Long Running Advertising Campaigns

Indian Telecom industry is one of the most vibrant, dynamic and market driven sectors in the world. Indian Telecom especially Indian Mobile handset sector and telecom operators have contributed to some of the most iconic and path breaking advertising campaigns. Indian Telecom industry has given birth to the now world famous pug dog campaign of Hutch – Vodafone (wherever you go our network follows) and Vodafone Zoo Zoos.

Equally path breaking and iconic are the advertisements done for Idea Cellular – by Lintas Lowe. An IDEA can change your Life.The series of advertisements mostly done by Abhishek Bachhan have become famous and have attained cult image status. Generally mobile service provider advertisements talk about talk rates, value added services and packs.

Idea took a completely different route. It talks about issues that concern us and cleverly shows how a mobile phone and its usage can solve these problems. Yes the solutions are very cinematic and simplistic. But that is what advertisements are all about. They are supposed to tell a story in a short time and be remembered and IDEA does it in a dramatic and telling fashion.

Campaigns of Idea Cellular

IDEA–Sarpanch: The first of the advertisements and the one that spawned the entire series. The advertisement is about a village that is riddled with casteism and warring factions. The Sarpanch rules that no longer would anybody be called by their caste. Rather they would be known only by their mobile numbers. This ensures equality in the village. Would people like to be known by their mobile numbers? I don’t think so – people love their names and their individuality.

But a great creative. And mobile phones have been a great game changer. They ensured equality among us. Whether educated or not, whether from urban or rural India, we are all tied by the umbilical cord of google, Facebook and what’s app thanks to the all-pervasive smart phone.

IDEA telephone exchange (Mother and son):

The advertisement starts off with a mother and her son having difference of opinion. Father cleverly exchanges their similar looking phones for a day. At the end of the day both mother and her son realize that the other’s point of view and become compassionate. It is not about communication all the times. It is also about miscommunication or non-communication that damages relationships.

IDEA telephone exchange

(husband and wife):

A variation of the same concept discussed above. This advertisement starts off with husband and wife having difference of opinion. Their son cleverly exchanges their similar looking phones for a day. At the end of the day both husband and wife realize that the other person’s job is not easy.

IDEA Language barrier: how do people from different languages communicate with each other? The advertisement opens with a set of friends who are posted in various parts of India. And adding salt to the wound, they do not know the local language. The problem is solved by helping each other, for e.g. a Bengali in Kerala helps a Keralite posted in Kolkata and gets help from the Malayali friend to get over a problem that she faces in Kerala. This brilliant idea is given by a deaf and dumb attender in a local dabba. Communication has no language barriers.

Education for all

Tackles the issue of educating the poorest of the poor in India. Even though the solutions are too pat and cinematic they touch a chord and are definitely worth a viewing. A mobile phone can be used to spread education to the world’s largest population of illiterates.

IDEA - Public service advertisement:

Talks about driving and being safe. The advertisement urges people not to talk on mobile while driving. Always relevant. It comes as a wakeup call to the generation of mobile phone users who are engrossed in their music, radio, texting or talking. All these are deadly and could cause serious consequences.

IDEA–Raksha Bandan

An advertisement that shows how a young girl gets rid of her stalkers by cleverly making the traffic constable her rakhi brother taking advantage of Raksha Bandan. The message is to make Raksha Bandan a national festival. But the hidden agenda is the phone calls, SMS’s and MMS’s that people send out to each other for festivals. And for such festival service providers do charge full tariff and concessional plans are not valid on that day!

IDEA--over population

IDEA came out with a thought provoking way of reducing population in India. The solution; IDEA 3G. The advertisement hints about better ways of entertainment using the IDEA-3G for the couples and thus solving India’s over population issue.

IDEA–Save paper

One of the advertisements that touched on the vital issue of deforestation and losing forest cover. Idea shows innovative methods of reducing usage of paper and thus saving paper and trees.

IDEA–Holi/Diwali

Clever advertisements that promotes Holi and Diwali as national festivals. The actual motivation is to make Non Hindus celebrate Holi and Diwali and make more voice calls, send SMS’s and MMS’s and give more business for IDEA.

IDEA–Number portability

A clever advertisement that drives in forcefully the concept of number portability.

IDEA–walk while you talk:

IDEA wanted to promote health consciousness. That is if you walk while you talk it you would burn calories. But wise sense prevailed and IDEA has since dropped this tack of promoting its mobile services. Walking and talking is very dangerous as walkers who talk tend to concentrate on talking and might not be very alert to the surroundings. They could become prey to thieves, stalkers and might even injure themselves.

IDEA–Valentine day:

A heart touching advertisement of an old man who brings a rose to his (heartless) wife on Valentine’s Day. Romance has no age – right IDEA!

IDEA–Talk for India

This advertisement was released on the first anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The advertisement urges Indians to talk about an hour about the 26/11 attacks. It touched the heart strings of all Indians. The advertisement says that on the fateful day entire India fell silent. But on the 1st anniversary, the advertisement urges Indians to talk about the attack for an hour.

IDEA promised that the income thus generated would be donated to the Indian Police Force for better safety gear. Way to go IDEA. All in all a great series that very cleverly tells us that there are many ways to promote and make people buy products or services. The longevity of the series is a testimony of the creativity of the Lintas-Lowe team.

II. Tata Tea Jaago Re:

is a cause marketing initiative launched by Tata Tea. The focus of Tata Tea's Jaago Re campaign has varied through the years. The campaign too is handled by Lintas-Lowe. What makes this campaign series interesting is the match between the product and the cause supported.

We feel sleepy in the morning and have tea to knock off the drowsiness from our system. Similarly Tata Jaago Re supports causes that we are all ignoring, don’t care or simply too sleepy to notice or take action. Jaago re cautions us to wake up and tackle the issues. Waking up and taking action is symbolified by taking a cup of tea. An absolutely brilliant marriage of the cause and the product.

Tata Jaago Re campaigns

One Billion Votes: use your finger, use it to vote. This was Jaago Re’ very first campaign with an aim to ‘awaken’ the entire nation to the fact that they tend to hold the government accountable to various mishaps and encouraged them to participate in India’s democracy by voting. The first responsibility of a citizen is to vote.

Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru

Khilana in India means bribing. The campaign puns on the word Khilana and warns us that all forms of Khana (bribes) are bad and says “Aaj se Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru (meaning all eating is banned from today, only drinking is allowed and obviously drinking means having Tata tea).

Soch Badlo:

was aimed at making Indians think differently. The advertisement is about a young lady telling her husband “unless we think differently we are not going to achieve better things in life”. Just the way water has to be boiled hot before adding tea leaves. The water has to come to the boiling point. Thinking differently is the issue coming to the boil.

Choti Shuruvaat

The main aim of this campaign is to make life better for the Indian women by taking tiny but significant steps in the right direction. The advertisements shows how a TV interviewer makes Shah Rukh Khan realize how movies stereotype Indian women. Shah Rukh Khan pledges to treat women better and promises that he will see that his leading lady is given the first billing. And he delivered, making his name appear after the name of his heroine Deepika Padukone for the movie Chennai Express.

Power Of 49

The current Jaago Re campaign talks about women who constitute 49% of India’s population and their empowerment. The advertisement beautifully portrays how suave sophisticated women making fun of a desi uncouth young woman in a beauty parlor. The desi young woman turns the tables on the sophisticated ladies by telling them that they are shirking their duty by not voting in the elections. Sophistication is not in the dress or the suave and polished behaviour rather it is knowing and doing the right things and without somebody else telling us.

By:Dr M Anil Ramesh