Amazon Prime Video India’s slice-of-life ad reminds us of the value its shows offer and of the new strategy of OTT players

Harping on the content library has become the new carrot video streamers dangle to us consumers this year.

The streaming boom coupled with our lack of contact with our friends and family in the past couple of years has made us relate more with characters from web series and movies, Amazon Prime Video India’s new slice of life ads double down on this abstract and ubiquitous phenomenon.

Be it the girl who, after watching ‘Four More Shots’, an Amazon Original, decides to attend the marriage of her ex-boyfriend and her best friend or the couple who rediscovers itself after watching the couple from ‘The Family Man’ preserve through their problems, Prime Video India is taking all the steps to become our best friend, our agony aunt, our chief go-to-person.

This move is not born from emotion but from a need to stay relevant in people’s minds, Indians have too many video streaming options to choose from and with pandemic induced lockdown(s) becoming a distant memory for many, streaming rates have dipped.

Amazon Prime Video India’s ads subtly pitch their shows as the protagonist, rivals such as Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and ZEE5 are saying the same.

Netflix’s ongoing “For All” campaign has released several ads that speak about its diverse content portfolio where there is something for everyone. Disney+ Hotstar got Shah Rukh Khan to instil FOMO in all of us because we’re missing the top-notch shows on its platform. Actors Sara Ali Khan and Amol Parashar do the same for ZEE5.

The carrot video streamers dangled in front of us in the past two years was around pricing. Now, it is all about the quality and quantity of shows on offer for us consumers.