Greenply gives durability a supernatural twist

Madhumati. Karz. Greenply. Now, what links these names together? If you had thought that the plywood brand was used on the sets of 'Madhumati' and 'Karz', you would be way off the mark. Weird that it may sound, the common thread is reincarnation.

Plywood marketers have always tossed 'durability' and 'strength' at consumers to seek attention. Greenply is no exception. The plywood brand uses the reincarnation theme to underscore the quality of permanence.

Here's a look at how the Greenply TVC has gone about in setting the plywood brand apart from its rivals. The TVC by Lowe opens on a Sikh family – father, mother and son – in a bus touring a city in South India. Irritated by the mother's forceful shoving of food, the kid complains to his father that he is not being able to enjoy the view. Just then, the kid sees an old Chettinad house on the street. As if possessed, the child who till now had been speaking in Hindi, starts speaking in Tamil and shouts at the driver to stop the bus.

Getting down from the bus, he strides towards the house. The parents, puzzled at their son's strange behaviour, follow him. The inhabitants of the house wonder at the little guest. As he walks purposefully about speaking in Tamil, the boy's parents and the members of the house get increasingly anxious. He notices a writing desk and draws it towards himself.

At this point, the story goes into flashback, in black and white. The boy is reminded of his previous birth and sees himself as a young man etching the name 'Savithri' on the desk.

The scene shifts to the present. An old woman appears at the door and walks towards the boy, who is now reclining on an easy-chair. Overwhelmed by the evident reincarnation of her dead husband, she utters 'Swami' and he responds by saying, “Savithri.” Shocked at the revelation, the boy's mother faints. The ad ends with the slug, 'Janam Janam ka saathi'. (A relationship forever.) Comment on this ad

“We were given a single-word brief: 'Durability'. Since the objective was to create awareness among consumers for Greenply, it was clear durability had to be showcased in a way that ensured recall. The reincarnation idea was just the perfect way of emphasising the brand's durability,” says Priti Nair, creative director, Lowe.

Since 'durability' was a category insight, straying away from it was not the solution. The challenge was to use it effectively.

“Everyone talks about durability. So, there was a need to position the brand in a strong manner,” says Alex Joseph, manager communications, Greenply Industries.

While brand recall was one concern, the communication had to also generate awareness about Greenply and the plywood category.

Consumer involvement is important as Greenply plans to increase its share of the organised market by 30 per cent. The plywood industry is believed to be at around Rs 6,000 crore. Of which, the organised segment constitutes a 10 per cent share, while the remaining is with the unorganised sector.

Given the low involvement of individual consumers with plywood, fighting for his mindspace is going to be a challenge. But Nair is confident of drawing the consumers' attention.

“The combination of reincarnation and two languages in one ad surely makes for a very memorable ad. Not every consumer will understand Tamil, but they will grasp the sequence of the story.”

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