Zivame uses stand-up comics and sketches in its new campaign

Zivame’s new campaign focuses on the real issues that women face with intimate wear, with a humorous twist. The ad featuring Prashasti Singh aims to create awareness about the problems women face with the regular petticoat, and how Zivame’s saree shapewear was built to offer an alternative solution.

The product is a stringless petticoat that works both as an underskirt and a shapewear. Unlike the old-school petticoat, it is seamless, and shapes and sculpts a woman's body to give a 'mermaid' silhouette under any saree.

Speaking about the campaign, Khatija Lokhandwala, head marketing, Zivame, said, “This is Zivame’s second film in our exclusively created stand-up series for intimate wear. The fun and humorous route enables us to connect better with our audience. It also highlights serious issues in a relatable and engaging manner.”

Another aspect that the campaign is trying to highlight is that lingerie is no longer a hushed conversation topic in India. Zivame has also collaborated with stand-up comic and influencer Aishwarya Mohanraj for a humorous campaign on T-shirt bras.

The campaign is built on real life challenges and embarrassment faced by women due to bra outlines being visible, restricting their choice of outerwear. It aims to highlight this issue and the taboos associated with it through humour.

“Using engaging formats to educate customers about seemingly taboo topics is a Zivame trademark. It has enabled the brand to strike the right chord and connect deeper with our audiences,” said Lokhandwala.

Zivame isn't the first major brand to use this style of advertising. We have already seen Nestle's coffee brand Nescafe use a stand-up comic, named Rishi, who had a stammering problem.

The main difference between Zivame's campaign and Nescafe's approach is that the ad highlights the struggles and challenges that stand-up comics face when they are trying to make it big. Rishi's sketch isn't entirely self-deprecatory in nature, but is frank and straightforward, in an attempt to strike a chord with the audience.

A brand's association with a stand-up comic doesn't always have to be a mutual collaboration. Often in their sketches, stand-up comics drag Indian ads, brands and products in a bid to be more relatable and get more laughs out of their audience.

In 2020, stand-up comic and actor Vir Das made two notable brand mentions that ended up turning into earned media collaborations. He referenced Parle-G in his Netflix stand-up special, calling it 'the best biscuit in the world.'

He also dragged Dabur Chyawanprash in the same show, joking that nobody knows what its ingredients are. Dabur acknowledged his skit after it was widely shared. The company even sent Das a package of different chyawanprash flavours and a detailed explanation of what each ingredient was responsible for.

Zivame was founded in 2011, with the vision to make lingerie shopping personalised and convenient. A press note claims that Zivame is now the No. 1 business-to-consumer (B2C) intimate wear brand in India, with 45-plus retail stores and presence in 1,000-plus partner stores across the country.

Zivame offers lingerie, activewear, sleepwear and shapewear in over 3,000 exclusive designs and various sizes catering to women of all body types.