Advert Analysis: Mobile Water

One morning, as I was browsing through YouTube videos, I came across an advert from Mobile Water which really stood out for me. I was torn between amusement and exasperation. I also began to ponder on the approach and what Mobile Water sought to achieve with the advert.

The advert opens with a small group of people sitting in a commercial bus, or what is commonly referred to as “trotro.”  A woman sits next to a gentleman, who appears to be very excited and enchanted by her beauty. The man, who cannot contain himself, exclaims “Oh my goodness! I’m love you! I’m kiss you!” to the bemusement of the lady and the irritation of the other passengers. He stretches out his hand with a look of pure awe on his face towards the lady and to the surprise of everyone, reaches out for a sachet of mobile water.  The lady cannot help but voice out her irritation when she says, “ah!” The gentleman then looks at the camera and says “Mobile Water, wo y3 me taste!” while all the passengers burst out in laughter.

I notice three things about the advert;

First of all, this advert is in line with the general practice of many brands to associate themselves with what is appealing and popular at a particular time. For example, brands like MTN, Coca Cola and Vodafone took advantage of the “Azonto dance” craze that took Ghana by storm and inculcated aspects of the dance into their adverts. Mobile Water appears to have adopted a similar approach by infusing aspects of popular culture into its brand by inculcating the popular “Wo y3 me taste” into the advert.

Secondly, Mobile Water makes use of celebrity endorsement with popular actor Kwaku Manu in their advert. Kwaku Manu shot to fame through an infamous scene in a Ghanaian movie where in chatting up a woman, he tells her “Wo y3 me taste.” Those familiar with that movie scene would be able to relate to the advert, especially as Kwaku Manu appeared to be chatting up the lady in the bus.

Thirdly, the advert appears to aim at pairing Mobile Water with fun. I will explain using an example from Coca Cola.

During the 2010 World Cup, Ghana was awash with Coca Cola adverts with the catchphrase “brrrrr.” During that period and indeed long after, Ghanaians were opening bottles of coke and “brrrr-ing” in excitement as they enjoyed the drink. The producers of Mobile Water appear to have adopted a similar approach with the advert.  It would not be a surprise to see people reaching out for Mobile Water simply so they can imitate the actor by shouting “Wo y3 me taste!” This would even succeed at drawing the attention of those who would not have heard of Mobile Water.

The Mobile Water advert would definitely get one’s attention. The exaggerated excitement of the gentleman in the advert is likely to roll a few eyes and lead to more than a few sighs of frustration. I think it is safe to say that humour is subjective but the greater majority would most likely find the acting amusing. The advert tows a thin line between entertaining and irritating and I would not be surprised to see some viewers changing the channel as soon as the advert comes on.  

The catchphrase for the advert “Wo y3 me taste” may be Kwaku Manu telling the general public that Mobile Water is his preferred drinking water brand or his “taste.” Alternatively, the catchphrase may also be suggesting that the most appealing feature of the water is perhaps its distinctive taste. What about other health benefits to the body? With the controversy surrounding the hygiene of sachet water in Ghana, and also, taking into consideration the increasingly enlightened Ghanaian consumer, advertising your product and saying nothing about its benefits may not be the best approach.

To conclude, the advert is entertaining, and definitely stands out. The comedy employed in the advert may serve as both a blessing and a curse with no clear cut opinion on whether the advert is entertaining or annoying. Again, it would have been helpful to speak about the benefits to the body. With the tens of sachet water companies out there, it is imperative to stand out and overall, I think Mobile Water has done a fairly good job at that.