Brands that cut through: Horlicks, Cadbury, A23, Milk Bikis, Dream11, Tata Tiscon, DailyHunt, PhonePe, Wipro, Femina, Sunfeast.
Horlicks | Tum Kab Itne Bade Ho Gaye
The very best visualisation of milk, wheat and vitamins, or the most articulate explanation of their benefits, would not have created the wholesomeness this spot delivers. The commercial shifts the pivot from ‘helps in growth’ to a girl who is now all grown up and the magic moment when her mother realises it with wonderment. The brand is speaking to mothers in the right tone of voice – the young woman nonchalantly replaces the car’s tyre while her mother looks for help (added points for the younger daughter extending a helping hand). There’s no song and dance around the empowered portrayal of the next generation of women and there shouldn’t be. This should be the new normal.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk | Sang Rahiyo
When you have cracked a thought like ‘How far will you go for love’ and set the brand direction, you can go very, very far. This piece of content (music video) aligns perfectly with the young love that Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk has owned for as long as one can remember, with two remarkable films since Valentine’s Day this year. This video takes a slight detour to say, “How far will you go to say you miss someone’. The music is tailored for the message and is by itself art to fall in love with. This makes for a wonderful addition to the core brand work: perfectly aligned and augmenting the brand aura.
A23 | Rummy Well Played
I do not recall seeing such thought-through propositions coming through in a category like online rummy. Or maybe they weren’t so cleverly articulated. Or perhaps my digital bubble didn’t allow them through. This is category-elevating work that spells out the app’s differentiation claim smartly and smoothly. And extremely engagingly. Well played, A23.
Britannia Milk Bikis | Over 40 Years Of Friendship
This heartwarming ‘reunion’ revolves around friends who had parted ways in their youth and does what it sets out to do – establish Milk Bikis’ longstanding and deep bond with its customers for over 40 years. There are sub-titles, but they won’t really be needed to follow the storyline. It’s a story anyone can relate to.
Dream11 | #YeApnaGameHai
‘Yahan Sab Same Hai’ as the central theme of these films helps the brand stand out amidst a deluge of cricketer-filled advertising. The campaign is relatable with the theme of each spot coming from the street cricket we know, to underline the equal world of Dream11. The spots live up to the brand’s advertising that we have admired over the years. And one can’t help notice that some of our cricketers are getting better and better on screen.
Tata Tiscon | Engineers Day 2020 | The Build
Tata Tiscon has managed to deliver a befitting third edition of its Teacher’s Day series in the context of the lockdown. In doing so, it fuses its annual salute to engineers with a warm, human story.
DailyHunt | In Your Language | Right Recos
The films on air now are a seamless extension of the cheeky brand of humour DailyHunt has crafted with its earlier campaigns. So much so, that one struggles to differentiate the old films from the new. The ‘Languages’ and ‘Right recommendations’ spots seem new, if my memory serves me right. The approach helps the brand stand out, entertain and get its message across without ambiguity.
PhonePe | #KarteJaBadhteJa | Inspector Desai
A smart set of scripts and two fine actors who rarely falter ensure that the ‘Inspector Desai’ series gets the message across. Everyone, at least in the police station set-up, has PhonePe, as do 20 crore Indians, we understand. You can also pay with the app at more than 1 crore stores. More importantly, we don’t get bored one bit while assimilating these facts that may not be of particular interest to us.
Wipro Touch-Free Lights | #SurprisinglyHuman
The film lives up to the brand’s premise of ‘Surprisingly Human’. It manages to infuse a human touch into the category of lighting, with this simple exchange between a doctor and his daughter. The category of contactless lighting lends itself naturally to the physical distancing norms of Covid times.
Femina | #ActAgainstAbuse
These impactful words are rendered more powerful when voiced by a breed of respected actors, who have proved to the world that they have a voice of their own. One often hears people talking about over-use of a particular issue by brands, be it domestic violence or gender sensitivity. An issue needs to be addressed as long as it remains an issue. Domestic violence against women remains an issue and a brand that speaks to women is right in speaking for them.
Sunfeast Bounce | #BaccheKoBachao
‘The inner child’ comes alive and wants to play with the kids, completing the Sunfeast Bounce transformation. The ‘Bachche Ko Bachao’ chant sets this one up nicely for the reveal. Solid proposition, nicely delivered.
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