Coca-Cola: Celebration needs no reason

With the onset of summer, Coca-Cola has launched a new campaign, Jashn Mana Le, which features Bollywood’s blue-eyed boy, Hrithik Roshan, as a mysterious stranger

From Jo Chaho Ho Jaye and Life Ho To Aisi to the oh-so-popular Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola to Thande ka Tadka to Piyo Sar Utha Ke, and now the latest, Jashn Mana Le, Coca-Cola has come a long way in positioning itself in the hearts and hands of the Indian consumer.

With the onset of summer, Coca-Cola has launched its new campaign, Jashn Mana Le, which features Bollywood’s blue-eyed boy, Hrithik Roshan, as a mysterious stranger.

Youngsters hit food street that's shut

Hrithik works his 'magic' with Coke

Riot of colours and food follows

A food and drink celebration

Hrithik has the last sip

Lights out

Jashn Mana Le

The ad starts with a group of youngsters making their way late at night to a street full of small eating places. They are hungry and disappointed when they see that everything is shut. Just then, they spot Hrithik Roshan. He picks up a bottle of Coke and lightly runs a bottle opener over it making a tinkling sound, which causes all the little street lights to light up. A male voice sings in the background, “Ghazab ki shaam hai yaaron, mile hai hum matwaale, waqt na yeh rukta hai, aaj tu jashn mana le.” As Roshan pops open the bottle of Coca-Cola, the entire street lights up, much to the surprise of the youngsters.

He tosses Coke bottles to each of them and they pop them open. We now see a riot of colour and action, with all the stalls buzzing and street food like pav bhaji, samosas, paneer tikka, puris, jalebis being cooked all around. The tempo of the song quickens and the youngsters enjoy their food along with their Cokes. But just as their bottles are emptied, the lights start shutting down. Roshan takes his last sip, and the last lights are switched off and the tempo of the score slows down as the lyrics, “Waqt na yeh rukta hai, aaj tu jashn mana le”, are repeated. Content with their little celebration, and still wondering who the mystery man was, the youngsters move on.

The campaign was conceptualised by McCann-Erickson and directed by Sabal Singh Shekhawat of Big Picture Company.

Based on the theme, Jashn Mana Le, the campaign has been designed to showcase the magical force of Coca-Cola, which energises even the regular things in life and provides a reason for togetherness and celebration. The campaign focuses on how a bottle of Coca-Cola infuses fun, enjoyment and exhilaration into its consumer’s life.

Ashish Chakravarty, creative chief, Delhi, McCann-Erickson, says the ad started out as a tactical idea and not as a themed commercial. It wasn’t meant to be a replacement for Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola. He says, “Worldwide, Coke and food go hand in hand. We wanted to promote this idea of food with Coke and also connect with the youth. The insight was that youngsters frequent these ‘khau gallis’, like the ‘paranthe wali gali’ in Delhi. After a party, or a late night, they do not go to big places, but these small food pockets and streets. Each city has its own popular street food hangout. It’s not a new phenomenon, it’s been happening for years.”

Literally translated, Jashn Mana Le means ‘Let’s Celebrate’. “This could also be interpreted as Coke, food and friends create a magical and energetic experience, which is a celebration of sorts,” says Chakravarty.

To create a celebratory feeling, a Sufiyana background music score was composed by Ram Sampath, penned by Chakravarty himself, and sung by Kirti Sagathia and Mandeep.

Chakravarty shares that one of the lines in the song originally read, “Khudi ko kar hawale (Surrender yourself)”, but was replaced with “Mile hai hum matwale (We carefree people have come together)” to reach out to a mass audience.

The team that worked on the campaign from McCann include Rishi Agarwal, Tirtho Ghosh and Nakul Sharma from creative and Santa Dutta and Amit Ahluwalia from servicing.

In the ad, Roshan, with his mysterious air, is almost like the Coke genie; no one knows where he’s come from. He joins fellow actor Aamir Khan, who has donned a myriad roles for the fizzy cola, as brand ambassador. Roshan first featured in Coke ads in 2000, after his hit debut movie, Kaho Naa… Pyar Hai. He also appeared in a Coca-Cola vignette which was done in association with Dhoom 2 in 2006. The actor was signed on as Coke’s official brand ambassador last year, says an official spokesperson.

Going forward, the next campaign will feature Khan. Roshan may be the more youthful face of Coke, while Khan may represent the corporate image and profile of the company, but Coca-Cola India has not finalised these plans yet. Also, Jashn Mana Le may or may not be the way forward in future brand communications.

The current communication plan includes mass media advertising on all leading television channels, complemented by out of home advertising, in the form of a special shoot featuring Roshan by ace photographer Dabboo Ratnani, in metros and Category A cities such as Chandigarh and Pune. The outdoor communication will be all about taking the ‘jashn’ to the next level, by bringing together Coke and celebrations.

On-ground initiatives like road shows and contests have also been planned across key markets. Initiatives on digital media such as the Internet and mobile have been planned as well.

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