Hero Lectro’s latest film positions its e-cycles as a cool gadget

Remember Shah Rukh Khan riding a bicyle and flirting with Kajol during the song ‘Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko’ from the 1995 Bollywood film ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’? When was the last time you saw those playful banters unfold on cycles on the big screen? They just ceased to be cool after a point.

Through its latest ad, Hero Lectro is once again bringing the zing back to the cycles. It aims to establish its electric cycle (e-cycle) as a flaunt-worthy gadget, and also appeal to the new-age tech-savvy generation.

Created by 82.5 Communications India, the new film showcases Hero Lectro’s latest proposition, ‘Want it. Flaunt it’.

“Since it's an electric cycle, we are trying to position it as a gadget - the way today's generation looks at gadgets - and it is all about the generation who doesn't like to wait. Through this film, we wanted to make e-cycles a cool thing,” said Sumanto Chattopadhyay, chairman and chief creative officer, 82.5 Communications India.

The fast-paced film depicts the flirty banter between a girl and a boy. It shows the boy on a cycle trying to enter a lift and a girl, who’s already inside the lift, prevents him from entering, saying, “You’ll have to wait.” As the girl goes to the fifth floor, he also cycles up the parking lot ramp and reaches the floor at the same time. The film ends with the boy saying, “I don’t like waiting.” This attitude makes it relatable to the younger audience.

“We wanted to bring out an attitude. The guy displays his attitude in two ways. One is, when he gets to the floor before the girl, it’s like making a touché. So, he's got attitudes in the way he conducts himself socially and, second, in the way he rides,” Chattopadhyay said.

The line, “I don’t like waiting” also brings out the speed factor and highlights that e-cycles are faster than the regular cycles. “E-cycle is integral to this, because that’s what helps him reach the fifth floor before the lift. We wanted to bring out the attitude of this generation, and part of that attitude is that when they want something, they want it now. They're not going to let something stop them,” he added.

Preeta Mathur, group creative director, 82.5 Communications India - North, said, “An ad film for an electric cycle, the new gadget in town, should have loads of sizzling attitude to it. That's what we've gone for in this ad, bringing out the ‘I don’t like waiting’ attitude of the new generation towards everything. We're counting on them not to wait to adopt - and flaunt - the new cool and environment-friendly way of commuting.”

This attitude is aided by the dynamic camera shots and the use of vivid colours. “We wanted to bring out the speed, but at the same time, we wanted to romance the product. When something is moving fast, you tend to miss it. There’s no point if people are not able to have a look at the cycle. So, we took different kinds of shots that allowed us to capture the speed as well as showcase the cycle,” Chattopadhyay said.

The TVC could have easily passed off for a regular cycle and not an e-cycle, if not for the fact that we see the boy climbing up the parking ramps. “Sometimes, you can watch an e-cycle ad and miss the fact that it is an e-cycle. You could mistake it for a high-end cycle. But when you see the boy riding up the slope, it establishes that, as it's not easy to do that on a normal cycle,” he said.

Rachit Gupta, CMO, Hero Lectro, said, "While planning our strategy for this year, one thing which stood out was the fact that Hero Lectro e-cycles provide benefits, which are far ranging, be it saving our environment or leading a healthier lifestyle or even a cost efficient way to move. Keeping this in mind and the fact that our audience wants to reflect how they are different in their daily life, #WantItFlauntIt gives the perfect message about how we want our customers to perceive not just Hero Lectro, but also e-cycles as a mode of commuting.”

With this campaign, Hero Lectro has moved away from its earlier proposition of ‘Move at your will’. Last year, the brand had released a campaign projecting itself as an alternative to public transport and focused on the features of the product.

“The communication was more functional last year. The situation was also very different. There were strict lockdowns and people were looking at safer options to travel, instead of public transport. The (COVID) pandemic also brought a new environmental awareness. This time, we have touched on the features without letting the film be bogged down by it,” Chattopadhyay said.

In an earlier interview to afaqs!, Aditya Munjal, director, Hero Cycles and Lectro E-Mobility Solutions, said that the bicycle category tends to see a major dropout of customers post the 10-16 age bracket, as the users then migrate to automobiles. With e-cycles, Munjal plans to arrest that migration. The company wants to have 10 per cent e-cycle production share of the global market by 2024.