MxMIndia

Tag: Arun Iyer

  • Grofers has quickly established itself as the leading choice for consumers wishing to shop their wares via digital platforms

    With Grofers win, Lowe Lintas Mumbai unveils refreshing brand campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Local e-commerce platform, Grofers has appointed Lowe Lintas Mumbai to launch its inaugural brand campaign in India. The mandate for Lowe Lintas Mumbai is to build brand Grofers and establish it as the one-stop destination for all things grocery & home needs, on the digital platform.

     

    Launched in December 2014 as an on-demand delivery service that connects consumers with local merchants in the neighbourhood, Grofers has quickly established itself as the leading choice for consumers wishing to shop their wares via digital platforms. Having started its operations with Delhi NCR, Grofers today operates out of 27 cities throughout India.

     

    As part of the launch exercise, Lowe Lintas Mumbai would be unveiling a series of four films that would comprise a central brand film of 45 seconds and three additional films of 30 seconds each that would highlight the service features of Grofers. The entire campaign would work towards promoting the USP of Grofers as an online on-demand delivery service expert. Through the launch campaign, Lowe Lintas Mumbai and Grofers have presented a brand that understands how young India lives; a brand that recognizes today’s mad rush where we often end up compromising on our basic daily needs. Thus, an app like Grofers, which offers a wide range of products across categories, guaranteed quick delivery and other special features like assurance on only the freshest and best produce reaching you at just the click of a button, comes as a much needed helping hand.

     

    Sharing his views on the partnership and the new positioning that the brand has undertaken, Albinder Dhindsa, Co-founder, Grofers said, “We are now in 27 cities across India and offer a rich mix of everyday use products that consumers need. As such, we felt Lowe Lintas Mumbai was the right partner to help us communicate the value of our offering to consumers. We are building our brand on understanding our customer’s wants and needs – wanting to enjoy their time but needing to take care of daily chores as well. Hence, the proposition of ‘We get it’ bodes well for the brand.”

     

    The core theme around the campaign is based on the simple consumer understanding that most working people, especially young couples face — spend most of their time at work. They do not have enough time balancing work and the basic needs at home. In the melee, things that are not on top priority, like home needs and kitchen restocking – mostly things that are seen as chores – get put off until the absolute last minute. But Grofers as a brand with its unique offering helps today’s working couples inch a step closer towards achieving the coveted dream of striking a work-life balance.

     

    Elaborating on the collaboration between the two, Shantanu Sapre, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas Mumbai said: “I am happy that Grofers chose us to chart out their brand journey in India through the inaugural launch campaign. The excitement on this launch is high; in this I see an interesting challenge, as the category is as yet nascent. This provides Lowe Lintas Mumbai with the opportunity to create a unique brand voice in an unexplored category. Thus, what we present to the audience is a quirky, witty and playful communication that will help us make Grofers a household name.”

     

    As an on-demand, hyper local, ecommerce application Grofers provides doorstep delivery in just a few clicks. From groceries and fresh fruits & vegetables to bakery products, cosmetics and even electronic accessories, the app is currently available on Android and iOS thereby providing maximum coverage of the smartphone market in India.

     

    Arun Iyer

    Elaborating on the creative approach behind the brand campaign, Arun Iyer, Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas said, “The challenge was to give the brand meaning in the lives of these young working couples. It is a well-known fact that women have always found men who share domestic responsibility, more appealing. I’m certain this holds even truer for the young working women of today – given they are constantly trying to successfully juggle work and home. It is this insight that we played on for the Grofers campaign. The brand understands their life and submits to the women that they ‘won’t always get what they want’ and that is exactly where Grofers steps in and gets them ‘what they need’- a husband who shares the domestic responsibility of lending a helping hand, all at the convenience of the Grofers app.”

     

  • Shayondeep Pal has been part of the creative team in Delhi for more than 6 years

    Lowe Lintas names Shayondeep Pal its Creative head in Delhi

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lowe Lintas has named Shayondeep Pal, Executive Creative Director, to head the Creative offering of its New Delhi office. Shayondeep takes over from Shriram Iyer, who was recently named NCD, Mullen Lintas. Pal will report to Arun Iyer, Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas.

     

    Shayondeep Pal has been part of the creative team in Delhi for more than 6 years and is involved in the creative execution of a number of notable campaigns for prominent clients in the region. Some of these include OLX, Micromax, Hindustan Times, Maruti Suzuki, Google, and Pernod Ricard.

     

    Commenting on his appointment, Arun Iyer, Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas said: “Delhi has been surging ahead with creative offerings that are top-notch and Shayondeep Pal has had an integral role to play in its success. With a creative firepower that’s palpable and the thirst to do more, I cannot wait to see what he has in store to drive the office in Delhi. I wish him the best in his new role at the agency.”

     

    Pal has worked on a number of market leading brands over the years. He has been the creative lead on Micromax for the last four years and has worked on campaigns like Sliver 5 with Hugh Jackman, Qube (3D Interface), Canvas HD (Colours Can Come Alive) and Canvas 2. In fact, he has also directed a few commercials for Micromax. On OLX, he has done work on the ‘Womaniya’ campaign along with their current ‘Keemat Bhi, Keemti Bhi’ campaign. On Maruti Suzuki, he has worked on Ertiga, the LUV car and Ciaz. For Hindustan Times, he did a campaign on ‘You Read, They Learn’ which went on to win an award at Cannes Lions in 2013.

     

    Sharing his views on the new role, Shayondeep Pal said, “I am lucky enough to be part of a great team in Delhi. The opportunities are endless and I want to approach it with an open mind. The great thing is that the mandate is clear: how to make our brands famous and therefore, how to make our people famous. I want to make this place a talent magnet where people would line up to join us. One clear approach would be to look at the creative output from a holistic angle – through new media, unexplored media and not just 30-second commercials.”

     

  • Amer Jaleel and Arun Iyer named Chief Creative Officers

    Mullen Lowe Lintas Group names creative leadership

    By A Correspondent

     

    After the recent news of the global union of IPG agencies Mullen, and Lowe and Partners (to form Mullen Lowe Group), the India operation of the network, Lowe Lintas + Partners is now rebranded as Mullen Lowe Lintas Group. As part of this move, the Group also announces their plans for a two-creative-agency structure. In addition to Lowe Lintas, the group will be soon launching an independent new creative agency, Mullen Lintas.

     

    Amer Jaleel and Arun Iyer, currently joint National Creative Directors at Lowe Lintas have been promoted to Chief Creative Officers. Arun Iyer takes on the role of CCO at Lowe Lintas, and Amer Jaleel takes on the role of Chairman and CCO of the newly created agency, Mullen Lintas.

     

    R.Balakrishnan ( Balki ) and Joseph George ( Joe ) continue as Group Chairman and Group CEO respectively, of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group.

     

    Arun Iyer

    Arun Iyer joined Lowe Lintas in 2003 and became National Creative Director in 2010, along with Amer. Over the years, he has been the force behind some of India’s most celebrated campaigns for brands including Tanishq, Fastrack, Idea Cellular, Surf Excel, Kissan, Flipkart, Britannia, Axis Bank, Freecharge and many more. Arun firmly believes in work that makes brands a part of popular culture. His campaigns have consistently swept effectiveness awards around the world including Kissanpur, which won India’s first ever Silver at 4A’s Jay Chiat Awards in 2014.

     

    Amer Jaleel

    Amer Jaleel has been with Lowe Lintas since 2002 and has been National Creative Director for the last 5 years. He has led the creative on some of the most iconic brands managed by the agency. As global creative lead on Unilever’s Lifebuoy business, he has contributed disproportionately to the brand’s success over the past decade in India and across the world; built brands like Micromax and Havells from scratch into billion dollar plus businesses; and conceived and led the journey for Tata Tea’s ‘Jaago Re’ movement. Amer’s portfolio over the years has also included some great work on Google, OLX, Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Times and Bajaj. More recently, the Lifebuoy initiative ‘Help a Child Reach 5’ was named among the most effective campaigns in the world (WARC 100, 2015).

     

  • There is a serious and conscious effort to make sure that their family is protected from disease

    Lowe Lintas unveils new campaign for ‘Lal Hit’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Following on with its brand messaging of cockroaches spread diseases, Lowe Lintas Mumbai has unveiled a new campaign for its product LAL HIT. Taking a different approach this time around, the brand seeks to target women who depend on chalk and home remedies to solve the “roach” issue.

     

    Women today, are extremely particular about their housekeeping etiquettes. There is a serious and conscious effort to make sure that their family is protected from disease. While they are aware that the presence of cockroaches at home is not a healthy sign, their belief is that their current solution, i.e., chalk, boric powder, etc. is good enough to keep cockroaches at bay and hence she has no reason to opt for a change. However, cockroaches have their own hideouts and these solutions are ineffective in killing these cockroaches that often cause various illnesses.

     

    With this as the driving point, the new campaign gives the women a compelling reason for adopting LAL HIT, which with its unique seek-and-kill applicator reaches even the difficult and hard-to-reach corners and kills the hidden cockroaches.

     

    Sharing his thoughts on the new campaign, Ajay Dang, Head Marketing – Home Care, Godrej Consumer Products Limited said, “A mother always does her best to keep her family and child healthy. Through her regimen and choice of solutions she achieves this goal every day. Poor solutions and lack of information at times gives her a false sense of security.  And her effort fails despite her trying her best.

     

    The communication is simple and straight forward highlighting the fact that cockroaches spread diseases like food poisoning, diarrhea and dysentery. The key idea was to inform the mother on how solutions like chalks and home remedies are ineffective in killing hidden cockroaches and therefore put her family health at risk.”

     

    Elaborating on the creative approach that was followed for the campaign, Arun Iyer – National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “While the brief was very direct and clear, the task to make people change their current regimen is always difficult, especially in a low involvement category. With our target group (mothers), we realized that it’s not just the kid’s health and wellbeing that is entrusted to her, but even the ill health of the child is something she is held responsible for. So our creative idea puts the mother at the center of the film and amplifies how she gets blamed for the child falling ill, whereas the real reason is not her but her reliance on ineffective cockroach solutions.”

     

    The campaign has just gone live and will be played across major entertainment, news and sports channels in India. The on-air campaign will be ably supported by a plethora of activities on other media platforms like print, radio, digital, etc soon.

     

  • Through their offer in partnership with Ola Cabs, consumers can avail free Ola cab rides on recharge of Rs 50 or more on prepaid and postpaid numbers

    FreeCharge unveils campaign announcing new offer with Ola Cabs

    By A Correspondent

     

    FreeCharge has unveiled its new campaign titled ‘FreeCharge Ola Offer’ that premiered across traditional and digital media on10th March during the ICC World Cup 2015. Through their offer in partnership with Ola Cabs, consumers can avail free Ola cab rides on recharge of Rs 50 or more on prepaid and postpaid numbers.

     

    Keeping in tandem with the previous campaigns by FreeCharge, this 360 hi-decibel integrated media campaign too brings the joy of recharging online by giving consumers a rewarding experience. Conceptualized by Lowe Lintas and directed by Deepti Rao of Spotlights, the TVC’s that premiered during the World Cup have received a good response from consumers, especially the youth, garnering more than 1 million views in just 10 days into the campaign on YouTube.

     

    Speaking on the campaign, Alok Goel, CEO, FreeCharge said, “Consumers are shifting to making transactions from their smartphones and it is FreeCharge’s mission to make those transactions joyful and rewarding. This latest initiative is another step in rewarding users who recharge with FreeCharge.”

     

    The offer entails consumers to recharge their prepaid or postpaid number for just Rs 50 or more and in return, get an Ola cab ride free anywhere in the country worth Rs 250.

     

    Arun Iyer

    Speaking on the campaign, Arun Iyer,  National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas, said “Keeping in sync with the key campaign insight that “the youth of today are charged with being irresponsible with their money” and the brand’s role in helping the youth shed this tag, the Ola offer and communication was a perfect fit and enabled the brand to strengthen their position in this insight space.”

     

  • The campaign revolves around the core idea of 'Whatever be the wedding, we are ready'

    Lowe Lintas unveils another marriage-centered campaign for Tanishq

    By A Correspondent

     

    Taking forward the thought of being the jewellery shop of choice for consumers, Lowe Lintas Bangalore has unveiled a new campaign for Tanishq that portrays the brand as being a jewellery destination for all communities. The campaign revolves around the core idea of ‘Whatever be the wedding, we are ready.’

     

    Weddings in India are an elaborate affair which makes it the single-most important buying occasion for most jewellery buyers across all cultures and communities. Thus while Tanishq offers wedding jewellery for various regions, there is a common misconception that the brand is more for North Indians and does not have a wide selection of traditional wedding jewellery for other communities.

     

    Sharing her thoughts on the new proposition that the brand decided to venture with, Deepika Tiwari, GM – Marketing, Tanishq said, “Being India’s leading jewellery brand, Tanishq is the preferred jeweller for many Indian families. The wedding season is the single largest jewellery buying occasion for most Indian families, across all cultures and communities. In our latest campaign, we wanted to showcase our region-specific collections and communicate the fact that ‘hum kisi bhi shaadi key liye tayaar hain‘. In true Tanishq style, we have done it by using a progressive grandmother as the protagonist to deliver this message. As a brand, we continue to be present across the length and breadth of India, winning the hearts of many.”

     

    The campaign begins with a Punjabi family visiting a Tanishq showroom to select some traditional wedding jewellery for their daughter. The Tanishq salesman asks them what kind of jewellery they would like to see – Tamilian, Bengali, Marathi – and the mother replies Punjabi. As the bride-to-be tries a beautiful wedding set of her choice, her grandmother notices a South-Indian bride trying on some traditional jewellery. The old lady is so mesmerized by her traditional bridal look, that she tells her granddaughter that she shouldn’t get married now. The whole family is stunned. The grandmother continues and tells the girl that since it’s a love marriage she shouldn’t get married to a Punjabi but a South-Indian boy. This way she would have had two types of weddings and two types of beautiful traditional jewellery. The whole family is amused and the Punjabi bride-to-be just laughs it off. She tells her grandmother that she still has ample to time to convince the younger sister about the same.

     

    Commenting on the creative approach taken for the campaign, Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas + Partners stated, “When people usually visit jewellery stores, there’s a pre-conceived notion they have about the origins of the jewellery, with the North Indian make being a top-of-mind recall on most occasions. The campaign showcases other options – from various regional settings – that are available for people to choose from and how Tanishq is a one-stop shop for jewellery shopping for any community.”

     

    The campaign has been launched across India and will span several touch-points on air, online, and on ground.

     

  • Lowe Lintas's sequel campaign for Hit Anti Roach Gel urges consumers to 'Just count to 20'

    This Diwali, Godrej crafts a plan to hit cockroaches

    By A Correspondent

     

    With the initial campaign delivering good results for the brand, Lowe Lintas India has unveiled a sequel to Hit Anti Roach Gel that informs consumers to not kill cockroaches, but just count to 20.

     

    While the elements and packaging of the launch campaign in 2012 were clear on how to use the product, , a post-launch evaluation brought to light a fact that some users were not singing praises of the brand as desired. After analysing consumer attitude towards the brand, the team at Lowe Lintas were able to conclude that the unhappiness and doubt on product efficacy stemmed from incorrect product usage.

     

    Sharing his thoughts on the new campaign, Ajay Dang, VP – Marketing, Godrej Consumer Products Limited said, “We have a great product in Hit Anti Roach Gel. We need to ensure that our consumers get best results by using it in the right way. The first film concentrated on creating awareness about a disruptive innovation in the category. This second film is sure to get the message clear, on how to use the product and get a roach-free house in just 20 dots. The film is successful in communicating this message in the typical Hit style.”

     

    Arun Iyer

    Elaborating on the creative approach that was followed for the campaign, Arun Iyer, National Creative Director – Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “While the brief was very functional and product focused; it was important to ensure two key things, we maintained the kind of Hit humour that audiences have come to expect from us and also that every person who saw the film even once was left with the clear message of – minimum 20 dots in each room for best results.”

     

    The campaign will be played across all major television channels and will also take the traditional media routes including outdoor, digital, etc.

     

  • The idea behind the campaign was to use Arjun Kapoor as himself

    Lowe Lintas unveils Arjun Kapoor as ‘the new cool’ for Flying Machine

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lowe Lintas Bangalore has unveiled the latest campaign for India’s first home-bred denim brand, Flying Machine. The campaign showcases the latest Autumn-Winter collection by Flying Machine, for which it has appointed Arjun Kapoor as the brand ambassador.

     

    Alok Dubey

    Flying Machine has often used celebrities as brand ambassadors and the choice has been made keeping in mind the philosophy of ‘Who’s new? Who’s cool?’. Arjun Kapoor has been in the news lately for delivering a slew of hits against his name; also the fact that he is relatively new made him the perfect choice as the face of Flying Machine.

    The idea behind the campaign was to use Arjun Kapoor as himself. The brief thus was to create a story that revolved around Arjun and his pair of Flying Machine denims. Alok Dubey, CEO, Arvind Brands, said, “In just a year, Arjun Kapoor has become a ‘blue ocean’ actor. In light of so much competition, he has established himself with brains, body and attitude. He connects brilliantly with Flying Machine which embodies itself in craftsmanship without trying too hard.”

     

    Rajesh Ramaswamy
    Rajesh Ramaswamy

    The film begins in a hotel where Arjun Kapoor is staying. He has given his Flying Machine denims to the laundry and calls the housekeeping for the same. The rest of the film depicts how the hotel’s staff members react to Arjun’s request. A cat and mouse chase ensues between the attendants to deliver his denim. Rajesh Ramaswamy, ECD, Lowe Lintas, said, “The idea was to use Arjun interestingly. In a manner that also suits his image. Looking at Arjun, what makes him even cooler is that he’s completely unaware of his appeal. We thought using that side of his personality could be interesting.”

     

     

    Arun Iyer

    Arun Iyer, NCD, Lowe Lintas, added, “Arjun Kapoor embodies a lot of what Flying Machine believes in: being effortless and cool. The brand idea on Flying Machine is ‘the new cool.’ And Arjun Kapoor in no time has clearly become the new cool of Bollywood. The film demonstrates the fact that a simple act like calling for laundry can lead to an intense cat-fight when you are the new cool celebrity in town.”

     

    The campaign is currently on air and will be released across other media over a period of time.

     

  • Lowe Lintas has unveiled a new campaign for Godrej HIT that targets another serious vector borne disease – Dengue

    Lowe Lintas crafts new Dengue-themed campaign for Godrej Hit

     

     

    Having made an impact with its earlier renditions for Malaria, Lowe Lintas has unveiled a new campaign for Godrej HIT that targets another serious vector borne disease – Dengue. While the Malaria threat has been known for some time, Dengue has emerged as the world’s fastest growing vector borne disease.

     

    What makes Dengue more lethal is that it spreads very rapidly in urban areas and its symptoms are difficult to diagnose. It is a debilitating disease, which often leads to hospitalization and in extreme cases death. The fact that there is no vaccine as yet for the disease makes it even more alarming.

     

    The campaign by Lowe Lintas has been themed around the core idea – “Kill it before it kills you”.

     

    Sharing his thoughts on the new campaign, Ajay Dang, VP – Marketing, Godrej Consumer Products Limited said, “Successful campaigns to fight diseases across the globe have one thing in common, a powerful and simple message and a direct call to action. HIT’s fight against Dengue mosquito stems from this very philosophy. The simple message of “bhagao nahi maaro” and the call to action of using the most efficacious mosquito solution – Godrej HIT.”

     

    Instead of talking about multiple things, Godrej HIT decided to keep the communication simple by highlighting the most important characteristic of the mosquito – its stubborn and aggressive nature. The problem is severe and doesn’t have a cure hence the need for a tougher solution – Godrej HIT, that kills every mosquito, leaving nothing to chance.

     

    Elaborating on the creative approach that was followed for the campaign, Arun Iyer – National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “In order to make people aware about this new and unique Dengue mosquito our starting point was people’s casual attitude towards mosquitoes and how we could alter it. We decided to flip this casual attitude on its head and thus was born the idea ‘Dengue ke machchar ko marne se bada koi kaam nahi’. We thus, dramatized ‘killing mosquitoes’ as the most glorious job ever.”

     

    The campaign went live on August 18, 2014 and will be played across major entertainment, news and sports channels in India. The on-air campaign will be ably supported by a plethora of activities on other media platforms like print, radio, digital, outdoor, etc soon.

     

  • The India leg of the 12th edition of the annual Portfolio Night happened last evening in Mumbai

    Starry night for creatives

     

    By Shobhana Nair

     

    Okay, so the chief host was missing. So deep is his commitment to projects he takes on, that R Balki, Chief Creative Officer and Chairman, Lowe Lintas and Partners stayed away from the starry Portfolio Night that his agency was hosting this year.

     

    Portfolio Night is a global event where, as the event’s website notes, aspiring young advertising copywriters, art directors and designers meet with several renowned advertising creative directors in a fast-paced evening of advice, networking and recruitment. “While the evening has been jokingly called “speed-dating for creatives”, it’s really much more than that. In the eleven years since its inception, Portfolio Night has grown to a global event, reaching creative hubs in every continent in an evening where the best of the present meets the best of the years to come.”

     

    In its 12th year, Portfolio Night brings together thousands of young minds on a single night at various top cities across the world. This year, Portfolio Night 12 was held in Mumbai’s Four Seasons Hotel, and Lowe Lintas was the host. Last year, Portfolio Night 11 was hosted in Mumbai and Delhi. While the Mumbai edition was hosted JWT, Leo Burnett got the act together in the capital. This year’s edition saw 13000 participants in what’s often also dubbed as one the world’s biggest “Job Mela”. The work is reviewed on the basis of geniality, creativity and execution.

     

    Apart from the obvious nervous energy in the crowd, the host had put together a fun video on the star judges and their predictable reactions after hearing a creative idea which evoked a great amount of laughter from the audience. Bobby Pawar, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis reacted to the video on him by saying, “I loved it. It’s hilarious and they had a great material to play with.”

     

    Talking about the quality of work expected at the Portfolio Night, advertising veteran and Executive Chairman and Creative Director South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather Piyush Pandey said, “It’s not about wrong. It’s about picking up little nuggets and encouraging them.” Amer Jaleel, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas and Partners, who’s also the host, was seen in despair and wished he had this kind of platform when he had started out. “These 15 minutes are a big deal and it’s not about advertising but about an experience.”

     

    K S Chakravarty (Chax), National Creative Director, FCB Ulka, known as Chax was however not very lucky as the participants who he met were clueless about advertising in the first place. He explains, “You meet all kinds of people. It’s always luck of draw. Out of this entire lot, the chances are that only 5 participants will be really good and not necessary that I meet the brighter lot.”

     

    Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas and Partners shares that the team did miss R.Balki who was at that moment shooting for his movie but kept a close track on what’s happening. He further added, “It’s a fun evening. Of course, a responsibility but not a burden. Portfolio Night is a great platform for everyone and its getting evolved over the years.”

     

    “I feel like a celebrity,” exclaimed Deepanjali Singh, after being announced as All Star Nominee. Deepanjali was among those 75 participants who got a lifetime’s opportunity to present their portfolio in front of the biggies of the business.

     

    Bengaluru-based Mayank Bhayana was adjudged Portfolio Night – All Star from India. “I am still soaking in the news. It’s a terrific feeling indeed,” he said, adding: “And let’s not call it an award. It’s rather recognition that I can do a lot better than that.” The winner of Portfolio Night gets a chance to fly down to New York to take part in a week-long creative challenge on a specific brief.

     

    Hmmmm.

     

  • With Airtel & Vodafone already well entrenched into their data journey, Idea had the challenge to find a unique take on mobile internet in the 'ullu banoing' ad

    AdStrat: Idea Internet: No more foolin’ around

    Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas, India

     

    Name of the campaign: ‘Idea Internet lagoing, India ko no ullu banoing’

     

    The brief: With a focus to grow from a mobile broadband business and position itself as a strong data network services, Idea wants to demystify data services to the larger Indian population by giving its own unique cut of “a telephony idea that can change your life”.

     

    The challenge: With Airtel & Vodafone already well entrenched into their data journey, Idea had the challenge to find a unique take on mobile internet, that helps the users to own an appropriate mobile internet.

     

    The approach: The way it was to be done is to dip into an interesting cultural truth that consumers across the country can identify with, and resolve it using Idea’s data services.

     

    A common phenomenon in almost every part of India, is how some people to make money or gain benefits, tend to take advantage of the ill-informed by coloring the truth or concealing the facts. One can see it everywhere; from some autos to taxis taking a longer route if you are new in a city, to big scams like selling off disputed land to a third party. This manner of making a fool of someone is colloquially called “ullu banana”. So what can Idea resolve here?

     

    The team felt if information is the key to this problem, then Idea can resolve it by offering information on fingertips through its data services. Idea can offer instant access to information through the internet or other services such that Indians are no longer ill-informed and can be saved from these big and small con artists.

     

    The creative idea: ‘With Idea internet in hand, no one will get conned’ when rendered in a creative way led to ‘Idea Internet lagoing, India ko no ullu banoing’

     

    The execution: The approach to communicate this message was through an informative yet funny film that showcases occasions where people usually misuse information to their advantage. But, their lie is exposed with the instant access to information on phone through Idea’s data services. Example: A guide lying to tourists who then search on the web and the truth is exposed; to a man dropping names to escape a cop but is caught etc. All the while the dominant message being – now with Idea’s data services nobody can fool anyone in India.

     

    Credits:

    Creative: Arun Iyer, Ashwin Varkey, Jaywant Dhabholkar, Carlos Pereira, Subodh Menon, Sanjay Ramanathan, Sebastian Gonsalves, Vivek Buchude, Rohan Wakkar and Prasanna Bhave

     

    Account Management: Raj Gupta, Satish Ramanathan, Sachin Pandirkar, Muralikrishnan, Sneha Saha

     

    Planning: S Subramanyeswar

     

  • A few recent ads seem to be embracing the luxury of time, giving audiences films that tell a compelling story. Is it a trend, and will it work?

    A long story short: Rise of the 100+ seconder

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Long copy became synonymous with David Ogilvy after he espoused its cause in his book Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963): “There is a universal belief in lay circles that people won’t read long copy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.”

     

    While one may not see too much long copy in print these days, television commercial writers seem to be following the great man’s adage, if recent TVCs are anything to go by.

     

    Dove’s Real Beauty Sketch campaign on the digital platform and the latest Tata Sky commercial, which made waves for being all of three minutes long, are proof enough. But in today’s fast-paced world where the 30-seconder rules, do such ads really work?

     

    MxMIndia asks adwallahs what are the characteristics of a lengthy ad or campaign, and why some work – and some don’t.

     

    Raghu Bhat, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications Ltd & Founder, Fungus Designs

    The biggest challenge any advertiser faces is how to make one watch his/her advertisement. For instance, if we take a movie, people make an effort to go and watch the film; the same isn’t the case of advertising world. How many log on or switch on their television sets to watch a particular ad? Hence, it is difficult to find a programme which has a captive audience as well as has a two- or three-minute window to showcase an ad. People are watching IPL, but spots are sold for 10-seconders.

     

    For a mass brand, to launch a lengthy campaign, it cannot depend on the digital platform alone. It has to use television as a medium to reach its TG. And has to go beyond traditional content to catch people’s attention. For example, the Dove campaign turned out to be more of a social commentary and hence, caught people’s eye.

     

    Ramanuj Shastry, Co-Founder and Director, Infectious Advertising

    I would call such long-duration campaigns as branded content rather than advertisements, because people watch them more on the digital platform. A lot of such lengthy content is launched online, especially internationally, to go viral. However, it should have an ongoing story which will make one ask ‘what happens next?’. Apart from the story, other elements like music, acting, direction too are important. For such content to be played on air means that a channel has enough air space to fill; otherwise it doesn’t make sense to run them on TV.

     

    Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas & Partners

    I don’t think such lengthy advertisements or campaigns always work. The Dove real beauty sketch campaign worked because it was intriguing. It was almost like an experiment captured, which clicked with the people. But personally speaking, I think the Tata Sky is a bit too long, which wasn’t necessarily required. To run such ads on TV isn’t feasible for anyone and everyone. Maybe Tata Sky can afford to do so because they have their own channel.

     

    Agnello DiasAgnello Dias, Chairman and Co-founder, TapRoot India

    The Tata Sky TVC is one in a million. Today the biggest barrier the advertising agencies face is duration. Therefore, it is impossible to create something creative. TVCs today are just a reminder of a brand. What used to be known as edits are now the actual advertisement shown on television.

     

     

    Kartik Smetacek, Group Creative Director, Dratfcb + Ulka

    I think each piece of communication has its own ideal length (which isn’t always a pre-defined 30 seconds). A long-format ad has the advantage of drawing you into the story and building a much richer experience before the brand message is delivered. What you lose in frequency, you more than make up for in impact. Apple’s 1984 spot being a case in point. The key to a successful long-format ad is a compelling storyline that resolves to a relevant, well integrated brand message. The narrative must demand an extended build-up, so that every extra second adds to the intrigue. Apart from that, impeccable execution – whether it’s cinematography, casting or music – greatly helps the cause.

     

    Last year, Chipotle released a two-minute film online that was totally worth the time. It was an animated film that told the story of a farmer who dismantles his high-tech, mechanized farm to re-embrace a simpler, free-range approach. Set to an epic track (Willie Nelson covering Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’), the film kept you riveted till the final second. The ad made its TV debut at the Grammies, by which time it had already travelled virally around the world, redefining Chipotle for a whole generation of customers.