Marico launches lockdown themed musical 'Champi' challenge on TikTok

Marico’s marquee hair-nourishment brand, Parachute Advansed, has launched #ChampiBeats, a campaign, to encourage consumers to use the lockdown time to bond with their loved ones over a ‘musical’ champi. Roping in renowned TV celebrities and influencers, the brand ran the campaign on TikTok, garnering 10 billion views in the first 6 days alone.

The champi is a timeless Indian practice of giving a head massage with oil. Beyond being a hair nourishment ritual and a stress buster, the champi also reinforces the close bond between loved ones. However, with jobs becoming increasingly demanding, people barely get to spend time with their loved ones. So, Parachute Advansed decided to bring the champi back into the lives of consumers, at a time when it was needed most - during the lockdown when families are forced to spend more time together.

The brand hosted the #ChampiBeats challenge on TikTok, encouraging consumers to give a champi to their loved ones. TV actors including comedienne Bharti Singh, Anita Hassanandani, Hina Khan and Deepika Singh, as well as TikTok influencers took up the challenge and created champi videos with their family members, and then encouraged their fans to do the same.

Speaking about this campaign, Koshy George, chief marketing officer, Marico said, “During the on-going lockdown , we felt that the brand can help people make the most of their togetherness, while also helping them deal with the stress of the situation. We launched Parachute Advansed #ChampiBeats on TikTok to turn the ‘champi’ from a mere oiling ritual to a fun and memorable shared experience with loved ones. In collaboration with celebrated stars, we wish to connect with our consumers in a unique and playful way, while staying true to the core value of the brand which is providing superior nourishment.”

Conceptualised by VMLY&R, #ChampiBeats uses the sound element of TikTok, to help users give a musical champi. Set to a delightful and playful beat created especially for the campaign, the challenge encourages people to get creative with their massage techniques, and change their champi tempo every 5 seconds with the beat, creating memorable shareable moments for families, friends and fans.

Venkatagiri Rao, chief creative officer, VMLY&R India & South East Asia, said, “When you have a unique platform like TikTok, you want to stay true to its nature, rather than treat it as a surrogate platform for airing a commercial message. And #ChampiBeats succeeds in co-opting the language of TikTok seamlessly. It is a digital solution that takes an ancient ritual like the champi and completely reinvents it for the TikTok generation. Creating memorable ‘connected experiences’ and connected brands is what we do at VMLY&R, and this is a very good example of that approach.”