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Sprite to talk straight to young consumers this summer
The brand has plans on launching an extensive OOH activity to support its new positioning, ‘Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas’
Sprite, the soft drink brand known for its cheeky irreverence, has quite a few tricks up its sleeve this summer. For one, its positioning premise will shift a bit – while Sprite’s ads in 2007 were more on the thirst quenching premise (‘Pyaas bujhi nahin…lagi’), 2008 will see the brand adopt more attitude, with a television commercial and various Out of Home (OOH) activities in the pipeline.
Admits Titus Upputuru, senior creative director, O&M, “Yes, we are shifting away from the thirst premise.” The brand will now sport a new tagline, ‘Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas’, which, in a way, is a return to the brand’s core DNA – that of honestly saying it as it is. “Sprite has always punctured pretences, and that is what this new campaign will continue to do,” adds Upputuru.
A still from the Sprite TVC |
Location specific outdoor creatives will be displayed this summer in and around youth hangout areas throughout the country, such as movie theatres, colleges/university campuses, bus-stops and cafés. For instance, posters in and around BPOs may carry sarcasm-led remarks on having an accent (typical to the BPO populace), being late to office and making excuses, or any other form of pretence adopted by this segment. This will then be connected with the ‘Seedhi Baat’ premise of Sprite, wherein youngsters will be nudged into having a more honest outlook towards work and life.
Similarly, puns on couples/dating will dot bus-shelters. For example, a hoarding at a bus shelter could read, ‘Just when the conversation gets interesting, her bus arrives – Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas, Clear Hai!’ A movie theatre poster could read, ‘Every movie looks good in a trailer- Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas Clear Hai!’
Upputuru and team hope that these copy-led, no-nonsense posters become collectibles of sorts for the youth.
The television ad, produced by Soda Films’ director Rajesh Krishnan, is shot in Goa, and revolves around the story of a young man who is just being himself. He tells the truth, except that the world is not ready to believe him. The man, who is actually dating two girls at the same time, tells the truth to both of them about the other, the irony being that both refuse to believe him.