On the campaign trail

Humour is one of the most popular advertising techniques — but comedy is pretty tough to pull off. This fortnight, we saw several campaigns trying to make people laugh — through puns, quirky characters and amplifying the ridiculous.

FlipGirl to the rescue

A superhero, a rescue and an incongruous query lightening the moment — that’s Flipkart’s new campaign to show how shoppers can shop at great speed on the platform. Alia Bhatt plays the part of FlipGirl, the superhero protagonist, cape et al, rushing to the rescue and then offering some shopping advice to the person she rescues. Conceptualised by McCann World Group, it’s a pretty contrived ad, but Alia Bhatt still manages to pull it off.

Hunger is a weighty issue

Mondelez India’s new campaign for its snack bar Cadbury Fuse aims to showcase the product as a substantial snack when hunger pangs hit. It employs puns as well as a comic situation to put across the “Bhaari” proposition of the snack bar. To convey the weightiness of the campaign, it has roped in former WWE Heavyweight Champion, the Great Khali who disrupts a chemistry class with his sizeable presence to deliver the snack bar to a hungry student who has sent out a text message seeking help. Jab Bhaari Bhook ki Bajegi ghanti, Bhaari Fuse maarega sold entry goes the funny tagline. Good for a laugh, but we have seen better from Ogilvy.

Better batter

Usha International’s upcoming campaign rides on a partnership with the film Shaabash Mithu — a biopic on cricketer Mithali Raj, who is also the company’s brand ambassador — which hits screens on July 15. The co-branded TVC, which promotes the film as well as Usha’s wet grinder puns on “better batter” and scores with smart word play around grind. It’s a pretty impactful brand integration — especially as the commercial has been airing during India vs. England test matches.

Out of the shadows

Mention must be made of Ogilvy’s creative digital campaign for Bajaj Pulsar’s new bikes on Instagram and YouTube. To create anticipation for the new launch, the Ogilvy Content Force and Bajaj Pulsar emulated an eclipse across their Instagram page. For an entire week, Pulsar’s Instagram feed showcased a moon with phases of an actual eclipse. Amidst the shadow, a silhouette of a bike emerged, enticing viewers about a likely launch, soon to be revealed.  The eclipse theme was used on YouTube too, using effects to show how the bike overshadows other competitor bikes.

Also read

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India at Cannes

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