Aircel promotes anything in the pocket

The new campaign of the telecom brand is based on the insight that while consumers desire 3G services on their mobile phones, they are not able to avail it due to the high price.

It was said that with the launch of the third generation (3G) service, the world of mobile users would change. However, the launch had little impact, thanks to the services being heavily priced by telecom operators. The new campaign of Aircel, which talks about the 'Pocket internet' service, deals with the price issue and takes forward the message of how 3G service is now available at a very low cost, which further makes experiences such as uploading or downloading and even watching videos an entertaining experience.

Conceived by McCann Erickson, the television commercials (TVCs) titled 'Bachelor's Pad', 'Pappu', 'Library' and 'Face', show various videos being watched by a group of friends. The scenes, shot through mobile handsets and uploaded via 3G internet service, capture various hilarious moments. The TVCs end with the message, 'Upload Anything' and promote Aircel's offer of access to unlimited 3G at Rs 8.

Pritpal Lakkha, national head, marketing, Aircel Business Solutions, says, "We simply worked on the consumer insight that '3G was desirable but unaffordable' and with Aircel Pocket Internet Smart, now unlimited 3G is available at Rs 8. The agency creatively interpreted the insight through the 'Upload Anything' idea. The idea was to show that because 3G is now so inexpensive, anyone could upload anything; moreover, it is now 'Unlimited'. Also, uploading videos is not only a fresh take on 3G but also the acid test of data quality. The humour was not part of the brief, but as our core audience was youth and the idea intrinsically had humour, we felt it worked well."

Prasoon Joshi, chairman and chief creative officer, McCann Worldgroup India and president, South Asia, explains, "The campaign is the extension of the service 'Pocket internet' which now allows consumers to have 3G access. The TVCs therefore highlight the kind of fun youth can have with internet and further popularise internet on mobile. Finally, the idea here is to say that the future is beyond voice."

While currently four television commercials are on air on various channels, the company plans to launch a few more soon.

Gone overboard

Advertising professionals opine that while the commercials are entertaining to watch, the TVCs fail to deliver the main message to the core consumer.

Nima DT Namchu, senior vice-president and executive creative director, Contract Advertising, remarks, "Because the situations in all the films were pretty entertaining, I thought the idea of 'don't hold back, upload anything' did not get communicated clearly. Perhaps it should have been a series of the most mundane things instead. Having said that, the 'Candid Camera' feel is captured pretty well."

For Bikram Bindra, senior account director, planning, BBDO India, the new Aircel campaign for its 3G plan is a mixed bag. "Definitely, the thought of capturing a particularly fun or candid moment and then sharing it with a larger group is interesting and would certainly resonate well with the youth. However, the role of the product is not very clear, and the role of the internet or 3G in recording the moment is rather tenuous. The specific aspect of internet speed, which the provider wants to highlight, gets totally missed," he remarks.

According to Bindra, in terms of execution, the 'Pappu' TVC seems forced and bordering on annoying. 'Face' and 'Library', on the other hand, are successful in capturing very 'real slice of life' moments and hence stand out in terms of memorability and recall.

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