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She rivalled Vodafone's pug with panache. Can The Airtel Girl beat the face of Reliance Jio next?
Telecom giant Airtel has rolled out a new 360-degree marketing campaign around its newly-launched My Airtel app featuring popular Airtel Girl Sasha Chhetri. The multimedia campaign, conceptualised by Taproot Dentsu, highlights the application's 'Airtel Apps' section that will have a collection of apps such as Wynk Music, Wynk Movies, Ditto TV, Hike Messenger, and Juggernaut under a single interface.
Produced by Equinox Films, the ad revisits the challenge theme that was used when the brand introduced Airtel 4G and its new face Chhetri. This time, The Airtel Girl, who is out with her friends, takes up the 'Apps Challenge' and manages to outfox the challenger with the My Airtel App.
"The new Airtel ad with (Sasha) Chhetri is chirpy and charming. As an ambassador, it's her exclusivity that works better than any celebrity for any other brand. Sasha means Airtel 4G while Shah Rukh means brand X, Y, Z....and Jio. The ad, therefore, goes about its purpose," says Acharya.
However, Acharya thinks that while it is happily playing the same game as before, the audience is, as always, engrossed in the new. "Today, everyone is flirting with Jio, it is only the degree that varies. Some have tied the knot, others are waiting and watching. The Jio game is a no-brainer; one that the country understands best - more for less. Like it or hate it, but you can't ignore it, is what Airtel has chosen to do so far, but it is unlikely to win much traction for the brand at this juncture. The need of the hour is to win back the distracted consumer and that calls for new forms of engagement and experiences," he suggests.