Facebook has taken its ‘More Together’ campaign to Kerala by means of a short film in Malayalam aimed at celebrating the spirit of Onam, playing to the strength of its platform to power connections and bring people together at a time when the pandemic has sent friends and families apart.
Facebook’s core belief is that ‘people can do more together, than alone,’ says Ajit Mohan, Vice-President and Managing Director, Facebook India. He hopes that the Onam vibes conveyed through the short film would help bring focus to Kerala and drive lots of positive energy.
Film based on real life story
“We conduct extensive research for our campaigns and came across Ayyanthole Desam Pulikkali Samghataka Samithi from Thrissur who gave Pulikkali artform, an important tradition of Onam, a virtual twist. This is the first time we have done a film in Malayalam and based on a real story.”
Facebook found short films a suitable medium to celebrate the regional cultural moments which are important in the lives of Indians. Onam is one of the largest festivals celebrated with great fervour in Kerala where people from all walks of life come together to celebrate the 10-day harvest festival.
“We decided as a company close to three years ago around the world that Facebook should tell its story better. At a time when there was so much focus on the company, its entire story was not being told – the way people use our platform or communities form or even ways in which businesses leverage us to grow,” Ajit Mohan told BusinessLine by phone from Mumbai.
Doing things together, not alone
The idea of Facebook is rooted in the mission of the company itself, in terms of connecting people around the world, and igniting ideas. “And this idea is that we can all do great things, we can chase big dreams, and you can do more together rather than doing things them alone,” he added.
“Over the last year and a half in India, we’ve been communicating this during big cultural moments. Holi and Diwali last year, with the film around Pooja Didi at the Pooja Milk Centre, a story inspired by real life moments. Or earlier this year, the story on efforts to promote vaccination by means of a film based on the real story of Rizwan around the time of Eid.”
In the instant case, Facebook seeks to talk about itself in Kerala based on a real story that happened last year. This was about a Pulikkali group in Thrissur which was scheduled to perform but had run into a lockdown. The group would later discover that they could actually bring it alive on Facebook Live and reach a much larger audience than they imagined.
Real story of Pulikkali group
The film gives centre stage to the real-life story of Krishna Prasad and his troop of folk artists who created history in 2020 by performing Pulikkali on Facebook Live and managed to bring people closer to the culture and traditions associated with Onam amidst social distancing restrictions.
“We wanted to capture the essence of the Onam festivities and the various traditions around it, and how community is being built even during these less-than-normal times. While traditions are repurposed to fit into a more physically distant present, we wanted to showcase how people can come together to create new memories on Facebook,” says Ajit Mohan.