Can Nepal Afford Ryan Reynolds?

Dont be alarmed! This headline is clearly designed to increase EngageMint in my blog but, I'm sure I can provide you with some EntertainMint as well!   

Recently, the advertisements of Mint Mobile by Ryan Reynolds have caught my eye. And if you haven't been living under a rock, they must have caught yours too. These ads aren't bright, flashy or attractive at all. They're just plain. They're mostly only dialogue based, even the ones that do not feature Ryan, like the chunky milk super bowl commercial with the mint mobile mascot. 

Most of these ads are like regular college presentations, but with Ryan Reynolds. And yet, for some reasons they're refreshing,  Just the way mint is refreshing to our mouth, these ads are refreshing to our eyes.  These ads are visually MINTY. 

My first thought on seeing these ads  by Maximum Effort Marketing agency  was that , we need these in Nepal as well.  As an aspiring copywriter, I wanted  to be able to  write a copy with Ryan Reynold's level of  edgy humor. I wanted to be able to write a copy where a Welsch translator is capable of roasting a popular star's career and call him sexually impotent; all while announcing the corporate ownership of a football team.

Oh well, the humor in my thoughts! Lets take a trip down the memory lane to the recently conducted Nepal Super League and imagine what it would be like for MAW to announce their ownership of Kathmandu Rayzrs by featuring talks about sexual impotency of Rajesh Hamal. This picture just doesn't sit right. Our brain goes haywire. So, I decided to understand Is it  that Nepali audience is incapable of digesting this picture, or are Nepali brands incapable of associating themselves with humor?

So, basically  I wanted to understand  if Nepal is capable to Afford Ryan Reynold's level of chill and edginess in their brands?

But in no time, I  found myself comparing my dilemma against a recent situation where Big Master wine was harassed for wishing Maha Shivaratri to the audience.  People were so offended that they gathered to burn  a bunch  of newspapers featuring this 400cc advertisement.  

Then I compared this picture  to the case of  another brand harassment faced by Barhasinghe beer.  Barhasinghe was heavily criticized for trying to introduce humor on the occasion of Matatirtha Aunsi (Mother's Day). The brand was criticized for using scripts like  "that time you came home late and tried to fool your Aama by acting sober."

These are some of the instances showcasing  Nepali consumers' inability to digest light humor. However, they're not wrong to discard these advertisements because these brands chose the wrong emotions to add humor to. These festivities are not just fun but are culturally significant and represent people's emotions. Mother's day is not just about celebration in Nepal. Its also about cultural rituals such as worshipping the alive and offering certain rituals to commemorate the dead maternal souls. So, Barhasinghe chose the wrong sentiments to add fun to.

However, the print ad by Big Master wine didn't attack consumer sentiment directly. The copy simply wished a Happy Maha Shivaratri. But, people took offense when the brand posed a wine bottle next to the holy Maha Shiva . So, it turns out that you cannot be more careful when it comes to playing with religious and cultural sentiments of the Nepali audience.

These above instances were discarded and hated because they chose the wrong sentiment to leverage humor into the brand, while they generally position themselves as otherwise on all occasions.

Moreover, Nepali brands seem reluctant to position themselves in a manner of humor, for they fear seeming unprofessional. Even a small Instagram clothing retail store is afraid to be comfortable with their clients. They feel it a compulsion to address clients as sir/ma'am and clients also seem to comprehend a little friendliness as offensive or disrespectful.

So, is Nepali audience really ready to accept the use of a few vulgar slangs in the advertisements? Probably not everyone and probably not all brands. But, young brands targeted at youth such as Caliber shoes, Mheecha bags are more than capable to carry a little humor with swag. But, they need to play it right by addressing just the right sentiments and not the ones that could create offense. These are the brands that can carry an ad that is smug and right on the face, by associating themselves with sexiness and edginess.

Nepali markets  and Nepali brands definitely need to  revolutionize.  Nepali brands and audience  definitely need to loosen up,  and who better than young brands, young audiences and youthful celebrities to do so?