Brands that cut through: Cofsils, Goibibo, Ola, Great Learning, McDonalds, Bajaj Allianz, Ford, The Times of India, Kitex, MIB – GoI, Sony Sports, Faasos.
Cofsils | Gargle For Good Health
Sometimes, you don’t need an idea to come from a focused group or the consumer’s mind. Especially if you find a device like the sound of gargling and can make it interesting enough through the execution. The category appeals to the need for protection in the midst of a pandemic. It is a welcome change to see a light-hearted effort to sell such a product. When you have 999 products promising to kill ‘99.9 percent germs’, it helps to stand out.
Goibibo | #BreakBhiEssentialHai
The pain of being locked down for months and its many manifestations are on screen through the protagonist. The humor route works quite well to lead people to the online platform, asking them not to ask existential questions of themselves like pondering on what is essential and what isn’t. On BreakBhiEssentialHai.com, one is asked to take a quiz, to figure the kind of travel one is craving. The brand must be hoping that once encouraged, they will go somewhere with Goibibo. The campaign offers enough by way of encouragement.
Ola | Every Mom During The Lockdown
Interesting piece of content this, which manages to drive home Ola’s safe cabs message and also plug in Tupperware a couple of times. The brands get bang for their buck because the core content is solid and one of the performers (the mother) is outstanding.
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Great Learning | #PowerAhead
Using the device of two friends, one of whom has climbed the corporate ladder faster and is hence the other’s boss now, is genius. The ‘appraisal’ makes for a very interesting setting in which to deliver the message of higher learning leading to career growth.
McDonalds | Big Hug Burger
“Hug to say thank you’ and ‘Hug to say hi’ would not have had too much of a connect with burgers, except with a ‘Big’ prefix to promote a ‘Big Burger’. And how brilliant is that! Once that connect was made clear, the challenge would have been to bring it to life. The vibrant spots make for entertaining watching while promoting the ‘Big Hug Burgers’. Everyone needs a big hug right now.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance | #CaringlyPaws
Confession. I had never heard of pet dog insurance until I saw this set of films. But I could relate to each of them because they are not selling the insurance plan, they are telling us how dear our four-legged friends are, while just being who they are. Each offers a slice of life between a pet parent and his/her dog. One canine wonder interrupts a woman working on her laptop, while another simply welcomes its human home like only a dog can. The least a pet owner can do is pick up an insurance plan to protect their health? Sold.
Ford | Zindagi – An Ode To Life
Delighted to see this poetry series by Ford continue after the lockdown. The brand has built this content play with poetry, while also allowing enough space to showcase its cars. This edition marries the poetry with the Covid19 context and is – as the title says – an ode to life. Choosing to contextualise for the present (and hence remain relevant), makes it similar to some other brand spots that have tried to inspire in the lockdown. Yet, this Ford ‘poem’ manages to keep us engaged throughout with this effort.
The Times Of India | #NewspaperMornings
Who else but a market leader to speak for the category? The execution elevates the film, though the broad concept may not be a first. There is a certain warmth that the film exudes throughout, making it about the readers and their relationship with the newspaper and not the point of view of the paper.
Kitex Lungi | Kerala’s Official WFH Wear
Though this work went live in early July, it came to my notice only when a corporate honcho said some good words about it on social media more recently. While the work thus enjoyed its second wave, I enjoyed viewing this more than once and sharing it with friends originally from ‘God’s Own Country’. It is so simple that one cannot miss the point. All at once, it rides the work-from-home wave, invokes a bit of local pride with the attire, and speaks for the category.
MIB GoI | Don’t Be A ‘Thookichand’
How often have we seen a car window roll down (or the door opened slightly at a signal) to allow those within to spit out whatever is in their mouths? A shameful practice that is quite the norm. A critical issue has been addressed here and dealt with the way it deserved to be. There is absolutely no stigma associated with spitting in public. The Covid19 pandemic has given us enough reason to call out the offenders and snub out the menace. There was only one way to do it – say it loud and clear and shame them in public. Which is what the protagonist does.
Sony Sports India | #AusVsEng | #ForTheRealFans
There are “fans” and there are “real fans’” is what these two spots try to tell us. Australia versus England is the legacy rivalry and hence billed as ‘The Fiercest Battle’. It’s not about making noise on social media, but following the real action, says the broadcaster. Game on.
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Faasos | #BoreNoMore
There’s only one reason this features in this week’s column – for casting the man of the house as the one in charge of cooking and his lady partner as the one seeking some change from the usual fare he dishes out. It’s been done without too much fuss, letting this ‘new’ normal drop on us.
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