BackIndian advertising thrives on family ties
Highlighting relationships in campaigns is all very well, but what happens to advertising that features celebrities and their family members?
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For Arun Iyer, chief creative officer at advertising agency Lowe Lintas, it was a casting coup of sorts. For the agency’s latest advertising film for Tanishq, the jewellery brand from Titan Co. Ltd, they roped in film star Deepika Padukone’s parents Prakash and Ujjala Padukone. Iyer says the decision, taken jointly by the ad agency’s creative team and its client Tanishq, was easy as they had already cast Deepika Padukone and her mother in a Mother’s Day ad for the brand six months ago. Tanishq had signed on the film star, currently among the hottest brand ambassadors, in May this year through her representatives, talent management company CAA Kwan.
Iyer says the idea to get Deepika Padukone’s parents for Tanishq’s Diwali ad emanated from the agency’s briefing sessions with the client where it explained its design philosophy for Divyam, the heritage gold jewellery collection that was to be promoted.
Tanishq has always been about relationships. When the company signed on Deepika Padukone, “we knew we would do stuff around family and relationships", says Iyer.
To be sure, most Indian advertising is about relationships, especially family ties. The phenomenon is uniquely Indian. That kind of advertising isn’t common elsewhere. In fact, our involvement in each other’s lives is also uniquely Indian and our advertising reflects that. It is clearly centred around who we are, with several brands in the consumption category being defined by family culture in their communication.
Highlighting relationships in campaigns is all very well, but what happens to advertising that features celebrities and their family members? In India such examples are aplenty: Some months ago, Alia Bhatt appeared in the Garnier oil-in-cream ad with her mother Soni Razdan. More recently, Deepika Padukone has featured with her dad in the Asian Paints Royale Play commercial. Earlier, actor Saif Ali Khan did the Asian Paints ad with his sister Soha. Several years ago, Anil Kapoor and daughter Sonam were cast by the writing instruments brand Montblanc.
Two things could happen in such advertising: Either the ad could fall flat for being gimmicky and unbelievable, or it could fly if it evokes the right emotion and is warm and enjoyable. If the celebrity’s family is being involved just to get some publicity, it doesn’t work. If together they push the story of the brand, the advertising is accepted and liked.
Needless to say, creatives work only when there is a story to tell. Truthful and honest advertising works. Else, a consumer will skip it. Gimmicks around family members are a no-no. If you have got hold of celebrity family members, then you may as well leverage them properly. Delve a bit deeper into their relationships and capture the nuances for viewers.
Some years ago, a celebrity film couple was cast in a washing machine ad. The ad didn’t fly. The couple’s children were not their own and the actress could not be associated with washing clothes. On the other hand, the Union Bank of India commercial that featured Sachin Tendulkar’s elder brother Ajit Tendulkar, with the tag line Your dreams are not yours alone, worked. It aimed at highlighting the quiet contribution of the individual behind the great batsman. Very subtly, it portrayed how the elder brother inspired Sachin Tendulkar to make it big in the world of cricket.
According to advertising professional K.S. Chakravarthy, chief creative officer at Liqvd Asia, the Union Bank campaign won hearts as it used the relationship well. “When you view such stories, you must feel like an insider. It works when the undercurrents in a relationship are exposed," he says.
Lowe Lintas claims it chose to go with Prakash and Ujjala Padukone as Tanishq is an authentic brand and it wanted the same authenticity in its communication, which only real parents and not actors could have brought to the ad film.
Why the Tanishq ad also works is because we are curious about the private lives of celebrities. We want a peek into their households. And it is pleasing to note that their Diwali celebrations aren’t too different from our own.
However, even in television commercials featuring celebrities, advertising and brand experts do not allow them to overshadow the brand. The message has to override the celebrity.
In the Tanishq Divyam ad, the message is that every Diwali we
re-engage with the same traditions. And buying gold is one of them. Deepika Padukone and her family becomes the medium to convey that. If the celebrity is over-involved, the communication doesn’t land the brand message.
Iyer agrees that the ad has been liked by millions on YouTube, but its real test will be closer to Diwali when Tanishq sees its sales spike.
Shuchi Bansal is Mint’s media, marketing, and advertising editor. Ordinary Post will look at pressing issues related to all three. Or just fun stuff.
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