The Hindu Business Line : More josh </I>

IT'S sure an innovative attempt at impressing a pretty girl. Make sure the birds above don't dirty her by spotting them from a certain distance, race there in your car and fling your hat so strategically that it goes right on to her head and takes the dirt!

Of course, this is only possible if you have a "performance machine" like the Ford `Josh' Ikon, the ad wants you to believe. Returning to TV after a hiatus of nine months, the commercial emphasises how the car can "facilitate the Josh" in people, says M. A. Parthasarathy, Associate Vice-President and Client Services Director, JWT, Chennai, the brand`s ad agency.

There is "an element of victory" in this TV commercial, which is a new note that the brand has struck. "It's not a blood and sweat kind of victory but about how you can win with some smart thinking," says Parthasarathy, adding that the TVC focused on how an opportunity spotted could use the car to achieve a goal (of impressing a girl). "It's about the will to win, and how that can be achieved with a little bit of a stretch, by thinking smarter and being willing to push a little bit more."

Says Vinay Piparsania, Vice-President (Marketing & Sales), Ford India Ltd, "This TV commercial goes to the next level of Ford being in touch with its customers. We've shown the product as a winner to connect with the consumer on an emotional level."

Parthasarathy says, "Josh is one auto brand property which has stood the test of time, it's absolutely integral to Ikon as a brand." Ever since the brand was launched in 1999, various facets of josh have been exploited: the spirit of the car as a performance machine, Ikon as a vehicle for people with josh, as a car so superior that all other cars commit suicide, and this latest - how it can bring out the josh in people.

According to Piparsania, "It is so possible for small car owners to buy mid-sized cars nowadays; what with the finance schemes available, they'll have to pay the same EMIs. We are also focusing on educating consumers that owning a mid-size car is possible, and our print ads mention the EMIs. With this ad, we are telling that that when they go in for a mid-sized car, they should be the winners by choosing the right one." The tagline "Jeeyo Josh Se, Jeeto Josh Se" (Live with josh, win with josh) is a "powerful direction" for the brand to take as it extends josh to an emotion - a car is always looked upon as a reward, he says.

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