[May 25, 2013] Spot Light: Aircel Tweet May 25, 2013 (Mint - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A LITTLE 'EXTRA' REVIEWER -- SOUMITRA KARNIK The national creative director at Dentsu India Group, Soumitra Karnik has previously worked on Pepsi's Youngistaan campaign, Canon's What Makes You Click campaign and Slice's Aamsutra, among others. Campaign Telecom operator Aircel's latest ad campaign by McCann Erickson illustrates the joy of unexpectedly getting a little extra. The idea was to use slice-of-life instances and deliver the message -- in this case, cricketer M.S. Dhoni giving a child more than just an autograph. The tag line: "Kuch extra milta hai toh achcha lagta hai (It's nice to get something extra)." Your first thoughts on the ad When I first see an ad, I react from the gut. My mind is incapable of rationalizing and watching at the same time. I liked this one. Firstly, it has heart, and that is the right ingredient to connect with anyone. It does not overtly push the product offering right from the beginning. Only when the heart has finished liking the ad, does the offer quietly slip in for the mind to take over. Do you feel Dhoni's star power will work for the ad at a time when cricketers are making headlines for the wrong reasons We've had controversies and scams around the game in the past too but life has moved on. Today, every second ad has either a Bollywood actor or a cricketer in it. The companies are extremely cautious as well. The tainted celebrities are promptly removed from the roster overnight. Previously, Salman Khan was dissociated from Thums Up and no brand wanted to sign him as an endorser but soon after, he became the most bankable celebrity. Life has come a full circle -- Salman is seen endorsing Thums Up again. In this case, Dhoni's name hasn't appeared in the spot-fixing scandal, so it's all good. He has huge star power and is a great success story. He is a winning captain and everyone loves him, so what the new Aircel ad shows is a reality. What would you have done differently I don't think I would've done anything differently. The scheme is nothing different in the category, so that's a given. Dhoni is their brand celebrity, so he's a given too. Within these narrow brackets, the story is quite simple and charming. The casting of the little boy is fabulous, and seeing the story through his eyes, it seems quite believable and we feel the joy he felt when he received that "extra". How does this ad compare with other Aircel campaigns I do remember a few Aircel ads but none that are memorable. This one is quite cute. Any other international ads in the telecom category that have high recall value I remember the hilarious series of 10-second Vodafone "stop the clock" ads. They were quite lovely. ___ (c)2013 the Mint (New Delhi) Visit the Mint (New Delhi) at www.livemint.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]