Fun begins @ 8 PM

The story of the generals of two enemy countries who share a drink at the border became very popular with the surrogate TVC for 8 PM whisky. Eight years later, the brand has launched another TVC for music cassettes and CDs. The TVC is titled ‘Aatth ke Thaatth’ and it hopes to reach the creative standards of the previous TVC.

The brand, which was primarily earlier targeted at SEC A, now hopes to expand its TG across lower SECs and make 8 PM a mass brand.

Pallav Soin, deputy general manager, marketing, Radico Khaitan, explains, “In the last eight years, there has been a dramatic change in the consumer profile. This is because of economic progress and rising disposable incomes. So, it is imperative to address the lower socioeconomic groups, who are moving upwards, and make 8 PM a mass brand.”

Soin explains, “The communication for 8 PM is based on an insight that we more often than not carry our tensions along with us, which turns into a burden on our shoulders that we carry all day long. The problems and responsibilities of life, both small and big, weigh upon us. And by the end of the day, everyone desires a break from these responsibilities, even if for only a couple of hours. The positioning statement, ‘Aatth Ke Thaatth’, denotes that at 8 pm, you live your own style. The line captures this thought aptly. The brand lets you do that as it knocks off all the tensions that you carry around with you.”

Aneesh Jaisinghani, associate creative director, Bates David Enterprise, who conceptualised the TVC along with creative group head Sambit Mishra, says, “The basic challenge was to match and surpass the expectations associated with the older commercial. No wonder we struggled to come up with a path-breaking idea. Once we achieved the objective, the execution was a smooth ride.”

That’s not to say that the execution was glitch free. The visual of someone on top of a person was appealing, but one of the actors was apprehensive about carrying someone on his shoulders. Finally, a harness was used and two men were strapped up for the scene.

Mishra agrees that the depiction of the idea was not as arduous as arriving at the idea. The brief, he says, simply required them to create a communication that tipped over or at least matched the strength of the earlier TVC. Says Mishra, “The brief was to make the consumers instantly relate with the 8 PM brand and thus create top of the mind recall.”

The film has two striking features: visually depicting the scenes to explain the concept and the accompanying background score. The music was composed by Samir Uddin and Gulzar wrote the lyrics, while Raghubir Yadav sang the jingle. Amit Sharma of Chrome Pictures directed the film.