The Hindu Business Line : It also serves

NOSTALGIA, friendship and sepia tones are creative mainstays of advertising high-involvement categories of products. Agreed. But, a category as impassive as engine oils known for its ubiquitous demonstration advertisements is inclined to strike the emotional chord as well.

Indian Oil's latest Servo engine oil commercial conveys dependability using the theme of reunion. Leo Burnett, the ad agency responsible for the advertisement, puts across the idea that there is one engine oil brand working overtime across different walks of life. That Servo touches people every time they use a vehicle.

Says S. K. Swaminathan, Executive Director (Lubes), Indian Oil Corporation, "Since 1994, when we actually began advertising with the `Servo adds life' campaign, we realised that our core strengths lay with our relationship with the consumer, and since then relationships have been an integral to all our communication platforms."

Scripted by Russell Barrett from Leo Burnett and directed by K. S. Chakravarthy of MAD Films, this 30-second commercial depicts a few middle-aged men heading towards a destination on four different modes of transport. Some are in cars while two board a train. Yet another person relies on his trusty motorcycle while another group is on a bus.

Right through the film, as these old pals head for their destination, the commercial attempts to remind viewers that Servo not only powers cars but trains too, and not just motorbikes but buses as well. Eventually, all of them congregate at their alma mater for a re-union, and the message culminates in `Everyone depends on Servo.'

Says M. Venkataraman, National Account Director, Leo Burnett: "Our research concluded that people weren't too keen on product details, especially in the engine oils category. The idea was to register brand recall among its consumers and to communicate that all types of vehicles use Servo."

Having been off the advertising circuit for last two years, Indian Oil's latest Servo engine oil television commercial hit the screens at an opportune time — during the current India-Pakistan cricket series. Servo ads were strategically aired on Ten Sports to garner enough eyeballs across the nation to bring about brand recall.

Reunion as a theme is relatively fresh though it has been employed in a few high-involvement products like fabrics. Percept H, for instance, in 2002, had used a similar theme in its campaign for J. Hampstead.

"Reunions are all about camaraderie, meeting up after years, checking on who's doing what and lastly about measuring swelling waistlines and receding hairlines. So while working on the storyboard we tried to capture every possible emotional moment that reunions carry," Venkataraman said.

Unlike the earlier ads, which had truck drivers and garage owners as its central characters, this commercial depicts seemingly prudent alumni, and the impressive edifice connoting the alma mater of this bunch of characters gives it a more urban appeal.

"Though reunion as a fete is a very urban concept, we had to keep in mind the increasing number of passenger cars hitting the roads," Swaminathan of IOC says, adding that earlier it was transport companies, especially truck owners, which commanded large volume sales. "But with the recent spurt in passenger car sales, we had to address this new category of the urban middle class as well."

Apart from Leo Burnett, IOC has also tied up with Rediffusion for further communication initiatives. "After bringing back customer recall on Servo, we will concentrate on product-specific brand building," Swaminathan added.

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