HDFC Standard Life appeals to secure the girl child's future

The girl child is neglected in India. Often seen as a burden on the family's finances, the little girl is raised with apathy and is a stranger at her own home. Mercifully, the situation is slowly changing for the better. Reflecting the shift in the social order, a new campaign by HDFC Standard Life highlights the bond between a father and a daughter, while stressing on the importance of securing a child's future.

Created by Denstu Marcom, the campaign of HDFC Standard Life Children's Plan is an extension of the insurer's brand salience, which evolves around the core values of self-respect and dignity.

The ad opens with a little girl dressed up as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on a stage. The setting and the ambience puts her in awe as she is about to start her recitation. She says the first line, “Na sar jhuka hai kabhi, aur na jhukayenge kabhi”, and then starts fumbling out of stage-fright.

Her voice trails into silence as she turns red with embarrassment and runs her eyes across the auditorium in the hope of spotting her parents. Suddenly, her face breaks into a smile, finding her dad. The father gets up from his seat and starts to act out the poem. Soon, the little girl regains her confidence and recites the whole poem, “Na sar jhuka hai kabhi, aur na jhukayenge kabhi. Jo apne dum pe kare, sachh mein zindagi hai wahi.” (The head hasn’t bowed down ever, and it shall never do so. Life is all about what you achieve on your own steam.)

A generous applause and a family re-union later, comes a voice-over, saying, “Kyunki bacchon ki tarakki mein bassa hai aapka atmasamman.” (...because your self-respect is interwined with the success of your children.)

Commenting on the ad, Sanjay Tripathy, marketing head of HDFC Standard Life Insurance, said, “The brand positioning of the TVC – made on our corporate line 'Sar Uthake Jiyo' is to secure the child's future. Through the campaign, we have tried to show how a father secures his daughter's future. We hope to strengthen the children's plan category by improving its awareness.”

The insurer is targeting SEC A and SEC B, around the age-group of 30-40 years.

“We are aiming at parents, looking for a savings plan for their children below the age of ten years. The key concern here is not to plan only for the future, but be also able to support their child's needs, today,” Tripathy added.

Dentsu Marcom's creative director Rajesh Rai said, “Self respect plays a crucial factor in this communication. Here, the father ensures that his child doesn't bow down to pressures and helps her learn to handle them. Another idea that we wanted to highlight was the father-daughter duo acting as a team.”

The campaign involves television, radio, press, outdoor advertising campaigns and cinema multiplexes.

Credits

Script and ideation - Rajesh Rai

Lyrics - Bonani Gupta

Executive Creative Director - Harish Arora

Director - Prahlad Kakkar, Genesis

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