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The newspaper's 'I Lead India' campaign captures the pulse of today's youth and asks people to own up to their responsibilities.
For several years, Times of India's campaigns have focused on issues that are relevant to young India. After successful initiatives such as India Poised, Lead India and Teach India, the brand has now launched 'I Lead India', a campaign that attempts to capture the public sentiment of call for action on the part of each individual.
Throughout the duration of the film, a catchy anthem plays in the background. The lyrics, 'Baithe rehne ka time khatam, Illzamo ka ab time khatam, Tu tu, mein, mein ka time khatam. Ab mein hi hoon, ab mein hi hoon' call for action on an individual level.
Incidentally, the agency has earlier worked on Mumbai Mirror's 'I am Mumbai' campaign that portrayed the concerns of the city.
Kansal adds that it was a perfect time to launch the initiative as ordinary Indians are outraged at the chaos affecting every aspect of life in the country. "They have demonstrated and petitioned, requested and pleaded. But nothing has changed. The initiative aims at bringing them together to work towards a solution, rather than continue with cribbing and moving on," he stresses.
The brief to Taproot was to communicate that the time for a change is now and it should begin with each one of us.
The campaign, which kick-started in May, will continue till the end of November. As a part of the initiative, during this period, Youth Brigades will be selected across 26 cities, which will execute City Tasks and bring to the forefront the agents of change in the society.
Besides TVC, the campaign is being supported through print, radio, digital, cinema and outdoor activities. On the digital front, extensive interactions with the campaign's change agents will take place on various social media platforms.
All for a cause?
Kapnadak adds that sometimes honest simple words can do what rabble-rousing cannot.
Naresh Gupta, managing partner and chief strategy officer, Bang in the Middle, opines that while the campaign is well crafted and the commercial hard to miss, there is too much anger. "The TVC catches on the perfect mood of the moment - that as a society are armchair activists. The push to leave the chair and do something is very much like what Reebok did about quitting the couch, many years ago. Quit the armchair as a message is okay, but there are many sub-texts in the ad that disturb me. There is a hint of violence (though not overtly shown) and there is destruction. Anger never helps you think clearly. Quitting the armchair and doing something needs a cool head and clear thinking. That is something that the TVC doesn't deliver on clearly. I also wish it was a bit less preachy in its tonality," he states.