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The new campaign uses rhythm and unexpected choreography to enliven the mood.
7Up, the clear lemon drink from the PepsiCo stable, has released a new campaign that carries forward its quirky positioning. An extension of the 'I feel up' thought, which had actor Sharman Joshi tapping his foot with a caged penguin to uplift its mood, the new campaign uses off beat dance performances to liven up the situation.
In the Kathakali film, a Kathakali artist hands a bottle of 7Up to a girl waiting at the corner of a street. As soon as the girl accepts it, the audio system starts playing an eccentric mix of music from varied genres like dandiya, rock n roll, and so on, to which the artist gives an exuberant, though not strictly classical, performance. In the Kimono film, a Japanese woman clad in a Kimono hands a bottle of 7Up to a young man waiting near a station, and then breaks into lavani (a dance form of Maharashtra).
The campaign attempts to communicate that 7Up livens up a break in the middle of a dreary boring day, he adds. Interestingly, the Kathakali film was shot at a real street corner in Kolkata, while Kimono was shot in Mumbai.
Besides online, the campaign will be translated on outdoor, through on-ground activations and on the digital platform.
Refreshing footstep?
Mitali Srivastava, managing partner, Utopeia Communicationz says the films caught her attention for a few seconds but she lost interest when it became "Farha Khan doing the IPL dance in a Kathakali outfit". Srivastava feels that 7Up has been an iconic brand, a great choice for those who don't want a cola but a clear, refreshing drink. "But it didn't give me a reason to believe in the brand. Especially, with its key competitor Sprite clearly taking a stance of being 'clever' with all the communication in the last few years - Baaki sab bakwaas, Raasta Clear Hai, Chalo apni chaal," Srivastava says.
She notes that the previous campaign with Penguin and the current one with Kathakali portray dancing as a result of mood enhancement. "Out of the two, the Kathakali ad seems like forceful entertainment. Liked by many and hated by many more, it has created a controversy as it shows the dancer doing salsa and Govinda moves instead of leveraging a dance form that focuses on hand mudras or the facial expressions, thus hurting various cultural sensibilities. For a brand that counts South India as an important market, that's a bad move," she opines.