Challenge accepted!

In one of our recent columns, we discussed the HP Lubricant’s ‘Roads That Honk’ campaign that primarily focused on solving the road hazards on hilly terrains. We still remember the virgin landscapes of the ad and it's that strong connect which fetched the campaign awards. Chennai-based motorcycle brand Royal Enfield has also released an ad that focuses on protective riding gear.

Cruising, off-roading and drifting across picturesque landscapes, hilly terrains and expansive stretches of greens, the ad rides on the campaign’s big idea ‘All Weather. All Terrain Gear’. Taking you through the most extreme locations of India – Maharashtra’s Lebong Valley, Sikkim’s Yumthang Valley, and Hemalachi Tanda – the ad renders a true Royal Enfield riding experience.

Most of the city’s consumers might not even be aware of these locations and might not relate to the use of the brand’s protective gear, but that is also not the segment Royal Enfield is trying to educate because not everyone is a 'weekend adventurer'. The brand’s accessory range is a mix of subtle gears for city rides (like jackets and denim) and protective gears for highly challenging terrains; the new ad focuses more on the latter.

From water crossings to heavily dusty terrains and high temperatures, the ad has rigorously put to test the brand’s protective gear for its endurance. Being a leader in the segment, Royal Enfield enjoys the benefit of having a strong brand recall among riders and bike enthusiasts, but to advertise the protective gear and not let the bikes overpower the gear is a creative challenge.

Well, Widen+Kennedy India pulled it off really well. Not even once throughout the one-and-a-half-minute ad will you feel the bikes downplay the gear.

While the brand does not shout about its gear ‘in-the-face’ the Royal Enfield experience is still maintained. The landscapes and terrains in the ad must be something you have seen in previous automobile ads but the setting of the ad and the sound effects make all the difference. The ad is not meant to give the viewer an out-of-the-world feeling or a very energetic feel-good hormone rush. The film’s background score and the raw-like feeling sets it apart from the usual ‘rock song in the background’ automobile ads.

The clear water slush sound, the slow thumping beats, timely percussions and the natural sounds in the ad make it one of those very few ads you ‘would not skip’. It grips you right from the first second.

Back to the point, that visual branding has been subtle throughout the film; well, with SFX and a feeling like this, Royal Enfield is certainly not losing on brand recall, nor is it getting lost among other brands in the segment. That is the beauty of ‘All Weather. All Terrain Gear’ campaign; it proves that one does not have to scream the brand name; the right communication treatment with a rich and strong brand feel will do the job.