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The brand talks about its 'Zero Spam Assurance' concept through Unique Virtual Number technology in its new spot.
Hello?
Spam. Spam. Spam. Spam. Spam. SPAM!
Selfie kheenchu, video dekhun,
Sabke beech mein paun SPAM!
Bathroom jaun, sone jaun,
Theatre mein bhi pahunchay SPAM!
Mera phone baje aur main chillau,
YEH NUMBER KAHAN SE MILAA???
Sites mera number lete,
Sari duniya ko yeh dete
Subah shaam phone yeh karte
Hello sir, hello ma'am
Spam. Spam. Spam. Spam. Spam. SPAM!
These are the introductory lyrics of Sulekha's (the digital platform for local services) first-ever long format digital film. Created by a digital agency, Flying Cursor, the fun and humorous spot, 'Zero Spam Assurance' rides on the ad world's latest sensation - creating rap-based ad films to endorse brand products and services.
The film goes on to depict that now when one makes use of Sulekha.com to get professional services, they are assigned a dynamic virtual number with the help of the User Virtual Number (UVN) technology, which the company claims to be a first-of-its-kind for this industry. The UVN technology prevents the service partner from storing and circulating the user's mobile number which in essence means that Sulekha shares the user's number only with the service partners the user wants to talk to. Moreover, the calls can be stopped by the user whenever they want with just one click.
Speaking about the digital film, Divya Ramesh, creative partner, Flying Cursor adds, "'Number kahan se mila' is the most common response to any spam call we get, and today everyone has their own way of dealing with pesky spammers. Spamming the spammers themselves was a fun concept that we wanted to showcase, so we decided to create a digital film that introduces this exciting new chapter for Sulekha as a desi hip-hop track so it attracts not just Sulekha's existing users but also a younger audience."
Continuing further, Ramesh says, "By showcasing this in a rap style, we wanted to amp up the ridiculous quotient of the spam calls, the inconvenience caused by them, and the replies that our protagonist gave to the spammers. All, while creating a jingle that was catchy, and drawing their interest to a feature that was largely technology-driven (Unique Virtual Number), showing them how it can benefit their lives."
The digital-only film which was shot in Mumbai in just one day, targets people between the ages of 25 - 44, across the top eight metro cities - Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Bengaluru within the socio-economic classification (SEC) A and B.
Rap Effect
Banking on rap-based songs to create films for ad campaigns has been adland's in-vogue trend for some time now. We take a quick look at ad films which utilised this concept recently.
Expert Speak
When asked if creating a rap-based ad film like other brands will help it become viral, he is of the view that though there is no set formula to take any content viral, historically, humour packaged in different formats has worked to an extent of being over-worked these days by many brands.
He further adds, "However, to Sulekha's credit, their consistent humour-led #AntiJugaad communication has established a certain level of awareness and relevance among the target audience, which will surely help the video achieve a certain level of popularity. Not necessarily viral."