Xiaomi India smartphone and smart TV brand, has roped in actor Pankaj Tripathi as the brand ambassador for its smartphone category. With focus on innovation, and user-centric design, Xiaomi has gained popularity among consumers.
Welcoming the award-winning actor to the Xiaomi family, Anuj Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Xiaomi India said: ‘’We are thrilled to have Pankaj Tripathi as the newest member of the Xiaomi family. At Xiaomi, we have always been committed to delivering the best features at an honest price to empower our users with exceptional performance and lag-free usage. Pankaj Tripathi embodies the essence of our brand vision and his ability to strike a chord with the masses will help further cement our ambition of making technology accessible to all. We believe that Pankaj’s association with Xiaomi India will take our brand to new heights, and we are excited about this association.”
Capri Global Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) has roped in actor Pankaj Tripathi as the brand ambassador. As part of the two-year association, he will appear in multimedia campaigns for the brand and raise awareness about the products and services through direct consumer outreach programs.
Speaking about the association, Rajesh Sharma, Director, Capri Global, said, “Capri Global’s vision to ease credit access for underserved and unbanked people, thus act as a force of change for the financial inclusivity. As we are growing, the Group aims to reinforce brand equity and strengthen brand recall in rural India. The regional connection coupled with the immense popularity of Mr. Tripathi will help us create solid footholds and increase brand recall as well as market share. Hailing from rural India, Mr. Tripathi has started his journey from the grassroots and made a mark in the film industry. He represents our key customers’ aspirations who want to start from scratch and envision achieving success. We believe he is a good match for our brand advocacy. Our customer segment would be able to relate with him and understand the importance of struggle and fame in their life.”
So, it’s been a very usual and unusual IPL so far. Usual, because Mumbai Indians (MI) have lost the first two matches. But the MI captain Rohit Sharma felt it was business as usual in his post-match interview. Unusual, as Chennai Super Kings have also lost the first three matches on a trot, albeit after years. Unusual also for CSK as Dhoni, after relinquishing his captaincy seems to have taken it back and is also scoring runs as in his heydays.
And as usual, Dream 11 continues its dream run at IPL. The idea of “Dream Big” has seen many new frontiers. The series of various players like Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Patel reminiscing their struggles but not giving up on their big dream has two new creatives so far. One, with Pant and the other with Sharma. And this time, they pay tribute to some behind the scene people like the groundsman or even a stranger helping Pant at a gurudwara. The thought of one is never alone if one’s big dreams fits seamlessly into the Dream Big theme of Dream 11. Whew! Too many dreams here.
https://youtu.be/3JazfubLOgI
Dream big is also following a classical strategy of thematic and tactical ads. For the uninitiated, when advertising was the be-all and end-all of all communications, brand ads were created for brand equity, may be once a year, extolling the virtues of a brand and its personality. These were called thematic ads. Interspersed through the year were tactical ads which by nature would drive sales. These were by nature about inducements or sale pointers. Personally, I think this was more of a jargon-spitting marketer’s delight, as for the end-consumer. every communication is a message and she or he does not delve into it with a separate compartment of thematic and tactical in her or his mind. The ads with Dhawan, the Pandya brothers, Ashwin and even Pant in a metro asking people to try the Dream 11 seems to be in the genre of the tactical ads of yore.
https://youtu.be/Dn7ixMGB_dM
But one dream seems to be missing from Dream 11. Dhoni has disappeared from all communications and has now appeared for Winzo. Another gaming app. Winzo is not about a fantasy league. It’s about skill and social gaming and I presume it’s clear of any controversy related to “gambling” as Dream 11 is. Maybe that’s why Dhoni moved away from Dream 11. In the ad, Dhoni cheekily starts by saying that he is called gamechanger so he is changing his game from today. Very unusual but typically clever from Dhoni.
Quite unusually, I am seeing Byju’s ads without Shah Rukh Khan. And these are good. Emphasising on understanding the concept rather than memorising for an exam. ‘Samjho seekho jeeto’ encapsulates the idea well. As a parent, these resonate with me more than the Shah Rukh ads which seemed more gimmicky. I also think Shah Rukh’s personality does not gel with that of Byju’s and made the brand more flippant.
There has been a lot of buzz about the new Spotify ads. I like them because they amplify the generation gap between Gen Z and the millennials as also Gen X. While Gen X and the millennials are passionate about politics or shopping offline or any discussion and are more social, GenZ is more reclusive and more digitally social. So, Spotify is their ‘kavach’ or protective armour from these indulgences of the older generations. Unusual, yet simple.
I also think that the Meesho ads capture a similar trait of Gen Z. The features of photo search or free delivery are neither new nor unique but they capture the essence of Gen Z. While millennials or Gen X prefer offline shopping and want to see all options, Gen Z is not only used to online but also wants trendy or happening products. So, these features serve them well.
Does Aamir Khan have a triple role in his next film? The series of Netmed ads make me think so. Or, wait! Was it Pharmeasy? Or 1mg? At least Pankaj Tripathi was not about triple or double role. Not only are the names confusing but so are the generic benefits. From a consumer perspective, when I fall sick, I need medicines, fast. Not in a day or in a few hours, but in minutes. So, except for long-term medications like for diabetes or cholesterol, I am not sure how these medicine aggregators can help. What do the investors and these start-ups know that we don’t?
And just when I was about to sign off, I saw two similar ads from PepsiCo company. For Pepsi and for Slice. It seems the company has taken competitive stance as a corporate paradigm. But then what’s the fun if unusual things don’t happen. More on the two ads next week.
Vikas Mehta, a senior advertising professional, is now a strategy consultant and educator based in Dehradun. He has a considered, often contrarian view that we enjoy consuming (and contesting) on most things around him: cinema, cricket, advertising, politics and life in general. AdsOnIPL is a series of reviews of the ads aired around IPL programming. The column is in its second season. His views here are personal.
Bail Kolhu Mustard Oil, a brand of BL Agro, has launched a new campaign. The TVC advocates to equalise gender roles in the kitchen with tagline #RasodeMeinMardHai. It stars actors Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The advertisement was conceptualised and created by Leads Brand Connect.
Commenting on the launch of Bail Kolhu’s new TVC, Ashish Khandelwal, Managing Director, BL Agro, said: “Bail Kolhu is a long-standing brand with recall value rooted in consumers. So, our vision with the TVC went beyond generating brand lift and into advocating #RasodeMeinMardHai concept, and we couldn’t have found a better fit to champion the social cause than Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpayee, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Their persona and journeys are very apropos of the initiative, which is why the message we wanted to convey comes out very naturally and effectively.”
Added Leads Brand Connect CEO Sanjay Srivastava: “Leads Brand Connect team came up with an extremely unconventional but necessary concept of “why should cooking be a woman’s job alone.” It’s a stereotype that is often represented in advertisements, and we wanted to break that chain while simultaneously supporting the idea that men should cook too. With Pankaj, Nawazuddin, and Manoj, we were able to bring that out without being on the nose about it and, of course, creating more recall for Bail Kolhu.”
Nouriture cattle feed brand of Anmol Feeds has announced actor Pankaj Tripathi as its first brand ambassador for a TVC. The aim is to change perceptions of its range of products through its positioning of ‘Sirf chusti nahi, pushti bhi’. The creative agency handling the campaign is Shreyansh Innovations.
Speaking on the campaign Amit Saraogi, Managing Director, Anmol Feeds, said: “We wanted to create a high recall for our cattle feed brand, Nouriture Godhenu Gold, and our superlative product deserved a brand ambassador like Mr. Pankaj Tripathi who has a unique appeal across the country with his own inimitable style. He is an energetic and versatile actor with a rich legacy of work. Pankaj’s common man personality resonates with our brand values, and we believe the association will go a long way in not only achieving the desired top-of-the-mind brand recall but also in bringing about a paradigm shift in farmer behaviour towards the right feed. Our campaign aims to educate and inform the farmers about why they need the right cattle feed for better yield. We hope the words, Sirf chusti nahi, pushti bhi is embedded in the minds of every farmer and stays for a long time.”
LinkedIn has launched a new brand campaign to support the launch of Hindi language on the platform. The creative, conceptualised by The Glitch, celebrates Hindi being used in the professional context – bringing to life a breadth of workplace scenarios in warm, emotive ways. The campaign is conceptualised and executed by The Glitch. Actors Vidya Balan and Pankaj Tripathi have been enlisted to support the launch of the campaign as the ‘voice’ of LinkedIn in Hindi.
Said Sivaram Parameswaran, Head of Brand Marketing, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn: “Hindi is spoken by nearly 44% of the Indian population today, and with the introduction of the language on LinkedIn, we hope to foster an even deeper sense of belonging for Hindi speaking professionals in the workplace. With the launch of Hindi, our goal is to bring down language barriers for Hindi speaking professionals on LinkedIn, so more professionals and customers can unlock greater value from the platform through content, jobs, and networking, and express themselves in a language that they are comfortable with.”
Added Lucille Pereira, Creative Director, The Glitch: “Hindi is a milestone launch in LinkedIn’s journey of becoming more accessible and equitable for Hindi speaking professionals. And to celebrate this landmark moment, we wanted to create a campaign that would build a strong audio and visual association between the Hindi alphabet and workplace scenarios. Ergo, we chose key visual mediums to help people see these Hindi words representing cultural & professional scenarios, and key audio channels with high-profile voiceovers that would help them hear these words – a collective of which helps us effectively land the message that LinkedIn is now available in Hindi as well.”
Grey group has launched an integrated campaign for Baidyanath Chyawanprash starring actor Pankaj Tripathi.
Said Ajay Sharma, Director, Baidyanath: “Baidyanath has always put the customer above everything else. Our mission is to provide the most authentic and efficacious products to the consumer and to educate the consumer on the benefits of Ayurvedic formulations and processes. This campaign is an embodiment of our mission and a testament of our commitment to providing the most authentic and complete products. It provides the consumer with the right tools and knowledge to make an informed decision when evaluating Chyawanprash, and we felt Pankaj Tripathi, with his bonafide connect with the audience, would be the appropriate choice to deliver such a powerful message.”
Added Ketan Desai, Chief Operating Officer, Grey: “Baidyanath is among the original champions of Ayurveda in India. It has been promoting this traditional wisdom much before Ayurveda became fashionable. It is only befitting for a brand with such a strong foundation in the Ayurvedic knowledge to create disruption in an otherwise low involvement and undifferentiated category. Through this campaign, we are not only promoting Baidyanath Chyavanprash but also encouraging people to check what goes inside their Chyawanprash before making a choice. Just like for other healthcare brands, we want them to make the choice of their Chyawanprash brand an informed one. And with Pankaj Tripathi, we have a credible figure of authority to drive home the message.”
BL Agro Industries, a FMCG company, has launched the second television commercial of its signature brand, ‘Bail Kolhu’, mustard oil. It features ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ fame trio – Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pankaj Tripathi. The TVC created by Leads Brand Connect, a multi-dimensional creative agency, is launched across the national television channels.
Said Ashish Khandelwal, Managing Director, BL Agro: “Bail Kolhu is our 50-year-old signature brand, which has become a household name over the years. We have always intended to deliver the best quality edible oil because we understand that food is a common factor amongst all of us. Be it any occasion, food is the ingredient which connects us all and makes the occasion a memorable one. With this TVC, we wish to highlight the trigger food gives us.”
Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL) has signed actor Pankaj Tripathi as its brand ambassador.
Said Rishi Gupta, MD & CEO, Fino Payments Bank: “This is Fino’s first ever opportunity to have a brand ambassador, a milestone in itself. We are extremely pleased to have Pankaj Tripathi, a celebrated artist, as our brand ambassador. Pankaj’s personality resonates our brand values and we believe the association will go a long way in not only achieving the desired top of the mind brand recall but also in bringing about a paradigm shift in consumer behaviour towards the adoption of digital banking.”
The ad by BL Agro Industries’ mustard oil brand, Bail Kolhu is interesting – due to its somewhat unique approach. I have never seen ads from the brand, and I am not sure if they were regular advertisers on social media and TV.
This TVC/DVC featuring Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pankaj Tripathi- the three much-loved and hated characters from Gangs of Wasseypur is trying too hard, too much too soon. They belong to the core markets of the brand. They are known to have struggled with a late entry into Bollywood, finally succeeding against all odds. The fit seems perfect.
The three actors are damn good, and they deliver on expected lines. As depicted in the film and what people know, their life stories resonate with the audience and seem an apt fit for what the brand wants to communicate. They are known more for their craft more than being stars. People find them grounded and relatable in real life- something that the brand wants the audience to believe about it. In some press release, I read these values are – Perseverance, Purity and Dependability.
The ad is simple. The celebrity brand ambassador reflects on his life, and short clips of their interviewed story make the point. There is an unmistaken undercurrent of struggle before success. Additionally, the ad moves into the expected lines of showing the relentless pursuit of their dream and not leaving it mid-way. There it empathises on a determined-focussed approach and never letting it go. This is then transferred on to brand as it recounts to have followed a similar life pattern.
It seems a good move when the brand is trying to expand and is engaging in creating the business delivery channels. However, when it comes to the consumer, this alone may not suffice. I believe that they will most likely take it further with the three ambassadors and product feature and/or benefit-led communication. If it is there, the brand will be better advised to bring them when the iron of buzz and discussion is hot. Otherwise, this disruptive sounding initial communication may just disrupt their plans.
There is a lack of brand name integration in the film other than Manoj Bajpai reference to Kohlu ke Bail. At the end of the commercial, the bridge-line ‘Mehnat ke zanoon se kamyabi ke sakoon tak hamari pehchan ka safar bhi kuch eisha hi raha’ ( our journey towards gaining the identity has been similar, from passionate efforts to the comfort of success) that tries to wrap up the stories and link them to the brand is good but may not do the job.
The brand association remains weak. It hinges on the unique sounding brand name- something that the film has really not exploited enough-the complete picture of mustard oil making the traditional way.
The multi-star single film is different. It looks as if the film were initiated as three independent films but then stitched together for a shorter version. Something the brand should avoid as it clutters and sends a confusing message. It could work better as individual stories than overlapping ones. The first test should be if the film communicates the right message clearly and cleverly in the least number of exposures.
At the same time, compliment the team behind it who wrote and directed the ad- and the client who was sure what they wanted from the ad. There is enough buzz and talk about the ad and mostly positive.
I hope this is just the beginning and not the end of the campaign. The brand will have to move fast and invest in moving from awareness and action at the trade level to interest and effort at the consumer level. The brand may need some tangibles to make the shift; maybe the brand could do with some second opinions and advice.
Ogilvy’s new campaign for processed food company Nilon’s has a series of films to showcase their range of products. The campaign released on TV and digital media features Pankaj Tripathi as a cooking obsessed gangster and shows the love that goes into making Nilon’s products with tagline ‘Isme Pyaar Mila Hai’.
Said Dipak Sanghvi, Managing Director, Nilon’s: “Wheneveryou see Pankaj Ji’s shows or movies, it never seems like he’s acting, since it comes so naturally to him. Similarly, at Nilon’s, making topmost quality products with passion comes naturally to us. What made us choose Pankaj Ji as our brand proponent was the shared passion for doing things well along with the secret ingredient called love. This also led us to choose our tag line, ‘Isme pyaar mila hai’.”
Added Rajheev Agarwal, Director and CEO Nilon’s: “We are very excited about our new campaign with Pankaj Tripathi. The commercials have come out very entertaining, with lots of drama and a fun quotient. We have already received glowing response to them. Full credit to the Ogilvy team and director Prashant Issar.”
Said Anurag Agnihotri, Managing Partner, Creative, Ogilvy India-West: “Nilon’s was going to create brand communication after a very long time hence what was required most was achieving high recall and memorability. For a category which mostly talks to homemakers, we introduced Mr. Pankaj Tripathi, a very unlikely candidate into the mix but as a food loving gangster who spreads the message of love through his love for cooking. We hope these ads will be memorable.”
BL Agro Industries Limited has announced a multi-starrer brand endorsement with Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pankaj Tripathi as the faces for ‘Bail Kolhu Kacchi Ghani Mustard Oil’. They will be seen together in the commercial TVC of BL Agro and on social media campaigns of the brand.
Said Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Chairman and Managing Director, BL Agro: “Bail Kolhu is our company’s flagship product, which has been in the market for the last 5 decades. It holds a very strong market and a goodwill in the edible oils category, and we wanted somebody who hold the similar position in the minds of people. Manoj ji, Nawazuddin ji and Pankaj ji are not only actors but are household names who connect with people from across the country. All the three gentlemen are self-made and are the legends in the Bollywood industry. Their determination, grit, hard work and perseverance to reach to the heights they are at today, corresponds our journey as well. We also started our journey from nowhere; had our own set of challenges, learnings, and ultimately, we saw success. With this amazing trio, we could rewind, relive and connect with our journey”.
Added Richa Khandelwal, Director, Leads Brand Connect, the advertising agency of BL Agro: “Bail Kolhu is the pioneer and flagship product of BL Agro Industries which is a symbol of purity and strength. A thoughtful brand positioning was important for Bail Kolhu, which has been successfully there in the market since ages. On-boarding the iconic trio was an introspective decision as all three of them reflect strength, vibrance and power, as individuals. Also, they share a great chemistry, coming from small towns and humble family backgrounds, similar to Bail Kolhu, which was started by family members from a modest background who hailed from a small town in Uttar Pradesh. Also, the three actors have a great fan following and are famous names amongst the masses, they could be easily connected with the brand, which also has a cult following across the Nation.”
So, it’s been a very usual and unusual IPL so far. Usual, because Mumbai Indians (MI) have lost the first two matches. But the MI captain Rohit Sharma felt it was business as usual in his post-match interview. Unusual, as Chennai Super Kings have also lost the first three matches on a trot, albeit after years. Unusual also for CSK as Dhoni, after relinquishing his captaincy seems to have taken it back and is also scoring runs as in his heydays.
LinkedIn has launched a new brand campaign to support the launch of Hindi language on the platform. The creative, conceptualised by The Glitch, celebrates Hindi being used in the professional context – bringing to life a breadth of workplace scenarios in warm, emotive ways. The campaign is conceptualised and executed by The Glitch. Actors Vidya Balan and Pankaj Tripathi have been enlisted to support the launch of the campaign as the ‘voice’ of LinkedIn in Hindi.
Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL) has signed actor Pankaj Tripathi as its brand ambassador.
The ad by BL Agro Industries’ mustard oil brand, Bail Kolhu is interesting – due to its somewhat unique approach. I have never seen ads from the brand, and I am not sure if they were regular advertisers on social media and TV.
BL Agro Industries Limited has announced a multi-starrer brand endorsement with Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pankaj Tripathi as the faces for ‘Bail Kolhu Kacchi Ghani Mustard Oil’. They will be seen together in the commercial TVC of BL Agro and on social media campaigns of the brand.