Why Chow-Mou won't be the Next ZOOZoos !!!

After the tremendous success experienced by zoozoos, a lot many brands are banking on animated characters and boost sales.

There is RELIANCE with 5 animated guys, Reckitt&Benckisser with a Raccoon & a Kangaroo (WHY ?!) and latest in the pack are Chow and Mou by Videocon.

have an impact as stronAnimation has been an integral part of Indian Advertising, since the time of "Ek Anek "DoorDarshan commercial, and later with Fido-Dido for 7-Up commercials. But, none of them had an impact as the zoozoos.

Now, talking of zoozoos, it is a combined effort of O&M and Nirvana Films. The zoozoos were actual girls wearing airtight costume made up of a material called PERSPEX, with 3 holes for breathing.

They were shot at a Frame-rate of 20 Fps. To give 'em the animated effect.

The Ads were shot in South Africa and were aired during the IPL-II

The ultimate thing was the storyboard. there were 30 different zoozoo commercials. And each storyboard had a unique way of dealing with day-to-day predicaments. E.g. Every guy has this inexplicable urge to hit every candy seller who comes and interferes in his intimate moments with his girlfriend. The human Avatar and situations instantly struck a chord with the audiences.

secondly, the thing about zoozoos was, they were repetitive. They were aired during the IPL-II And they occured almost every 2 overs with a different storyboard. So in a way, they were consistently fresh. This was Etched in the audience's memory.

Thirdly, they were created to look aesthetically affable. That to the oomph and the cute-Factor.

After the IPL, everyone thought that zoozoos were over, BUT...

I remember a girl asking me for a zoozoo teddy for Rs. 400 wonly !!

I remember a senior catching all the eyeballs when she wore a zoozoo T-shirt.

A guy contemplating to buy a zoozoo DVD for his Girlfriend, which contains all the zoozoo commercials..

So even after ads are not aired, zoozoos are still a rage and have created a brand of their own in the market. Whether they've boosted product sales or not .. That's a debate in the pipeline...

Now, lets talk about vidoecon's CHOW-MOU, they are 2 green colored blobs, 1 smaller than the other, who help distressed kids. Who are either sinking in the sea, or whose teddy has fallen on the rocks, or a birdie who is separated from the pack.

Now, in a span of 2 months, they've come out with 4 storyboards. The storyboards are too predictable and are too accident driven. I mean, how often do you come across someone sinking in the sea ?!

2ndly, they are not humans, they are just blobs.. so, you can't easily relate to them or find the cute factor, which girls dug for in the zoozoos.

3rdly, they are aired in a non-repetitive manner, with other better ads so their charm is lost. That harms chow-mou a lot...

so, for the moment, zoozoos rule... And for chow-mou it is a steep climb ahead.