Animated Television Commercials: Impact and Future Tanu Bhargava* This research is based upon the animated commercials which are done Fast Moving Consumer Goods’ (FMCG) sector targeted towards children and young adults at large. The goal of this study is to assess the current scenario of animated advertisements on TV and evaluate its impact on the young consumers. It main focus is to analyze how animation art displays the function and effectiveness in the advertisement communication. This has been done through primary data by collecting a sample of 50 people from Delhi and NCR. Also, secondary data is taken by examining the research papers, articles, websites, periodicals based upon animated television commercials. The research aims at assessing the animated advertisement in molding purchasing decision of consumers and its future growth with the hope to be useful as a reference for specific application in the animated industry. Keywords: FMCG- Fast moving consumer goods Animercials- Animation + Commercials 1. Introduction Low Involvement Products- Those products and services which have a low cost and requires less time in making Advertisements are now a must for driving any brand’s success. purchase decisions. Majority of superior brands are exposed through television. Celebrity Endorsements-Those commercials which Indians still prefer to rely on television commercials for include celebrities that are used for endorsing a product or purchasing a product. The Indian TV advertisement industry service. size is expected to increase from USD 1.9 billion in 2009 to USD Brand Recall Value- Ability to recognize and remember a 3.3 billion in 2013, growing at a rate of 13% p.a. Also, particular brand as and when a particular product class is ZenithOptimedia (4P’s - Issue 31st December 2010- 27th January mentioned. 2011) stated that Television advertisement ruled the market with 41.3% share in 2011. With number of advertisements rising on television, the acceleration of any brand’s success is dependent upon the use of out of the box ideas, and one of them is Animation. Animation is described as a rapid display of time sequenced frames to create an illusion of continuous movement. Advanced technology, in computer animation, has made animation a more flexible and artistic tool. Animated advertisements are economical yet creative. It facilitated communication irrespective of language and cultural barriers. However, many animated commercials are still depending on imaginary characters to provide visual demonstration or verbal testimony for a wide variety of products. It helps to break the clutter of live action commercials. *Amity School of Communication, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India 156 IMS Manthan - Volume VII, No. 1, June 2012 From the creation of advertising characters such as the Amul Girl purchase their products. In FMCG sector the emphasis to target cooing ‘utterly butterly delicious’, Handiplast Boy, ICICI- young adults are mostly on Toothpaste, Biscuits, Health drinks, Chintamani, Pillsbury Atta’s - Doughboy just as mascots to Chips, Confectionary category. Youngsters are not just targeted appeal the youth; animation has taken a front row in creation of with “animercials” which include their favorite cartoon full- fledged “animercials” for Big Babool, Vodafone - Zozoo, characters but also given added merchandise and other All-Out Mosquito Repellent, Kellogg's, Kit-Kat- “squirrels” and innovative selling schemes. This ultimately led to the question of the latest in this category Nestea showing Kangaroo and Fanta- “What to buy?” ‘Orangy wonderful duniya.’ Such ads have helped in grabbing an instant attention of the youngsters. Children as Decision Maker Not just about Kids Not just the adults but youngsters also are confused in making The growth of these animated television commercials is not just their purchase decision due to outburst of FMCG television limited to kids but also to young adults. According to FICCI- commercials. Many families now-a-days use multi-brands KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry report 2010, which provide more scope to experiment with the brands. the percentage increase in viewership of Pogo and Cartoon Naresh Gupta, Head- Brand Strategy, iYogi, stated that “Parents Network is 30- 35% found in the 15+ age group (refer to the table are relieving their childhood through their children, so they take below) into consideration their opinion before indulging in purchase.” Due to this, marketers target young adults to create a “pestering power” over parents. IMRB Kidscan reported that 73% of parents buy the food items that are demanded by their children. Also, 70% of parents feel it’s important to ask for youngsters’ opinion while making household purchase. Although according to Allan Collaco, Secretary General, ASCI, - “The key thing is that marketers should not exploit the vulnerability of children in any way.” But some marketers tap this opportunity as it helps in marketing their product through negative publicity. This research study thus, helps to analyze the impact of animated advertisements on young adults and children that are shown on television by various FMCG marketers and also in determining the future prospects of animated advertisements. Review of Literature A television advertisement or television commercial is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an Comic characters and cartoon icons affect the youngsters at organization that conveys a message. Advertisement revenue large. The above report states that as more viewers are watching provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately animation on television. Thus, agencies are finding it a best owned television networks. The vast majority of television possible tool for promotion as it creates fantasies which can only advertisements today consist of brief advertising spots, ranging be fulfilled after the consumption of marketers‘ products and in length from a few seconds to several minutes (as well as services. program-length infomercials). Advertisements of this sort have been used to sell every product imaginable over the years, from More demand for animation in FMCG household products to goods and services, to political campaigns. As products in the FMCG sector involve low cost, they constantly try to break free from the clutter and create something different Animation is often used in advertisements. The pictures can vary which catches immediate attention of their target market. KV from hand-drawn traditional animation to computer animation. ‘Pops’ Sridhar, NCD, Leo Burnett India, on animated ads felt Early advertisements featured only a single advertisement, but that, “It is very appealing when it comes to target audiences since today they will typically involve several different images, which it connects exceptionally well with the youngsters. Everyone are displayed in sequence to attract attention to advertisements today is trying to break the clutter in the advertising world and build up a theme, often ending with a call to action and the through innovation. Also, animation nowadays in India is easier injunction to click on the product. than it was 10 years back with the availability of all kinds of latest technology. Plus, Shah Rukh may not be available all the time for These advertisements are achieved through supplying the ad shooting a commercial, however an animated Shah Rukh can be creative as an animated GIF file with different layers or frames, available as an when we want him.” usually a rectangle of 468 by 60 pixels. Animated advertisements are an example of rich media advertisements. This practice is more prominent in FMCG sector as there are numerous products delivering the same benefits which are By using animated characters, an advertisement may have a advertised and thereby, compel and push the consumers to certain appeal that is difficult to achieve with actors or mere product displays. For this reason, an animated advertisement (or Animated Television Commercials: Impact and Future 157 a series of such advertisements) can be very long-running, continued to expand as more and more companies jumped in several decades in many instances. A notable example is the with television. As the years have gone by though, this list has series of advertisements for Kellogg's cereals, starring Snap, shrunken considerably with many advertisers preferring to go Crackle and Pop. The animation is often combined with real the live action route, relying more and more on special effects actors. (which often does utilize some form of animation) and outrageous humor. Case Study 1 In 1951 Kellogg's-Sugar Frosted Flakes was advertised, while Animated Television Commercials Post debuted Captain Jolly (who sold CornFetti). By the end of An Overview- by Noell Wolfgram Evans 1954 Cheerios, Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Snap, Crackle and Pop This case is based upon the American animated advertisements. were all popular program interruptions. Marky Maypo, perhaps the biggest early animated cereal star, debuted in 1956. These ads It states that animated advertisements are special because it's for Maypo were the creation of StoryBoard which was founded fleeting in nature; it has to be packed with entertainment and and led by John Hubley. The ads were so popular that Maypo information and presented to attract instantly. An animated sales increased by 78 percent and the tagline 'I want my Maypo' advertisement encompasses both sight and sound for attracting became an instant catchphrase. In this popularity,