The hues in the canvas of life are due to emotions. A lazy Sunday afternoon treat of an old eighties’ classic Naya Din Nai Raat is the prelude to this thought. This movie was based on the nine emotions-as per the Indian ethos — where Sanjeev Kumar plays characters based on each of these. When one reviews the entire gamut of communication that is effective and meant to trigger your heart strings, all of them evolve from one such emotion.

Essentially there are two reasons for this approach. Research has shown that across nations, age and gender; communication based on emotions is always better remembered-the classic case being that of Johnson & Johnson baby products. Secondly, the best way to get anyone to remember a brand is to personify it so that it generates emotions — Positive (I’m loving it — Mc Donald) or negative (dark skin — Fair & Lovely). So let us see how the marketer triggers each one of these Nav Rasas and creates a space — dil se aur dil mein.
Remember, yesterday morning when you were walking, lost in thought about Monday morning office jobs, and — bang! Someone suddenly threw a water balloon on you and took you by surprise? That is the state of adbhut, achanak, you need to recapitulate as you read the first of these emotional bursts. Surprise, is an emotion that is used very actively, by marketers when the intention is to stand out.

Advanced innovators: Surprise and chamatkar has to be the essential emotion when the brand is all about innovation. Thus the breathlessly long cheeeeeeese as you cover the mile-long group with your iPhone 5 is amazement as expected, from the house of Apple. The building a smarter planet IBM, is all about innovation and therefore about awe; as it showcases the new chief operating officer of the company — the tweeting consumer. The innovative doodles from Google, the vibrating and singing Sunday newspapers from the ground-breaking Volkswagen and the constantly changing genre and style of changelings like Aamir Khan and Ekta Kapoor are natural as the only constant factor amongst them is change and therefore: Surprise!

Attention seekers: The element of surprise comes naturally to the rebels. So whether it is Lady Gaga, Rakhee Sawant, Marilyn Manson or yesteryear Kishore Kumar and Howard Hughes; the brand promise is in essence about delivering a bolt from the blue. The pioneer amongst the Indians is the stone-throwing-on-your-television, neighbour’s envy owners pride, reptilian Onida. The others like the Dew dudes, Thunderous Thums Up , tedha-medha Kurkure and the mad angle Bingo; have a wayward streak, thus bizarre and unpredictable is what they need to deliver. The same goes for brands like Bombay Times where the stance is style maara to darna kya.
To drive home the point you have the bizarrely different auto driver, dhobhin (washer woman), dabbewala, delivery boy.

Ascertaining buzzers: The third group of brands are those who seek to astonish as they use novelty to create a buzz in a cluttered category or alternatively in a commoditised space. Some bizarrely beautiful brands in the first segment are the Perfetti group. So there is, kaisi jeebh laplapayi human ATM who releases the notes with his drooling tongue as he is shown the candy to the current south Indian waiter menu reciting test. The classic shiny white teeth of slaves chewing happydent and subsequently serving as synchronised lights for the chandeliers, car lights and the tennis spotlights. And of course the dimaag ki batti jala de Centre fresh. The innovation of M.P. tourism advertisement whether the images created in their bioscope advertisement by using only the models eyes or the hand puppets in light and shadow were so fitting as they conveyed M.P. ajab hai sab se gajab hai.
The award winners in this adhbhut section are the brands which are creative kamals in the boring keechad (mud) of commodities. The first are the brands from Pidilite — Fevicol, Fevistik, M-seal. The pioneer being Fevicol, which created a generic identity for itself amongst adhesive gum through its series of Fevicol ka jod hai tutega nahin.
The second is the extremely innovative Havell, which did the same through its shock laga for power switches to the safe cables used for making tongs by the caring son, the innovative extended handle for the heated havan spoon and the current Havell fan series. The most innovative but not oft seen advertisement is the one in which instead of flowers — whether for making garlands or as pious offering uses idlis — light as flowers made with Havell mixer grinders.
So why do surprises work? It is because life is full of surprises and has the same mixed elements of creativity and unpredictability. Thus they are a symbol of hope in the belief that Hawa badlegi abhi.

Prof. Neena Sondhi is professor, marketing, International Management Institute, New Delhi