It’s been some time since the TUV300 was launched, though mysteriously we didn’t get to see any promotions of the vehicle on TV. We stumbled upon the video spot this morning on seeing a tweet by none other than Mr Anand Mahindra. The new TV ad of the compact crossover, which Mahindra prefers calling an SUV stars South Indian Superstar Prabhas, who’s also the lead actor in the all-time highest grossing south Indian movie Baahubali. So how good or bad has the ad turned out? Well, here’s our tuppence.
To start with, we must realize that the TUV300 is targeted at a mix of rural and semi-urban crowd – customers who’d probably want a more premium alternative for the rugged Bolero. So the product isn’t specifically meant for the super educated, super urbane, suave Indian audience. The connotations of having that TG is that the audience is more easily swayed by heroics and larger than life acts. Now since we’re clear on that topic, lets move on to the content of the ad itself.
The video depicts a village somewhere in Rajasthan where a school kid is about to be abducted when Prabhas takes over with his TUV 300, breaking through a wooden gate in typical TUV300 fashion and saving the day for the kid. There is a chase sequence that follows, and looks mediocre at best. Mahindra have tried to project a tough image of the TUV 300 by making it break through that wooden gate, bring down a biker who slams into the side panel and drive through flames. As mentioned before, those heroics will probably appeal to the Tier 2 and Tier 3 audience, but won’t probably have much of an impact on the metro dwellers. Sure, Mahindra knows its audience better than us, and the script must have been written keeping them in mind, but we do believe that the overall treatment of the video could have been better.
At the end of the video, the director complements the actor for a ‘great shot’ while he is nowhere to be seen in the frame prior to that. Yet, Prabhas, the superstar wants to do a retake. Is it because the car is so tough and impressive? Wow!
Here’s the video. Have a look, and do lets us know of your impressions through the comments section belo and social networks.