Deconstruction of a Video Advertisement

The ad is about how to keep you safe from online fraud. A conversation takes place between an old man and a young adult through which we get to know the product. The ad features three people- two young adults, a female and a male, and an elderly male. The good thing is that both genders are portrayed in the ad in equal proportion. The old man is dressed in formal attire, making him look educated and corporate. The woman and man are wearing casuals.

The story of the ad is that two people, one male, and one female, are trying to cheat an elderly man over the phone by asking the old man’s bank details and OTP (One Time Password). Commonly, people cheat someone over the call by asking their OTP. However, at the end of the ad, we, the viewers of the ad realize that with the help of Airtel Payments Bank, the old man fools the cheaters.

The product of the ad is Airtel Payments Bank. The product comes quite late in the advertisement. And when the product is shown, there is no presence of the characters. I think this is a good thing.

The camera focused on two sides, young female and old man, in equal proportion. The ad has mainly close-up shots. The screen has been split into two sides- one side shows the old man and the other side the cheaters. The lighting part of the ad is really interesting. There is a right blend of natural and artificial lighting. The ad has extensive use of bright colors. One thing that catches my attention is the extensive use of bright colors in the characters’ attire.

The text comes later in the advertisement. When the text appears on the screen, along with the VO, we don’t see any characters on the screen. Apart from the VO, there are 3 voices present in the advertisement. At the time of product introduction, the VO arrives. The background sound of the advertisement is new-age and peppy. The advertisement ends with the popular Airtel tune.

The product of this ad is the Airtel Payments Bank which offers an added protection to its consumers to beat online cheating.  However, Airtel Payments Bank comes only one time in the advert. It would have been better if the name arrived at least twice or thrice.

It feels good that telecommunication companies are taking cognizance of online scams. The target audience of this ad is primarily old people. The first part of the ad shows old people is vulnerable to online scams. But at the end of the ad, it shows that the old man has actually duped the scammers. The tech-savvy and knowledgeable approach of the old man saves him from getting scammed.

The ad sends the message to those people who are most vulnerable to online fraud. It is interesting to know that the ad shows that women can become an apparatus of online crime.

Online fraud needs to be confronted. Only time will tell if telecommunication companies will bring new ideas to get rid of this problem.

                                                  (Source: Airtel India/Youtube)