Deepashree Banerjee
Advertising

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

A look at the six new TVCs released by the food delivery app.

"Both cricket and food have always been India's biggest passion points," says Srivats TS, VP marketing at Swiggy and the synergy that this partnership creates is most definitely going to up the excitement quotient among fans and viewers, he seems quite optimistic.

Swiggy, the food ordering and delivery platform has recently launched six witty television commercials for this year's IPL season, leveraging the nation's two biggest attractions - Cricket and food. The multi-lingual campaign, (apart from Hindi and English, the ads will be aired in Tamil, Kannada, Telegu, and Bengali) has been conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, Bengaluru. Swiggy has also roped in seasoned cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle and former cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra to lend their voices to the TVCs.

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Swiggy's TVC titled, Ready Before You Are

By creating this series of ads for the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL), Swiggy aims to highlight how it has changed consumers' food-ordering habits with some of its differentiators, namely 'No Minimum Order', 'Lightning Fast Delivery' and 'Variety of Restaurants' to choose from. Directed by Abhinav Pratiman and produced by Early Man Films, all six commercials feature a simple storyline with minimal dialogues that cut straight to the chase.

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Swiggy's TVC titled, No minimum order, no kidding!

Srivats briefs us on how and why the brand came up with this idea, "We wanted to bring out our brand-benefits in a meaningful manner through situations that audiences would relate to while infusing a dash of contextual humour in each. With the IPL campaign, we're engaging with fans in ways that are not only fun and witty but also very meaningful to them. With these TVCs, we used the massive reach of IPL to showcase the unique differentiators of Swiggy; the ads drive home the message that Swiggy is here to satisfy even the smallest of consumer hunger pangs and any kind of food demands at lightning fast speeds."

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Swiggy's TVC titled, Swiggy's superfast delivery to the rescue!

This integrated campaign (with the six 20-second long spots), apart from television, is being promoted across print, radio and digital platforms, as well as in restaurants.

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Swiggy's TVC titled, Order in everybody's favourites with Swiggy!

In the one week since the 'Gulab Jamun' TVC went live, Swiggy has witnessed a 10x increase in the number of times users searched for gulab jamun on its online platform.

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Swiggy's TVC titled, No Order Too Small

This is Swiggy's second national television campaign; the first one, launched earlier this year, also showcased how users turn to Swiggy during various scenarios in their lives.

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Swiggy's TVC titled, Variety is the way of life, Swiggy it!

Srivats adds, "The IPL ads were interspersed with cricket commentary to make it more relevant and relatable to the users tuning in every day to catch the cricket action. Unlike a lot of other brands for whom IPL is a great media vehicle, we believe that Swiggy is a brand that can generate a transaction and a great food ordering experience right when the consumer is viewing the ad."

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Srivats TS

Interestingly, one of the ads shows a grandmother running out of donuts and saving the day by ordering from Swiggy. Another popular spot shows an elderly man ordering a gulab jamun and satisfying his craving while his wife is busy watching the match.

Was this a deliberate step taken towards expanding its consumer base?

Srivats clarifies, "While our core consumption audience lies in the 18-35 age group segment, we've seen a growth in consumers outside of that TG as well. And during this cricketing season, there is an opportunity to appeal to a wider demographic who are connected by a love for entertainment, food and having both delivered to them in the most convenient and seamless manner."

Experts speak

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Anish Varghese

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Jagdish Acharya

Anish Varghese, national creative director, Isobar believes the campaign to be a fitting example for snack-able content, "Nowadays, it's a key element in marketing strategy as attention spans of our audience is decreasing. In my opinion, the storyboard is intact for the audience who's on move; for people who are standing in an elevator line; who are waiting for an appointment etc..."

At a time when ads for most online-service brands fails to showcase more imagination than the idea of two-women-in-the-kitchen, the campaign for Swiggy stands out for bringing a smile and pushing no more than one feature a spot.

Speaking of strategy, Jagdish Acharya, founder and creative head, Cut The Crap, shares, "The campaign focuses on three key features - choice, flexibility and speed leaving price out perhaps as one expects online service to be cost effective anyways. Having said that, no minimum order does sound most differentiating and compelling - just ask a budget restaurant for home delivery. The ads have been well crafted and executed. The cricket commentary is a priceless detail. Again, having said that, a couple of spots are more enjoyable than the others. And a couple of spots could have been done without. But that's always the case with a campaign."

Match Day Mania currently boasts of participation from over 12,000 restaurants across 12 cities in India, including national chains such as Pizza Hut, Burger King and more. Swiggy has also tied up with a host of famous local favourites like Faasos, Behrouz and Naturals Ice Cream and promises to offer discounts of 50 per cent off on Pizza Hut, 25 per cent off on Naturals and 25 per cent off on Faasos during this T20 cricket season.

Heard Harsha Bhogle's commentary in the new Swiggy ads?

Some of the interesting trends witnessed during Match Day Mania

The food festival will go live every weekday at 7pm and will be a day-long affair on weekends.

In the current scenario, with Swiggy and Zomato recently raising significant capital - $100 million and $200 million respectively and with Uber and Ola entering the battle, the stage seems all set for the food-tech industry. Even when Ola barged into the space late last year by acquiring FoodPanda for $200 million, Swiggy and Zomato still seem to hold the top spots.

AGENCY CREDITS

Creative Agency - Lowe Lintas

Chief Creative Officer - Arun Iyer

Executive Creative Director - Rajesh Ramaswamy

Production House - Early Man Films

Director - Abhinav Pratiman

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