Tuhina Anand
Advertising

Airtel: Experience the magic of expressing yourself

The latest Airtel TVC takes the ‘Express Yourself’ campaign a step further through punch-packed lines and powerful imagery

The power-packed lines in Hindi exhort the audience to shed the self-restraint that is a characteristic of our nation. It asks people to open up and express themselves freely, setting aside all inhibitions, disregarding all ‘so-called’ societal norms. Airtel’s latest TVC, ‘Nigahein’, rests on the ‘Express Yourself’ campaign and takes it a step further to connect with the masses.

Vivek Bali, senior vice-president, marketing mobility, Bharati Televentures, says, “Using the platform of ‘Express Yourself’, the campaign aims to extend the brand to a wider cross-section of society.”

He adds, “Airtel’s earlier communications have been product oriented, for instance the ‘Rs 200 Recharge Coupon Campaign’. The brand has already established marketing leadership in the category for the large part, but now we need to bring about an emotional connect with the masses. The commercial caters to that need.”

The campaign opens with a girl at a construction site, probably a worker’s daughter, inviting a girl getting down from a school bus to play with her. The voiceover goes, ‘Nigahein nigahon se mila kar to dekho.’ Next, both kids are seen playing, holding hands. The voiceover says, ‘Naye logon se rishta banakar to dekho.’

The scene moves to a park, where an elderly couple is sitting on a bench. A young couple passes by. The voiceover says, ‘Hasratein dil mein dabane se kya haasil hoga?’ The old man reaches for his wife’s hand, which brings a smile to the lady’s face. The voiceover says, ‘Apney honth hila kar to dekho.’

Cut to a young girl, who is being dropped home by her boyfriend. The voiceover says, ‘Khamoshi se kab hoti hain khwaishen poori?’ He rushes back and kisses her; she hugs him back. The voice goes, ‘Dil ki baat batakar to dekho.’

A deaf and dumb boy tries to express himself. He succeeds in conveying what he wants to and the teacher claps in elation. The voiceover says, ‘Jo hain dil mein use kar do bayaan. Khud ko ek baar jataa kar to dekho.’

In the next shot, a gymnast fails in her first attempt and is encouraged by her coach. She succeeds in her next attempt. The voiceover says, ‘Aasma simat jayega tumhaare aagosh mein, Chaahat ki baahein phailaakar to dekho. Dil ki baat bataa kar to dekho.’ It ends with: ‘Airtel – Express Yourself.’

Santosh Sood, COO, regions, Rediffusion DY&R, says, “This is our attempt to bring a far more universal emotional connect by using the ‘Express Yourself’ platform. The earlier campaign using this platform ended in January 2004, but we felt that it was a little elitist in its approach. That is why we decided to do this campaign in Hindi and other vernacular languages.”

He adds, “The incidents are drawn from everyday observations, which are abundant, but just need some keen looking around.”

KS Chakravarty (Chax), national creative director, Rediffusion DY&R, says, “The commercial celebrates new conversation and new relationships. It is about establishing a wider connect with people.”

He adds, “We have deliberately used a wide spectrum of people, be it the young couple, elderly couple or children, to bring forward the ideation. The idea of ‘Express Yourself’ hinges on the fact that we, as a nation, tend to be reticent in expressing ourselves. Hence, the entire idea of expressing yourself and who could be better to take this stand than a mobile service provider that is itself a communicator?”

The voiceover lines are the highlight of the campaign. Sood says, “There were a series of workshops held across the country and the lines were a combined effort of the creative teams of Rediffusion across the country.”

© 2005 agencyfaqs!

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