Brands that cut through: OPPO, Kannan Devan, Amazon Alexa, Swiggy Instamart, HUL, Zomato, CEAT, Spotify, Britannia Jim Jam, Asian Paints, Naselin, Star Sports.
OPPO Reno5 Pro | Eyes For You
This could well have been a promo for Dubai Tourism shot on the phone brand behind the work. There’s enough time for the delightful story to make its way unhurriedly through a few key pivots. This is a piece of content that the brand can rightfully be proud of. As a standalone film and piece of entertainment, it works well. For ‘Shot on XYZ phone’ format branded content, it works even better. It’s distinct from what we have seen in the genre until now and tells an original, endearing story. A story that aspiring filmmakers will resonate with. It’s also a piece of work they will aspire to.
Kannan Devan Tea | Raised In The Land (Malayalam)
Tata Tea picked the large heartedness of Delhi-ites and the non-compromising nature of Bengali foodies, among others, to underline its flavours based on an innate understanding of regional preferences. Amongst all the work in this lot, the strategy of highlighting Kerala’s diversity and doing that through a lighthearted celebration of its different dialects, should make this count as the most nuanced. The filmmaking rises to the occasion and together, they help Kannan Devan deliver a uniquely Malayali flavour.
Amazon Alexa India | Ek Neeli Si Roshni Se Kar Li Jo Dosti
So Alexa has been in India for three years now, and it has stories to tell about the roles it plays in the lives of many. Those heartwarming, life-changing stories have been brought to life compellingly, strung by a common thread – all the protagonists have made friends with the blue light.
Swiggy Instamart | #TheBetterHalfCookbook
The cookbook is a very clever device to address the lack of gender parity in kitchen duties. Besides waking us up to the biased reality of the present, it also enables duos to break the roles in half through its recipes. The integration with the Swiggy Instamart for ordering ingredients should have been a no-brainer for someone who thought of this book. I am hoping an online version will be out soon, if it isn’t already.
HUL | SabunKiSachai.com
This was bound to come soon. And the platform SabunKiSachai.com appears to be thought through. It addresses the problem at its root, underlining that pH isn’t everything by asking what would happen if we looked for pH in everything. Yet, my sense is that we haven’t seen the last of the pH war in soaps.
Zomato | Eat What Makes You Happy
‘Eat what makes you happy’ is a sound approach to comfort and lure humans to indulge. The ones on screen are undeniably happy. While the camera captures their delight, there’s something about this soundtrack that transports us very close to the seventh heaven they are in.
CEAT Puncture Safe Bike Tyres | Keel Wale Baba
CEAT is a top-of-mind brand in its category thanks to the cut-through advertising it has managed to create, top-of-mind being the ‘Roads are full of idiots’ work. Here, the brand turns to a ‘Baba of Nails’ to communicate ‘Puncture Safe’ tyres. There is no chance of missing the message. And there is very little chance of changing the channel. What more could one ask?
Spotify Premium | Mini Plans
The work rides on two typical use cases of the ‘Mini’ offering: a friends trip and dance practice for a sangeet ceremony. Riding on humour to good effect, the advantages of Spotify’s offering come through spot on.
Britannia Jim Jam | #AnythingForJimJam
The real test of such work should be whether it works on people who don’t have a clue of the last time Jimmy and Jammy worked for the brand. This edition passes the test quite comfortably.
Asian Paints Ultima Protek | Lamination Wala Paint
The ‘lamination’ route has proved to be an ageless platform on which the brand could build its communication, in Hindi and regional languages. Yet there exists the challenge to refresh the communication and Asian Paints manages to do that splendidly here. The ambassador’s performance is as priceless as the ‘lamination’ route.
Naselin ColdPlus Rub | #BadhonWalaRub
It’s been a while since we witnessed a jailbreak in Indian advertising. Naselin’s offering delivers that with a scoop of silly humour while promising nasal relief – and its attendant benefit of sound sleep.
Star Sports | Best Of Luck Pinkesh Bhai
Alongside all the noise around the Motera stadium, there will be talk on the pink ball too. Star Sports has provided that conversation starter for the IndvsEng Ahmedabad test here. Plotted cleverly and entertainingly, it’s quite tempting to share this with one’s Gujarati friends.