Even though the product it advertises is hardly better than a toilet roll, the new ad campaign for The Times of India hits the spot quite well!

For those who haven’t seen it yet, it shows the newspaper publishing the news of the selection of Prakash Mirajkar (aka Pakya) in the hockey team. The ad starts with a celebratory mood amongst Pakya’s friends… who reach his home where his parents come to know of this good news. The happy couple are excited and the mother takes the copy of the newspaper to Pakya’s grandfather. Grandpa reads the news and suddenly nostalgia overcomes him as he goes up to the attic/store-room where he fishes out an old sepia-tinted copy of TOI. The headline on this copy breaks the news of his exclusion from the hockey camp. The old man slides the current newspaper with the good news, on top of the old one… and breaks out into a silent dance… while the impromptu music played by the celebrating crowd plays outside… in the background.

As far as newspapers go… this ad campaign, handled excellently by JWT, conveys the timelessness and loyalty that TOI wants to associate with itself and its readers. Therefore, it is such a pity that the product being advertised is TOI!!