Vi woos night owls on 'revenge procrastination' with new data-centric spot

Ever since last year, when COVID hit, we have become dependent on Internet connections more than ever, be it for our jobs or education or entertainment. Juggling to maintain a work-life or study-life balance, while being confined indoors, has led us to deal with ‘revenge bedtime procrastination’. It means that people regain a sense of freedom by limiting their sleep hours and doing things they don’t have time for during the busy day. All this has inevitably resulted in a mobile data usage surge.

Leading telecom service provider Vi has unveiled a campaign for its ‘Vi Hero Unlimited’ plans, which provide a solution to the night data crunch problem. The ad film features actor Vinay Pathak as the protagonist and a boy, who is engrossed in his phone. In the middle of the night, the boy’s mobile data crosses its limit and and he bangs his hand on Pathak’s helmet. Pathak then offers him Vi's prepaid SIM, which provides unlimited free data at night.

The three features that the prepaid plans offer include weekend data rollover, night time free data (from 12-6 a.m.) and double data.

Speaking to afaqs! about the campaign, Avneesh Khosla, chief marketing officer, Vi, says that ‘Vi Hero Unlimited’ recharge solves a perpetual problem of data quota exhaustion faced by prepaid users.

He mentions that Vi Hero Unlimited plans target a broad spectrum of consumers, and not just youngsters. "This plan is designed for all prepaid customers, who have high data consumption requirements. Not just that, the recharge also provides seamless connectivity to everyone, be it a student studying online, a professional working from home, or even a citizen who depends on the Internet for banking, shopping, research and entertainment."

“But most importantly, we intend to provide the best in products and services to help our customers get more and do more in life. Consider the Vi Hero Unlimited campaign a huge step in that direction.”

The six-week campaign, conceptualised by Ogilvy, will have two TVCs and a digital roll out.

Commenting on the creative concept, Kiran Antony, CCO, Ogilvy South, said in a press release, “The task was to differentiate Vi Hero Unlimited from the rest, by bringing out the two most relevant pain points - running out of data in the middle of the night and over the weekend. We got (Vinay) Pathak on board to do this without sounding too preachy or prescriptive. These films capture Pathak recommending Hero Unlimited to all the distressed people out there.”

All Vi prepaid recharges from Rs 249 and above will offer weekend data rollover and night time free data. On recharges of Rs 299, Rs 449 and Rs 699, the users will also be entitled for double data benefits.

Earlier this week, telecom operator BSNL also rolled out a new Rs 599 plan, which offers unlimited night time data. In June 2020, Jio had launched unlimited Internet for ‘3 Happy Hours’, from 2-5 a.m.