Women have quite the checklist when looking for their ideal partner. They’re observant beings, catching onto all sorts of details, but let’s be real, an innerwear brand is not on that list. Amul Macho Sporto’s latest ad revives a done-to-death story to sell a product.
Brands targeting men by using sex appeal, whether in innerwear ads or perfume commercials like Axe, is an age old tactic. Amul Macho is not new to this trend but now it seems, they are running out of fresh scripts.
Sporto by Amul Macho, a premium innerwear brand from the house of JGH, has brought Sidharth Malhotra on board as its new brand ambassador for the famous advertising campaign ‘Yeh toh bada toing hai.’
The 20-second TVC opens with the fans of two rival teams, one in blue jerseys and the other in sunny yellow, watching a cricket match in a pub. They’re all hyped up, cheering their hearts out. Then, bam! A wicket sends Malhotra’s side into a frenzy. Suddenly, a fan from the yellow team notices Malhotra’s underwear waistband—Macho. She switches sides in a bid to impress him. Caught off guard, Malhotra points out that the her player was “clean bowled”. She glances at his waistband and replies, “Me too”. Malhotra blushes as the signature seductive voiceover plays, “yeh toh bada toing hai”.
Full marks to the advertisers for tapping into the cricket craze, but alas, that’s where the applause fizzles out for the commercial.
The storyline of a heroine falling for a guy just because he wears Macho underwear is a straight up snoozefest. It trivialises both the characters and the audience’s intelligence.
This story line doesn’t offer any fresh perspective or entertainment value that the viewer can associate with the brand. It may have a recall value but every time it is recalled, it will be laughed about.
Brands that want to make a lasting impression should focus on more meaningful and innovative storytelling that resonates with modern sensibilities.
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Consistency is not always key
The brand has successfully managed to squander Malhotra, just like they did Rashmika Mandana and Vicky Kaushal a year ago in the same ‘yeh toh bada toing hai‘ campaign.
Remember the storyline with Mandana swooning over Kaushal’s underwear waistband? Yep, they’re nothing if not consistent. Copy pasting the script and simply changing the celebrity faces lack originality and ignore the evolving perspectives of consumers.
The advertising team didn’t move a single muscle to differentiate the new commercial from previous ones. Macho is relying on the success of a campaign from a decade ago, assuming it will continue to be effective.
Brands such as Virat Kohli’s one8 adhere to a more understated approach in their innerwear advertising. Rather than relying on overt sexuality, they opt for subtlety.
This is evident in ads featuring Kohli, whose toned physique and abs exudes a sense of allure without being overly explicit, much like Calvin Klein’s iconic ads.
Macho’s advertisements—both featuring Kaushal and Malhotra—are in line with the brand’s initiative to ‘legitimise the female gaze’. However, what could have been another groundbreaking campaign for Macho, ultimately falls short due to a lack of thoroughness.
When tackling controversial topics, it’s crucial to approach them with both sensitivity and wit, something which they did a decade ago.
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‘Crafted for fantasies’
Amul Macho has never been afraid of adding a touch of ‘sex appeal’ to their ads. In 2007, they made news with the launch of the ‘yeh toh bada toing hai’ campaign.
The ad featured actor Sana Khan sensually washing her husband’s underwear at the river, much to the jealousy of other women nearby.
The TVC was a bold move. It was released when the topic of women’s pleasure was considered a taboo. The brand took the risk of bringing it up on national television via a commercial. Obviously, it stirred up a huge controversy.
But, it garnered attention and drove sales up for the brand during 2007-08. As the saying goes, all publicity is good publicity.
But, the brand did not give up. In another brilliant marketing move, they ingeniously leveraged the controversy as the backdrop for their comeback campaign a year later.
This time around, Khan was joined by an unexpected co-star: an orangutan. The TVC depicted the animal mischievously stealing a bag of clothes from Khan’s bedroom, discarding everything except the Macho underwear. Following some playful antics, the orangutan ends up sporting the underwear, immediately capturing the attention of its female counterpart, leaving Khan amused.
The ad represented the brand’s ability to captivate audiences in unconventional ways. The TVC’s tagline—crafted for fantasies—was clear and creative positioning. Something it has not been able to achieve 16 years later.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)