of this ad who partnered me in this journey and took the script to an absolutely amazing height and our ever-solid McCann creative team, led by Anirban Sen, and the Equinox team, led by Manoj Shroff… Now that it makes it to the top ads of the century, it’s a proud moment for all of us.”
The Gunn Report results were based on a public poll of a list of 30 candidates, with provisions made for other nominations. Gunn was able to select the Reel of The 20 Best Commercials of The 21st Century So Far which complements the much-viewed Gunn Report collection of The 100 Best Commercials of The 20th Century.
Commenting on the 20 Best Commercials of the 21st Century So Far list, Donald Gunn, Founder of The Gunn Report, said: “We’re delighted that the participation was high, the result of which is a reel selected by our industry of iconic, game-changing and much-loved commercials produced during the last 15 years. Not only do these commercials stand the test of time, but they have also influenced changes in brand communications. As such, we hope that they will bring inspiration and learning taking our industry to new creative heights.”
On how the Happydent ad came about, Joshi said: “I always felt that a functional approach of a gum that whitens your teeth will not be a solution for our country, where oral hygiene -- in terms of whitening -- does not carry the same currency as it does in the West. In fact, paan and supari (betel nut) stains have been a part of our culture. Hence, I followed my gut and, instead of a functional depiction, exaggerated the benefit of whiteness to the hilt.” After the first, photographer commercial of ‘Ismile pliz’ proved to be a hit, Joshi’s challenge was to take the idea of a whitening gum forward. “The regal and feudal Indian past triggered off the idea of a fantastical, imaginary world lit by sparkling human teeth,” he said. “It went on to be voted as the best commercial done in the history of Indian Advertising. The first ad film to win two Lions at the Cannes Advertising Festival. Its music got awarded a Gold separately.”
Also on the Gunn list (with their respective creators), are the following campaigns: BGH Silent Aircon’s ‘Dads in Briefs’ by Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires; Budweiser ‘s ‘Wassup/True’ by DDB, Chicago; Cadbury’s Dairy Milk campaign ‘Gorilla’ by Fallon, London; the ‘Closet’ and ‘The Bear’ campaigns for Canal+ by BETC Euro RSCG, Paris; Chipotle’s ‘Back to the Start’ spot by Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles, and many others.
In Arrangement with MxMIndia.com
