Let’s take a look at this ad, and you might have seen this ad in theatres before the movie. This is an ad of Vijay sales which is an Indian electronics retail store chain based out of Mumbai. They have made this ad with the theme of family and relations which is something we Indians can relate to quite deeply. Is the body language of the adapt? What do you think?
The Hug
When you look at this picture above, you can see a father and son are hugging each other. We can notice that father’s palm is in a concave position and he pats his son with his hand in the same position which does not allow his whole palm to touch. In body language terminology, this has been termed as Distal Touch by Joe Navarro. There are different types of touch which may be respectful, caring, reserved, sensuous, etc. Different touch stimulates different areas of the brain. So when we touch someone to show care, we touch them with our whole palm so that warmth is passed on due to presence of blood under the skin which can communicate a lot to our loved ones.
The cuddle
In this scene, the daughter is hugging her mother from behind. But when you look at the daughter’s fingers, they are curled inwards. Her mother also has her fingers curled in, but she is holding her cloth which is not the case with the daughter. The daughter’s touch is known as “Finger curling” which is often done by people when they are nervous, agitated, stressed or uncomfortable they will curl up their fingers.
Use of Personal space
When we look at this scene, we can see two brothers hugging. They are hugging sideways which is something not done by very close people like brothers in this case. This is usually done with colleagues, acquaintances, the people whom we are not very close to. We understand the importance of the product on the screen, but can also see a huge gap between their torsos which indicates that the models have not be prompted about the importance of simple details.
The Greeting
This is the last section of the ad, and we can see their representative greeting the guest. But the way of greeting as shown in the image above something which is not practised commonly in the Indian culture. This is conflicting with the theme of the ad, and might make it difficult for the audience to connect with the same. If the model’s smile were made warmer, and he was asked to show the audience the door with both his open palms pointing towards the door, that would have been more relatable.
Conclusion
Overall, the message that the ad wants to communicate is warm and typical to the Indian culture. But if one were to observe the minute details executed by the models, the ad looks incomplete. While models might not be aware of these minute body language nuances, it is up to the creative directors to help them out. The audience as such would not be able to pinpoint to the errors mentioned above, but they would be able to figure out something is amiss. And ultimately, might not be able to connect with the ad.
How we can help
Simply Body Talk works with creative agencies to help their teams understand the fine nuances of body language details through consultancy assignments, specialised workshops and one on one learning sessions. For further details, you can call us on 022 67208017.
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Images credit:
- For the video: Youtube
- Prachar Communications Pvt. Ltd.
