Mixing emotion and Indianness, Voltas gets the formula right

This is how one mixes everything in a single ad like a typical popular Bollywood flick. The latest Voltas TVC has everything that makes a communication effective: the Indian card, the right emotional quotient, and the assertion of the lineage of a trusted brand, Tata.

The Voltas commercial shows a young village girl trying to save some cold air from an air conditioner for her father, who is working in a field in the sun.

The TVC begins with a little girl accompanying her mother to the house where the mother works as a domestic helper. Once they are in the house, the mother busies herself with her work and the child is left to her own devices. When the girl finds herself alone and is sure that nobody is around, she goes into a room. She goes to the AC and opens a jar she has been holding all this while. She fills the jar with the AC's cool air and dashes out of the house. She runs to a field where her father is working in the hot sun and urges him to relax. She then opens the jar so that her father can refresh himself with the cool air filled in it. Mission accomplished, satisfaction and happiness are writ large on her face. The voiceover comes on at this point: “Voltas, jaisa India ka dil, waisa India ka AC.”

Gaurav Malik, marketing manager, Voltas, says, “The idea behind showing a village house is to expand our market. We are looking at 45-50 per cent growth in 2006 by clocking a sale of three lakh units. And this growth will come from beyond the metros, from the upcountry areas of Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.”

One question that strikes the mind here: Does an Indian village get enough electricity to run an air conditioner?

Malik likes to believe that when an Indian villager will have the purchasing power to buy an air conditioner, he will also have access to alternatives to power supply.

On playing the Indian card in the TVC, Malik reveals that the agency behind the campaign, Euro RSCG, conducted a pro-summer nationwide study last year to foresee the trends in the market. Based on the research, it arrived at the conclusion that Indian consumers were becoming increasingly proud of Indian brands.

The new TVC also fills the emotional quotient successfully with the depiction of the special bond between the father and the daughter.

Satbir Singh, vice-president, creative, Euro RSCG, explains, “The emotional quotient was used as there was a need to connect with the consumer at a brand level and not at a product level.”

He adds, “I am not saying that product led advertisements do not work, but the whole concept of

USP is short-lived today.”

Prakash Varma, filmmaker, Nirvana Films, points out that he was clear from the outset that he would not stifle the idea at any cost. That’s why he kept the TVC simple and concentrated on the storytelling, using the idea as the overriding factor. The commercial does not have dialogues, only background music, composed by Rajat Dholakia.

For Varma, the biggest challenge was getting the casting right, especially for the little girl. He wanted a child who was intelligent, would understand the right emotions and strike the right balance, but wouldn’t go overboard. Similarly, he wanted the father to resemble the girl as the highlight of the film is their relationship.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!