From the street-side romeo singing 'Kya aap Close-Up karte hai' to the quirky guy in the Mentos' 'Dimag ki batti jala de' campaign - they all represent the offbeat faces in advertising today, which are increasingly becoming popular.

Says Prasoon Joshi, regional creative director, South and S-E Asia, McCann-Erickson, “As the fatigue factor sets in very easily with consumers now, the reality quotient in advertising is going up. There is a drive towards real faces and street language is also gaining ground with advertising campaigns.”

As consumer tastes evolve and become mature, there is an evident shift from “stereotypical addy” faces to the essentially next door, and often 'bizarre'. In fact, advertising creative teams are now on the lookout for that weird offbeat face that is bound to arouse curiosity. In voice-overs too, there is a concerted move from the age-old baritone in ads to the boorish, and sometimes crass lingo.

“Such campaigns are usually done for evolved clients, where production costs are not really a major consideration. However, you need to get as much value for the campaign which can today be generated through curious, queer faces,” says, KV Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett.

( www.agencyfaqs.com)