'The Sculptor' Analysis

Q.1 What is the MARKETING OBJECTIVE behind this TVC?

Remember, all Marketing Communication emanates from a Marketing objective/strategy/plan. Marketing communication is supposed to solve a larger business/marketing problem or exploit a market opportunity.

The commercial focuses on a car from the 1950s that gets ‘re-designed’, with the help of an elephant that is made to sit on its bonnet, and turned into a Peugeot 206 look-alike by a young man who dreams of owning one and impressing the girls.  Interestingly, the car that is smashed in the commercial is called the Hindustan Ambassador Classic, which was manufactured by Hindustan Motors, India. This gives out a message that Peugeot 206 has an overwhelming beauty which could even make an Indian guy to destroy a car from his own country’s manufacturer-clever use of cultural context is notable here. With the Indian guy’s satisfied face, the funky music changes a mood to be more exciting, and the commercial ends with the guy in Peugeot 206’s replica giving a cheesy look to the girl outside, as if he gained a confidence as well with his newly reformed car.

The marketing objective behind the commercial could therefore be showcasing Peugeot as superior to and better than that of other existing car companies in India.

Q.2 Using the Hierarchy of Effects Model, describe the COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVE behind this TVC. Please explain the reasons for your answer.

Among advertising theories, the hierarchy-of-effects model is predominant. It shows clear steps of how advertising works. 

Any ad campaign would first try to accomplish the lower level objectives such as awareness, knowledge or comprehension. Subsequently, the campaign would aim towards achieving other objectives such as associating feelings with the brand, trial, or regular use etc. Similarly, the above advertisement of Peugeot 206 first tries to aim at creating awareness and knowledge among the target audience about their new car mainly because when the commercial was released, hardly any one in India would have known that a car company named Peugeot existed in the first place. Also, since the commercial clearly shows that the car was better than the existing cars in India at that time and was something that any Indian would aspire to have, they further tried to achieve the objective of developing liking and preference towards their own product and brand.

Q.3 What is the message/proposition this advertisement is trying to send to the target audience?

The commercial is set in a busy Indian market and focuses on a car from the 1950s that gets ‘re-designed’, with the help of an elephant that is made to sit on its bonnet, and turned into a 206 look-alike by a young man who dreams of owning one and impressing the girls.

Interestingly, the car that is smashed in the commercial was the Hindustan Ambassador Classic, an automobile manufactured by Hindustan Motors, India. This gives out a message that Peugeot 206 had an overwhelming beauty which could make an Indian to even destroy a car manufactured in his or her own country-clever use of cultural context is notable here. They probably wanted to show that the Peugeot 206 was so irresistible and desirable, that one could do anything just to own that car. Another proposition could be that the Peugeot 206 was accessible. With the Indian guy’s satisfied face and a change in music, the commercial ends with the guy in Peugeot 206’s replica giving a cheesy look to the girl outside, as if he gained a confidence and has not just reformed the car but also himself to an extent. Like the car, he became desirable too!

Q.4 What is the CREATIVE IDEA in this TVC?

This classic advertisement for Peugeot that was shot in India, received a wide acclaim in the European market. The 206 ad called 'Sculptor' became extremely popular mainly because of its creative idea. The whole concept behind it was so original and an alternative approach to car advertising. Instead of showing beautiful scenery and driving shots, the commercial focuses on a car from the 1950s that gets ‘re-designed’, with a little bit of smashing here and there and with that of an elephant that is made to sit on its bonnet to change the shape of the existing car. The Ambassador is turned into a 206 look-alike by a young man who dreams of owning one and impressing the girls. The commercial is extremely appealing because it creates a certain kind of excitement in the minds and hearts of the audience in the beginning itself by making them wonder why the young guy was doing what he was doing. It was later when he held a paper-ad with a picture of the Peugeot 206, comparing it to the reformed car that he has been working on all night, implying to the fact that he did all that only in order to fulfill his desire and aspiration of owning a 206.

Q.5 In not more than 4 words describe the personality of the Peugeot brand. The personality must match the TVC.

Confident, Desirable, Daring, Best among the Rest

Q.6 In about 150 words, discuss the role of humor in Advertising.

Many of the most memorable ad campaigns around tend to be funny. Advertisers use this strategy to attract customers to their product. Audiences like to be entertained, but not pitched. People will pay more attention to a humorous commercial than a factual or serious one, opening themselves up to be influenced. Advertisers have long used humor as a powerful tool for engaging potential customers. Humor is one of the most effective ways to elicit an emotional response from consumers, which in turn spurs positive purchasing decisions. 

The roles of humor in a marketing campaign are many: -

·      1. Humor triggers the memory.

·     2.Humor in advertising produces experiences that leave a lasting impression and go far deeper than     facts figures or features.

·      3.The audiences remember you and your brand.

·      4.Humor in advertising tends to improve brand recognition.

·      5.Everyone, regardless of age, sex, caste, creed, like to be entertained and using humor in advertising    is the best way to do that.

·      6.In the age of social media, using humor is a highly effective tactic. With the use of clever wordplay    and a well structured story that’s funny at the same time, a brand can definitely build their customer  base because humorous ad campaigns are liked by one and all and tends to get shared more and more  on social platforms.

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     Though the benefits of successful comedic marketing campaign are many, there are risks as well. It is rightly said, “Dying is easy; comedy is hard.” Humor in advertisement sure does good to the brand but it does not improve product recall, message credibility, or buying intentions.