I am a big fan of the IPL. But IPL brought with it, its share of bad advertising. At the cost of company brand image, came worst ads I have seen in recent times.

JK Cement - The Model with No Purpose!

The first ad that comes to being the worst of all time, is by JK Cement.

What’s wrong with the Ad:

• Ugly Model
• Bad Bikini
• What’s the message?
• Tag Line: “Vishwas hai, Kuch Khaas hai” My question, vishwas is khaas? WTF!

Verdict: Please stop modelling, and leave cement selling to Big B.

Pepsi Youngistaan ka WOW Campaign

What they might have tried to do: Target the Youth

What they ended up doing: Made them stay away for good

What could have worked for the ad: If someone in this world actually told us: WHAT THE HELL YOUNGISTAAN KA WOW means!

What went wrong:

• No clarity
• What was Ranbir trying to do, by winning the games?
• Sanjay Dutt couldn’t have looked dumber
• Jacqueline could have worn lesser clothes
• Bad targeting to a segment that is considered well understood: The Youth!

Verdict: Confused, and has done more damage than good!

Axe Angels and the Cricketers!

While axe has tried to maintain the sexual flavour to its advertisement and branding, its becoming old school since every brand is trying to do the same and the message to be very honest is getting lost somewhere.

While the old ones in the lift were new to start off with, the present campaign with cheer leaders all over the cricketer left a lot more wanting from one of the best brands in India.

What might have worked: Stuck to something non cricket and more associative. Everyone is not a cricketer, but everyone is a viewer J

What went wrong:

• Models cannot seen clearly. Axe was about the meat, and it was missing. Guys want to see models, not guys being hounded by models.
• What’s the unique message? All deos claim to bring in the booty!
• Irritating!

Verdict: Highly forgetable from one of the former best

Micromax – Gamolution

While the message was pretty clear, this ad came down to being outright irritating. And the number of times it was shown during the matches only ensured I never went near this phone ever!

What went wrong:

• Why is Akshay laughing like a retard?
• Too repetitive

Verdict: WHY?

Karbonn Mobiles:  Sehwag and Gambhir

There were a lot of mobile phone companies advertising during the IPL, and the funny thing was many of them were advertising dual SIM phones. This ad was too.

What went wrong:

• While I had nothing against the ad, it tried to convey the message in the simplest way, the ad was aired even when Sehwag and Gambhir were playing. This would have been distracting for players, especially when they are playing on the field!
• What an irritating laugh!

 Verdict: Stick to playing cricket please!