Mountain Dew’s comical ‘Dar ko agadi Jeet cha’ video ad
‘Dar Ke Aagey Jeet Hai’ is perhaps one of the most famous marketing slogan when it comes to Indian beverage marketing. Mountain Dew has established itself as a drink for adventurous youth in India just like Red Bull has managed globally. Ergo, it must be conceded that Mountain Dew’s ‘Dar Ke Aagey Jeet Hai’ is a very successful brand positioning marketing strategy. Alas, the same cannot be said about its ‘Nepalified’ version. The TVC ad for Mountain Dew is a travesty to say the least!
The dialogue used in the ad ‘Dar sabai lai lagcha, Ghati sabaiko Sukcha’ has been literally translated in Nepali from the Indian counterpart ‘Dar sabko lagta hai, Gala sabka sukhta hai’.
Meaning lost in translation
One of the main reasons why this advertising slogan resonated in India is because it makes sense in Hindi. Meanings often get lost or misrepresented in translation. Signifier and Signified being different is a common understanding for any media students or experts. Add to that the challenges that translation brings. By literally copy-pasting a Hindi dialogue in Nepali without taking cognizance of the nuances and intricacies in the Nepali language, the ad has become topic of serious trolling on social media.
Nepalese ad makers should understand that ‘Tu’ in Hindi and ‘Ta’ in Nepali are not exactly synonymous. In Hindi, ‘Tu’ is casually used to refer to people without meaning any disrespect, while ‘Ta’ in Nepali connotes a very disrespectful tone. ‘Dew utha. Himmat ko ghoonth laga’ sounds not just disrespectful but also caricature-ish. Who even uses the word ‘ghoonth’ to connote ‘drinking’ in Nepal?
Unnecessary nationalistic jingo
Another issue with this ad is the nationalist tone that it tries to portray. Mountain Dew is an international brand. The brand has built its reputation as Red Bull lite with its creative marketing in India. So, forcefully injecting a nationalist tone ( K Nepal le banaula world record?) is unintentionally funny. Add to that the fact that the location is based on a graphically rendered version ( a poor one at that) of Dubai, not Nepal.
‘Nepal le garera dekhayo. Yay!’ – Who even talks Nepali like this?
Rehashing Indian ads
Clean feed was adopted in Nepal hoping that it would foster creativity in the Nepalese marketing industry. However, if you have a look at the Indian version of the ad, you will find that the Nepalese ad is a scene by scene copy. We are unsure whether this is the result of lack of creativity with the media agency or Mountain Dew’s official distributor Varun beverage’s ineptitude and apathy!
The ad’s overall tone is like that of a Nepali movie that tries too hard while copying a Bollywood script. Media agencies in Nepal must stop taking the marketing industry and customers for granted. We have given a glowing review to Ruslan Vodka for its unique video ad because the ad was made with creativity, unlike this ad that has ended becoming caricature of an otherwise successful marketing strategy. We have no qualms giving credit where credit is due! We are stressing on this point because we want to highlight that, while rare, there are creative marketers in Nepal.
BrandGuff, thus, rates the ad 2/5. BrandGuff will continue to raise alarm with the hope of seeing more creativity in the video ad space!
