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boAt uses Shark Tank India platform to promote Made in India tag
boAt is setting the record straight after being targeted by rival MiVi which suggested in ads that boAt’s products were made in China.
After MiVi launched a series of ads attacking boAt's 'Made in India' claim, the consumer electronics brand has given a subtle response through a mention in Shark Tank India 2.
On February 10 the show featured a three-minute-long video on the life of boAt's co-founder and also a Shark Aman Gupta. In it, the brand has casually plugged its Make-in-India claim.
Gupta states, "Many people said that electronics cannot be made in India, but we made it. We feel a sense of pride when we see the stamp of Made in India on our packaging." In the background the workers can be seen working in the shop-floor, reiterating the claim.
Mivi, a brand known for its earwear and wearables, has been mocking boAt products and its co-founder Aman Gupta in recent ads, for claiming to be a Made in India brand.
However, as retaliation, boAt through its campaigns have been telling everybody that the brand is transforming India into a manufacturing hub for the new generation with minimal dependence on foreign countries. The brand has tried to prove itself as a 'Made in India' brand by using QR code in newspapers and promo codes. But, this time the brand has used the 'Shark Tank' platform to respond to Mivi's latest ad.
An anthropomorphic Mivi, in the recent ad, makes the actor spoofing Aman Gupta, boAt’s co-founder, reveal his brand's Chinese connections on a job recruitment day.
How? Mivi says it’s hard to choose from the many talented engineers who interviewed for the job. “Bro, to run a great tech company, you don’t need an engineer,” quips spoof Gupta and he goes on to reveal his academic profile includes not only an engineering degree but 12 courses on Chinese to English translation and a course of Chinese to Hindi too.
Additionally, Gupta also spoke about the questions raised on the company in a series of tweets, he says, “Today, with #HumBheeBanaLenge spirit, we take great pride in being the first Indian brand to manufacture over 1 crore wearables products in one year. It is a great honour for us to be able to give back in whatever small way we can to our wonderful nation."
boAt’s parent company Imagine Marketing, as per the International Data Corporation’s (IDC), led the India Wearable Market in 3Q22 (July-Sep) with a 32.1% market share. This market comprises wrist brands, smartwatches, and earwear.