On the campaign trail

Festive season is here — the time when brands up their creativity and pull out sparkling ideas. It’s also the season of giving, and many of the campaigns are full of purpose and tug at the heart. Meanwhile, Mattel has taken India’s biggest festival global, launching a Barbie Diwali doll in collaboration with fashion designer Anita Dogre. The doll wears a choli and lehenga and sports golden earrings and a bindi, showing how Barbie is embracing diverse cultures. But amidst all the festive spirit, it was the coffee brands that stole the show as they swamped media channels on International Coffee Day with some brilliant work.

A sensory coffee experience

India literally woke up to the aroma of coffee as, in a brilliant advertising innovation, Tata Coffee put the scent of the brew into printing ink of newspapers, even as it splashed coffee across the page, promoting Tata Coffee Grand. And it didn’t stop the sensory experience there — adding a mesmerising auditory and visual extravaganza with the ‘Shik Shik Shik Paatu’. Composed by Santhosh Narayanan with Dhee’s captivating vocals, the groovy music video created by Lowe Lintas brings alive the sights and smells of Tamil Nadu’s mornings.

Nescafe Sunrise, too, took the musical route, with a lyrical ode to coffee farmers and agronomists. Set amidst the verdant plantations of Coorg, the catchy video by Dentsu Creative Webchutney shines a spotlight on the lives of coffee farmers.

Flip the math

Ecommerce major Flipkart’s campaign ahead of its massive Big Billion Days sale is an over-the-top way of showing how massive the savings are during the period. The film introduces a family of three squabbling over the time the son spends purchasing online. The son ropes in his father’s maths professor to make him aware of the benefits of shopping during Big Billion Days. The hilarious campaign conceptualised by DDB Mudra shows how Indians love maximising value through best deals.

Furry theme

OnePlus has come out with an early Diwali campaign that revolves around small acts of kindness — but the twist in the tale is that the films feature furry companions. Conceptualised in-house by the OnePlus marketing team and directed by Kameron, the first film captures the festive spirit of Diwali through the story of a family and their pet dog exchanging gifts. Nudged by the pet dog, the family extends generosity to stray dogs as well. 

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On the campaign trail.

On the Campaign Trail.

The second film features a young couple who unknowingly gift each other the OnePlus Nord 4 in the presence of their cat, who eyes the device avariciously.

A sense of security

Of late, spam and scam calls are on the rise. Airtel has taken an early lead, launching a campaign in partnership with indie agency Fundamental to create awareness about voice phishing. The ad shows many common scam calls — a lucky draw win, a courier tracking link and so on. It shows how isolated the victim feels when an attack happens. It ends by showing what Airtel is doing to tackle the issue.

Swiggy’s dandiya moves 

In the run-up to Navaratri, Swiggy Instamart launched a clever campaign featuring singer Falguni Pathak, whose songs are popular during dandiya nights. The campaign features an invisible person in various situations — in the lift, in the car, giving a dandiya tutorial — implying that Pathak is only visible during Navaratri. And then it introduces the Falguni collection on Instamart — must-have items for the festival, like the dandiya sticks, ethnic wear, sweets and puja items.