PhonePe takes on health insurance woes with humorous World Cup ads

PhonePe, the digital payments app, had secured advertising rights for the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup with a Rs 150 crore sponsorship. Now, during the tournament, PhonePe presented three essential questions to millions of cricket viewers: Caught off guard by hospital bills?, Still bargaining on hospital bills?, and Running from expensive health insurance?.

These questions were posed through three 15-second ad films set against the backdrop of a hospital. The ads humorously promote PhonePe's health insurance platform and its monthly premiums offering.

In one ad, an elderly patient rushes out of the hospital, indicating he didn't take insurance due to its cost, leaving his finances drained. Another shows a man with fractures attempting to negotiate discounts but resorting to billing only for his leg due to lack of insurance. The third ad portrays a man emerging from a coma, who, upon learning about the impending hospital bill, returns to a coma due to the trauma.

Crafted by creative agency The Script Room, the ads were created in collaboration with agency Early Man. Rajesh Ramaswamy, founder of The Script Room, shared the challenge of condensing the message within 15-20 seconds. He emphasised the success of the breakthrough achieved through injecting humour into hospital narratives. The concept sprang from casual team conversations, resulting in the creation of these ads and the potential for more in the future.

The brand is also promoting its compatibility with other digital payment apps through three 20-second ads during the World Cup. In these ads, a character handles different financial situations using the app, such as paying a rent deposit, assisting a neighbour with a delivery payment, and interacting with a customer. The overarching message highlights the seamless transfer of money between any app and PhonePe for users.

“We were looking for a refreshing idea. A kind of a world which could seamlessly lend to talk about the features of PhonePe UPI. While we always end up shooting every ad in Mumbai, what if we begin only with Film opens in Mumbai. New Girl in the city!," Ramaswamy said.

Taking to his social media handle Ramesh Srinivasan, director and head- brand marketing, PhonePe gave a shout out to The Script Room and spoke about the new campaign, “A very new treatment and take, our attempt to do functional messaging in a not so functional manner. Lots happening this World Cup on brand PhonePe and just super glad that it’s all coming together and landing on the biggest media event of the year”.