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Titled #UnitedByHer, the campaign features Vidya Malvade and has been created by Terribly Tiny Talkies, a firm that makes thematic short films. This one's about breast cancer.
Imagine losing something that you treasured all your life, something that has been an integral part of your body and enhances your femininity. For a woman, her breasts are just that and to have them removed for life is a huge blow to not just her physical identity, but her self-esteem as well. Hundreds of Indian women go through 'mastectomy', the surgical removal of one or both breasts in order to be cured of breast cancer, and to live with the stigma of being called 'flat-chested', to be pitied, or even be felt sorry for becomes a part of her rehabilitation. Though the removal of the breast may be a way to cure the disease, life after a mastectomy is often filled with mental trauma, depression, and a sense of shame.
Terribly Tiny Talkies, the video arm of the branded content specialist firm Terribly Tiny Tales, has created a film titled 'Life After' for the apparel brand United Colors of Benetton (UCB) India, which depicts a patient's life after a mastectomy. The video is a part of Benetton's Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign #UnitedByHer.
Terribly Tiny Tales has had a long-term association with UCB. On the occasion of Independence Day this year, the brand thought of having a video association and that is when the 'One Faith' video was made. That was the first India-focussed inward initiative of the brand.
Terribly Tiny Tales launched in 2013. After tasting success, it decided to launch its video wing Terribly Tiny Talkies. The video wing plans to disrupt the market with creative branded content in association with various brands.
Ruparel, who was formerly with Ogilvy and Mather, says, "In an agency, you have a couple of writers working on the same brand for years which results in the lack of creativity after a certain point of time. At Terribly Tiny Tales, we have writers from all over the world individually brainstorming on a topic given by a client."
According to a source in Benetton, the video can be watched only on digital platforms, but at the same time, the brand will have an on-ground activation running in Delhi through November. The brand will bear the cost of driving people to a screening organised by the Indian Cancer Society (ICS).
Expert Speak
Did it manage to stand-out?
"There are better options. If you see 'Man Boobs', for instance. The communication needs to be crystal clear which is not so in this film. UCB, in the past, has done a lot of amazing stuff which was cutting edge and different, and therefore, from a brand like that, you expect something better. I think in this case, it failed to understand the topic properly," concludes Sridhar.