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After laundry equality, Ariel revisits stain removal...
...in a bid to get cricket fans to reuse their "stained" lucky jerseys from 2011's WC.
The ICC Cricket World Cup is on and brands are going bonkers over it. Effusing patriotism, unity and passion, various campaigns have been unleashed banking on the popularity of the sport. Of the many creatives built around cricket by brands including Uber, Star Sports, Wildstone, Greenply, Puma, American Tourister, Coca-Cola, Royal Stag, Thomas Cook etc. P&G's detergent brand, Ariel's nostalgic campaign #2011Dobara, caught our attention.
Ariel's #2011Dobara takes viewers down memory lane to a time when India won the World Cup in 2011. It makes them relive the anxiety, hope, fear, joy, and pride that all Indians experienced during the final match after which Team India raised the coveted trophy in victory after 28 years. The campaign states that it's time for everyone to keep their lucky jerseys ready. These are the ones they wore when they witnessed and celebrated India's 2011 win. Only this time, Ariel wants them to wear the garments, sans stains.
Conceptualised by Leo Burnett, the film is the first non-ShareTheLoad message from the brand in a while.
In the recent past, Ariel has woven it's communication around its 'Share The Load' message. The first ad of the series (2015), raised the question - Is doing the laundry only a woman's job? This idea - gender disparity in household chores with a special focus on laundry - became its identity ever since.
Procter & Gamble's CMO for laundry and fabric care, Sonali Dhawan, was quoted in an interview, saying, "Brands have come a little further than just selling the product. Every brand needn't necessarily have a cause, but if you think you have the influence and the stature as a brand, it's an obligation to try and make a difference."
The ad film #2011Dobara was shared on social media by eminent names, like Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sagarika Ghatge, Geeta Basra, Piyush Chawla, Mayanti Langer, etc.
So, will Ariel's proposal stand out amidst the noise around the World Cup? Will going back to its original proposition of stain removal from purpose advertising make a difference? We turn to our experts to find out.
Navin Theeng
Aditya Jaishankar
Navin Theeng, executive creative director, Havas Gurgaon, feels that the kernel of this idea had the potential to be one of the best ads this World Cup. But between ideation and final execution, a few balls were dropped.
He says, "It is a nostalgic repository of one of the high points in your life. Each and every stain is a character that plays a part in retelling the story of that famous day. Not something that you would want to wash off. Ariel would have stood out as a brand had they said some stains are not meant to be washed away. But instead, by asking people to wash the stains, that are actually memories of that day, it just became a product, a detergent, nothing more. This feels like a six that was caught at the boundary".
On a side note, he adds, "The budgetary constraints of an idea that does not conform to the regular client brief can be seen. But talking about it would be missing the plot."
Commenting on the ideation and execution of the film, Aditya Jaishankar, co-founder, Make Awesome Ads (MAAD), says, "Washing away the stains of a lucky jersey sounds a little desperate of Ariel to somehow establish a connection with the emotionally charged World Cup celebrations. I wish the connect was a little less stretched.
Nima Namchu
"Brands need to understand where the opportunities lie and be realistic about how they can be associated with the maddening cricket fever around the World Cup. Hopefully, the future will see brands that have a natural connect, either with the fans or directly with the sport, making promises that are credible and riding on ingrained behaviours of consumers to make a genuine impact and not look or feel desperate", he adds.
According to Nima Namchu, former chief creative officer, Havas Worldwide India, the idea of the "lucky jersey" is a good insight into the minds of most sports fans, who can be unbelievably superstitious especially during the most critical matches. He says, "I thought this was an opportunity wasted. Instead of settling for the predictable montage film, they could have created a more realistic and a much more engaging story about a single fan who had discarded and forgotten his lucky charm after the previous tournament".
Anindya Banerjee
"I believe we should tell stories about the brand in the context of the event. And resist creating a sea of sameness by writing films that are just equivalent of prints ads that start with 'This Diwali...' or 'This World Cup...'", he states.
Anindya Banerjee, ECD, FCB Ulka, says, "Ariel’s latest ad is anything but predictable. Shot beautifully, it has a quintessential Indian behaviour... we wear our lucky jerseys when India is playing. And then it marries it beautifully with a past victory and the product. Two thumbs up for the commercial".
Signing off, he adds, "It will be a pity if they play a 20 second edit of the film on TV."