New ad in old bottle highlights creative bankruptcy of the beverage category

AD VETERANS SAID THE NEW FANTA AD IS A STRAIGHT LIFT FROM A CHIPS AD FROM THE 1980S

- Shuchi Bansal

When Coca-Cola India put out its new ad for Fanta with film star Kartik Aaryan last week, it irked some advertising veterans who said it was a straight lift from a late 1980s commercial of the chips brand Binnie's. 'Humko Binnie's Mangta' was a hit television commercial based on the song 'Julie Julie' from a Bollywood film Jeete Hain Shaan Se (1988).

Apart from the song track, the use of a retro convertible car, the studio-like street set up, and the line, "Kya Mangta," in the Fanta ad make it remarkably similar to "Humko Binnie's Mangta."

Naresh Gupta, co-founder of advertising agency, Bang in the Middle, wrote on LinkedIn, "Binnies becomes Fanta...Binnie's Chips from Jagatjit were a massive hit in the 90s (sic) and the commercial became a part of pop culture. The Fanta film is a lift including the opening shot...."

Industry experts agreed and lamented the paucity of creative ideas in advertising, especially in the beverage category.

Gupta worked for Binnie's chips at SAMIR, the market research arm of Mudra advertising that was housed within the agency's Delhi office. He was testing flavors and consumer acceptance of the brand launched by the liquor company Jagatjit Industries.

But sitting in Mudra office, he was privy to the brand strategy and creatives.