Munna Bhai and Circuit return: Can ACKO's new campaign strike gold again?

In the world of advertising, where fleeting trends dominate, revisiting iconic ideas is rare. Digital insurance platform ACKO recently embraced this challenge as it rebranded itself and launched the sequel to its widely popular 2023 campaign featuring Munna Bhai and Circuit. The first installment, the #HealthInsurancekiSubahHoGayiMamu campaign, amassed over 7.2 million views on YouTube.

Two years later, ACKO's latest campaign, Health Insurance ki Subah Ho Gayi Mammu, returns to the same universe with a fresh message. The new campaign highlights key themes such as no limits on hospital room rent, the importance of personal health insurance beyond office coverage, and the need to secure insurance at a young age.

This time, Munna Bhai and Circuit are joined by Dr. Rustam Pavri, the earnest medical student who, in the movie Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., wanted to change his room; the hapless man Munna Bhai hilariously hangs upside down. 

The ad is shot by filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani and curated by Leo Burnett India, which leverages the nostalgia of cult-classic films.

Audiences love the iconic Munna Bhai films and their beloved characters. While ACKO’s 2023 campaign generated immense excitement by reuniting the duo after 17 years, this time the novelty factor seems to have diminished.

With the concept already familiar to viewers, there’s a risk that the new campaign may feel like a repetition, leaving audiences to wonder if it can offer something fresh.

Ashish Mishra, chief marketing officer of ACKO, acknowledges the challenge of creating a sequel to their successful Munna Bhai and Circuit campaign of 2023. 

"The second album is always the toughest," he remarks, highlighting the difficulty of meeting the high expectations set by the first version. However, he credits the enduring appeal of these iconic characters, whose dialogues have become a part of meme culture and everyday language, for providing a wealth of creative opportunities.

“There was pressure to ensure this campaign was as entertaining as the last,” Mishra admits, adding that the Munna-Circuit universe is “so rich with possibilities that it continues to inspire engaging content”.

There was pressure to ensure this campaign was as entertaining as the last
                                                                                              - Ashish Mishra, CMO

There are only a few instances where brands have successfully revived creative ideas and achieved a similar level of impact. Examples include the Ramesh-Suresh duo in Cadbury 5 Star’s ads and the talking camel, Badal, in Bisleri’s campaigns. Both cases refreshed the messaging to engage the audience in a new way, even though the concepts were already familiar to viewers. 

One of the driving forces behind launching the second installment of the campaign was the tremendous success of the first campaign. On the launch day in 2023, ACKO saw a staggering 56x spike in app downloads.

"Creating memorable ads like Munna Bhai-Circuit and the Saif-Sara campaign not only enhances brand recall but also drives better returns on media investments," Mishra explains. 

Regarding the rebranding, Mishra says the rebranding reflects ACKO's significant evolution beyond its initial focus as solely an auto insurance provider. Over the past nine years, the company has expanded its offerings to include health, life, and travel insurance.

"This evolution necessitated a brand identity that reflects our growth and maturity. It was crucial to convey that we are now an established, diverse insurance brand," he says.

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Prateek Malpani, senior director of brand marketing, adds that the rebranding draws inspiration from the Mobius strip—a continuous, unbroken surface that symbolises ACKO's commitment to “standing by its customers” and “always acting in their best interests”.

Mishra shares that Hirani and his production team managed to complete the shoot in just one day. The director also brought back many of the original crew members who worked on the film, further enriching the project with their expertise.

The ads were crafted to fit within 30-35 seconds, taking into account the shorter attention spans of viewers. 

"For our previous Munna Bhai and Circuit campaign in 2023, the view-through rate was over 50%, which is unprecedented in the world of YouTube. Typically, a good view-through rate is around 30-35%," says Malpani.

(Trivia: View-through rate (VTR) measures how many viewers watched an ad to completion, serving as a key metric for engagement and effectiveness in retaining viewer attention.)

The ads were crafted to fit within 30-35 seconds, taking into account the shorter attention spans of viewers. 

Regarding its media strategy, the brand plans to focus heavily on connected TV, OTT platforms, YouTube, and Meta platforms (including Instagram and Facebook) over the next three to four months. 

However, there are no significant TV spends planned. "We’re focusing on where our viewers are. We've seen a significant spike in CTV viewing, and a large portion of our business comes from the top 10 to 20 cities, which aligns well with the connected TV audience," Mishra explains.

‘Shark Tank India collaboration’

ACKO has partnered with Shark Tank India, serving as the co-presenting sponsor for multiple seasons since 2023. Having previously appeared in Season 3 of the show, ACKO's founder, Varun Dua, is featured in this season too. 

But this year, the show transitions to a digital-exclusive format on Sony LIV, and the question arises: Does this shift make ACKO rethink its collaboration?

Mishra shares that while the numbers are promising, it’s still early to fully assess the impact. However, over the past three seasons, the brand has seen strong performance, reinforcing its commitment to the show. 

He mentions that the Shark Tank property airs during the period between January and February, which is quieter compared to October through December when cricket and other events take place. This window presents an opportunity for ACKO to collaborate with the show.

The brand unveiled the Changemaker Wall this year, a project by independent artists skilled in Kalamkari, Kalighat, and digital illustration. The artwork captures themes of change, highlighting areas such as sports, the economy, and society at large. 

Mishra explains that the Changemaker Wall honours individuals driving change, with participants discussing the changes they wish to see, regardless of whether they received funding or not.

Also Read: Here’s why Acko is bullish on content marketing

As part of its focus on simplifying insurance, ACKO launched the YouTube content series What’s The Catch? featuring R. Madhavan last year. Mishra says that the brand plans to introduce more IPs like this, with a focus on education. 

"One of the challenges in the industry is the need for information and education," he says. "Content is central to our strategy, and this year, we will focus on creating large-scale, informative content to guide our customers."