Kirloskar: Painting Africa green

The television commercial created by Quadrant for Kirloskar water pumps does much more than sell basic water pumps to farmers in far-off Africa

It’s rare to find an emotional rationale in the communication for an industrial product such as a water pump, but lately, many such brands have been using emotional strategies to reach out to end consumers.

The latest TVC for Kirloskar water pumps has followed a similar route by claiming to enrich people’s lives and not just pump water.

The TVC opens with a shot of barren, unyielding land, which turns a lush green as the camera zooms out gradually against subtle background music. As the screen gets filled with the visual of green pastures, an African farmer is seen holding a photograph of the barren land, suggesting that the camera pans out of the photograph to the field where he is standing. At this juncture, the music turns victorious and joyous.

With a picture of barren land in hand, a man compares it with lush, green field.

As we see tears rolling down his cheeks, the VO plays, “Kirloskar pumps go much...

...beyond bringing water.” The ad ends with...

...the Super reading, “Kirloskar. Enriching lives.”

There is a look of satisfaction and gratitude on the farmer’s face as he looks at the flourishing land he’s standing on today. A tear rolls out of his eye. ‘Kirloskar Pumps go much beyond bringing water,’ says the voiceover, summing up the wordless communication.

This is the first time ever that Kirloskar Pumps is advertising on television. The TVC has been created for the African and South Asia markets and is being aired on only CNN and BBC. “We undertake a number of irrigation projects in these places, where food security is a major issue,” says Jayant Sapre, director, Kirloskar Brothers. The ad was targeted at government bodies, policy makers and decision makers because it’s they who deal largely with these issues.

Quadrant was entrusted with the task of making Kirloskar an even better known brand and reinforcing its presence in the target regions. “We wanted to instill a sense of faith in the consumers’ minds that using this product would enable them to bring about prosperity and self-sufficiency in their lives through this ad,” adds Sapre.

Sanju Ayyar, associate creative director, Quadrant, Pune, penned the script that is rich in emotional content. “We decided to go with the ‘enriching lives’ communication and decided upon the dry land turning green idea,” explains Ayyar. The ‘tear factor’, in particular, added an emotional touch to the film. About the crisp communication, Ayyar reveals that the budget was tight and the media planning good.

The ad was filmed by Bardroy Barretto of Brownskin, a production company. The two-shot film was filmed at Kizhur in Chennai. “It was a task because we had to show plenty of greenery and yet avoid all the coconut trees,” jokes Barretto.

Most of what we see in the ad is generated using computer graphics, even the tear rolling out of the man’s eye. Barretto says they had to be very cautious while filming in order to maintain the level of seriousness and maturity in the film. “The ad had to be treated very delicately, without being too extravagant and we had to ensure that the message came up subtly,” he says.

The succinct quality of the ad, according to him, makes the communication and comprehension easier. “The slow transition ensures that the message registers in the viewer’s mind and lingers long,” says Barretto.

With most engineering products going the usual ‘direct selling’ way, Kirloskar has taken the unusual route of communicating in an emotional and subtle way.

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