They say that brands can do what at times even elected representatives of the government cannot — hold a mirror to society and actively bring about a change from the grassroots. Guided by their creative agencies, brands have the power to touch and transform lives. In this edition we are showcasing what IMPACT considers the 10 best creative ideas of 2023, after a thorough editorial selection, campaigns that can move mountains, motivate you, or simply bring that much needed smile to one’s face. We have interviewed the creative professionals behind these ideas who tell us exactly what went on behind the scenes and what it really took to put together those breathtaking campaigns.
‘We don’t need a dog bites man idea. We need a man bites dog one’
Adarsh Atal
Chief Creative Officer, Tilt Brand Solutions
"Owing to Dream 11’s massive media might, we are under great pressure to outdo ourselves in the IPL each time. For a few years, they have been doing a lot on cricket, cricketers and the game, Dream 11. So, we needed an inflexion; something like this interesting phrase we used in our jam sessions with the client, ‘We don’t need a dog bites man idea. We need a man bites dog one.’
Internally, we like to call Dream 11 the ‘popcorn to cricket’ because it’s the entertainment aspect of the sport. So, we thought of putting them onto a meta-narrative around it; the narrative being ‘cricketers are doing a lot of ads these days’. Every time they didn’t perform on the field people would go bonkers, flooding social media with memes. From there we leapt onto this insight of replying to their fans and trolls on their behalf. To make this interesting, we racked our brains to figure out who could be most bothered by cricketers doing more ads, and the answer was, actors. Our thoughts went straight to Aamir Khan, and first Lagaan, and then to 3 Idiots. The idea behind it was, ‘how irked would they be while watching IPL together and looking at these cricketers eating into their pie?’
Interestingly, it wasn’t that difficult to rope in Aamir, Madhavan and Sharman because they were quite glad and rather excited to be sharing the screen again. What was difficult was to convince the cricketers on some of the jokes which were a little mean. Even Nitesh and I were hesitant to pitch that joke around Laal Singh Chaddha to Aamir Sir, but he found the script funny. When Bumrah refused to crack that joke on him, a pun on a movie that Aamir had made so painstakingly over the years, the actor went ahead and personally convinced Bumrah. Essentially, once he agreed, everyone came on board. We were also able to use Boman Irani and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s social handles for the teaser campaign around the purported sequel of 3 Idiots.
With Dream 11, we are always aiming for the moon because their IPL campaign is not going to pass off as a ship in the night. It’s going to come out of people’s ears. However, it is quite a free-flowing process where we pitch a lot of concepts that are then shortlisted. That’s because while many of them might be great ideas, the logistics may not add up.
The thing with most good founders is that they’re decisive and Harsh is one of them. He can identify a great idea, whether it’s advertising, business, or anything else.
The most challenging part of the shoot was matching the cricketers’ and actors’ schedules, that too during the IPL. There were 8-10 players, and we had to shoot not one but enough ads to last the entire season. It was a logistical nightmare. Thankfully, we had Nitesh Tiwari. The campaign pitch was right up his alley. It was as funny as some of his movies. We shot the entire campaign over four days at DY Patil.”
‘Magic is interesting when the trick is simple, our idea was like that’
Fritz Gonsalves
Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy
Jayesh Raut
Group Creative Director, Ogilvy
It didn’t begin with the ambition of creating a Guinness World Record with the largest environmentally interactive billboard. ‘Megh Santoor,’ the 150-ft-wide Santoor installed right opposite the Vijayawada Railway Station was designed in such a manner that with every rainfall, the water interacts with the santoor strings creating a rendition of the Raag Megh Malhar - the raga of the rains. Seven months of hard work and sheer grit went into the making of this creative and technical genius which enthralled people for the entire monsoon season in 2023. Fritz Gonsalves, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy and Jayesh Raut, Group Creative Director, Ogilvy give us the details.
Q] You created the world’s largest environmentally interactive billboard. What inspired this creative genius?
Fritz: Vijayawada is a marquee market for Taj Mahal, as every second person drinks Taj Mahal tea in that city. Taj has nurtured a beautiful connection with Indian classical music. Over the years stalwarts like Ustaad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Niladri Kumar, Rahul Sharma, and more recently, Nirali Kartik have featured in their campaigns. Add another classic combination of tea and rain to the mix, and you have four things coming together - Taj Mahal tea, Indian classical music, rain and Vijayawada. The brief was to create a memorable installation for the monsoon months in the city. To that, we added the billboard of a santoor that would play Raag Megh Malhar when it rains. It was the classic definition of a good idea.
Q] How did you bring this idea to life? Let’s talk about the technicalities and the process of putting it together.
Fritz: Nirav Kant and Varun Sharma came up with the original idea. Initially, the musical instrument on the billboard was a Sitar.
Jayesh: Also, handpan. It’s a simple metal instrument. We naively thought we would take inspiration from it and use a particular metal on the outdoor and it will start playing. Later, we realised it wasn’t that simple.
Q] Why not Sitar then?
Fritz: Sitar is a little complicated. We wanted the raindrops to either hit the strings directly or fall on something that would hit them. With the Santoor, the hammer hits the string to produce music. So, all you have to do is move that hammer. For us, the rain-filled container would do that job. Jayesh came up with a solution for that – deriving inspiration from the Shishi-odoshi water fountain in Japan which uses a simple pulley mechanism. It’s sort of a container that collects the water, and the moment the weight reaches a particular threshold, the water spills out of the fountain. We used the same mechanism here.
Q] What were the challenges? Surely, it must have gone through a lot of testing before you got it right.
Fritz: Yes, we invested most of our time in testing. Andhra being closer to the ocean, we were worried about the wind speed, and the weight of the installation which has a certain limit set by the municipality. Wind, being faster than rain, could cause the hammers to move and produce a cacophony instead of music. We had to install weight and rain sensors on the hoarding, so that only the rain could move them.
Similarly, a lot of backend prototyping happened before it was finally up for the people to experience it. We would make one-fourth of the entire billboard and check whether it’s working fine.
Q] When you pitched this idea to your seniors at Ogilvy and to the client, what was their reaction?
Fritz: The inspiration behind the installation was Raag Megh Malhar - the raga of rain, and the idea was that the rain itself would play it on that installation. This meant that the inspiration for a piece of art was going to perform the piece of art. That one-liner made for a ‘wow thing’. We used it to pitch it to our bosses, Harshad and Kainaz. They just loved it. As for the client, they encourage and love ideas that are challenging and endearing at the same time.
Jayesh: We always approach our ideas like magic, and magic is interesting when the trick is simple. If the trick is rocket science, then the magic falls flat.
Q] What is the measure of the campaign’s success for you?
Fritz: The super surprise was when it became a breakout campaign on Google, growing in search by over 5000% in a certain time duration.
Jayesh: My mother who had no idea that I worked on this campaign sent it to me asking, “Why don’t you do something like this?”
‘The client didn’t ask for a single change post editing the film’
Nishant Sethi
Executive Creative Director, South – Grey Group India
Swati Balani
Former Executive Creative Director, Grey Group India
Swati Balani, Former Executive Creative Director, Grey Group India, and Nishant Sethi, Executive Creative Director, South – Grey Group India, talk about creating Netmed’s heart-touching ‘The Girl in Red Lipstick’ campaign to mark World Cancer Day 2023. The real-life account of cancer survivor Anchal Sharma could not have found a better narrative and platform to be told.
Q] Generally, advertising related to cancer victims or survivors is somewhat depressing, but you took an entirely different approach with ‘The Girl in Red Lipstick’. Who came up with the idea?
Swati: It was my idea, but the campaign was a team effort. The overall message that Netmeds wanted us to convey was that they have all the authentic cancer medicines, but at the same time, they didn’t want the narrative to revolve around these functionalities. They encouraged us to tell a bigger story involving cancer patients, their families, and caretakers. We realised that while cancer is mostly looked at as a death sentence, there were many stories of people fighting the disease and coming out of it. The insight resonated with what we wanted to convey - at the end of the day, it’s about fighting the disease and not giving up on the person.
Nishant: Given the sensitivity of the topic, and as a solutions provider, Netmeds was clear that they want to highlight the fighting spirit of cancer survivors. After a lot of research, Swati presented the true story of Anchal Sharma, the lady who fought cancer with red lipstick.
Q] Was this the first idea that you pitched to the client?
Swati: We did present a few, but both the client and we were pretty much sold on this insight, ‘Silence Cancer, Not The Fight’. Under that, we wanted a real and powerful account, and both of us were keen on telling Anchal’s story.
Q] In what ways was Aanchal involved in the conceptualisation and execution of the campaign?
Swati: Once the narrative was approved, we approached Anchal Sharma. She runs an NGO that helps millions of cancer survivors, and so, she was more than happy to partner with us. She had not just her’s but multiple other stories to tell. She was there to guide us on the overall narrative and the details of what’s appropriate, true, and relevant. That’s why the storytelling is so authentic.
Nishant: In fact, Swati and I sat down with her afterwards, and we were wondering if we should make ‘part two’ of the campaign!
Q] How much time did it take from cracking the idea to execution? You said there were three rounds and multiple stories.
Nishant: It was just one month because we were tight on deadlines. And like with all other clients, we got approval on the idea at the last moment. Within 10 days we shortlisted the cast and then we were shooting non-stop.
Swati: We were also trying to catch the deadline of World Cancer Day.
Q] What was the most memorable moment from the shoot for you?
Nishant: It was the time we spent with Anchal Sharma, listening to her story, and how she manages to keep a positive attitude despite all the adversities.
Swati: The best part was definitely meeting Anchal. Usually when you write a story, you come up with an idea in your imagination, but the moment you start telling someone else’s story, it’s a completely different experience. Other than the storytelling, you also want to get the facts right. So, we took her inputs at every point to ensure that we were headed in the right direction.
Q] What was the most heartwarming feedback you received after the film was aired?
Swati: Somebody shared the film with me on WhatsApp saying ‘I have seen cancer in my family and I wish this was the way that I saw it’. The friend didn’t know that I was involved in the project. That truly made my day.
Nishant: On the client side, when it comes to Digital creatives, usually a lot of back and forth happens. But this was the one film where as soon as we showed it to the client, post-editing, they said we have to take it live without any change. The storytelling was that seamless. I think that’s the biggest success, especially from the art perspective.
‘We didn’t want it to turn out to be just another ad’
Arpan Bhattacharyya
Executive Director - Head of Creative South, Lowe Lintas
"In the green tea market, there isn’t much of a conversation around body positivity and inner health, and most of the ads talk about weight loss, which is not strictly true of the product. It is quite ironic to see the commercials showcasing that green tea helps one become thin or lose inches from the waist. Therefore, Punit and the team from Tetley came up with a clear brief, asking us to create something that defies this flow.
After we landed on the idea of ‘everyBodycan’, we felt that the next right step would be to show the voices that try to put you down and the restrictions they impose. For a long time, women have been visually boxed, wherein their physical appearances dictate the things that are expected from them. Taking this thought forward, we decided to tell the story in the language that these women hear around them. Our focus was on the doubters and their cynical talk.
We didn’t want the campaign to turn out to be just another ad, we wanted it to be hard-hitting, well-written and as close to reality as possible. Sincere attempts were made to not include the unnecessary visual gimmickry, or make it anything less than it deserved to be. Even while deciding the characters, we talked in great detail with Sharath, who directed the film beautifully. In our bid to be real, we casted women who are not necessarily actors. These were real people who could actually do what was shown in the commercial, and face these sorts of challenges. On talking to these women, we came to know that people get hugely surprised when they do activities like running after a bus or something as simple as dancing, thus we placed emphasis on this bit.
When we first presented the idea to Tetley, they greeted us with loads of excitement as we all knew that we had landed on something really big. There were a significant number of changes in the process and the idea evolved from what it was in the beginning. However, the essence of the idea and how it was envisaged stayed pretty true to the first presentation. For such ideas, a lot of teamwork is required from the agency as well as the client. We were lucky to have this partnership and a tremendous sense of support from day one.
There were also many memorable moments from the shoot. The woman who was shown playing badminton in the film has been cast in ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ as somebody who’s called Golu, and there were some interesting conversations around it. On the set, we faced some challenges shooting some sequences as it was happening outdoors in Bombay. I remember that the sequence where the woman was chasing the bus had to be reshot because there were many takes in which she was running faster than she needed to. We had to make changes to the speed of the bus and those seemed like small challenges back then. But looking at it brings a smile to my face. The dancer who was shown doing Garba says that she can dance for hours in the commercial. We laughed a lot the next day about it because the line was true and she danced all night.
I think overall the campaign received a lot of love and attention. People across social media resonated with us and it made us happy. Women who have been typecast came forward and put the conversation forward.”
‘In 72 hours, the ad had reached 7. 3 billion people’
Ashutosh Munshi
Lead Advisor – Brand Marketing and Communications, Edelman
"It started with a piece of research commissioned by Starbucks that unveiled that people like to be treated as unique individuals rather than mere customers. If you look at other Quick Service Restaurants, they are known for their bill or table number. Whereas in Starbucks, ‘It starts with your name’, which is exactly what our campaign is called. We based this idea on a simple insight that Starbucks sees you beyond your order number. It asks your name, supporting an act of introduction that kickstarts the relationship that goes beyond your first cup at Starbucks. The father-child story is just one of the stories through which the brand punctuates its commitment to being what Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, called the third place. Arpit, who had become Arpita, comes there in a tense situation, but you can immediately see that there is a sense of acceptance and warmth shown by the parents. And when it comes down to having a conversation over a cup of coffee, what better place than Starbucks?
This story depicts the reconciliation between the transgender child and the father, which is part of the larger story of acceptance and empathy. If you look at it from the outside, there is a lot for the viewer to see and learn. Honestly, as a creative person, empathy has no script; there’s no right or wrong way of doing it. What we have to do as strategists and creators is to build off an insight that is backed by solid data and after that it’s about listening. It’s about listening to people from the community and the customers. The actor who has played Arpita in the film is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, adding authenticity to the performance. The film director Gaurav, who is gay and part of the community, is supremely talented and did a great job retaining the authenticity. We joined hands with an NGO, and Samavesh Chamber of Commerce, an inclusive business ecosystem in India for the community, to ensure that we were being as sensitive as we needed to be to the community. We created something, in which heart spoke to heart, and that’s the reason why within 72 hours, this had reached 7. 3 billion people. The reason why this piece of work got so much resonance from people, whether part of the community, or even outside of it, is because– at the end of the day, we are still so much more alike than we are not. It’s a powerful film, and a certain degree of polarisation was expected to surface. In some cases, the things that were said were unwarranted. But there was a lot of positive commentary around it as well. In my opinion, the voices that stood up in favour of the film far outweighed those that perhaps had a bit of an issue with it.
It’s good to come across this question of what makes Edelman the choice for the campaign creation, considering its strong historical presence in the field of public relations.
The world that Edelman operates in has changed and the role of traditional PR in isolation has evolved. If you look at Edelman today, we are a full-service integrated communications agency. The one place that stands out is our strength in what is called earned creative because we have always been storytellers. As you would know, the history of a PR firm has always been to create a credible story that then gets a third party, whether it’s a journalist, or a social media influencer or a blogger or a doctor, an expert who’s writing online; it is about crafting a credible story that is going to earn someone’s attention and trust. And that is what we have been doing for over 70 years.”
‘The client was sold on the script on day 1’
Yash Kulshrestha
Chief Creative Officer, ^ a t o m
"Our aim was to tailor a campaign for The Spaces, a brand that helps in beautifying the home space. We wanted to translate this tangible proposition to an emotional payoff for the customers. We derived inspiration from that age when we were young, and our opinions didn’t matter in a room full of adults. But the moment our words start holding some significance, we suddenly feel this tremendous form of connection.
To further layer up the storyline, we decided to talk about a new little guest that is stepping into a completely new space. We felt that this angle of someone adopting while they already have a child is a beautiful one. Attempts were to showcase the ones who are privileged enough and can easily uplift the life of others around them, making it another emotional payoff.
Therefore, this beautiful kid, Veda, was brought into the picture as someone who is more than satisfied by her new yet empty room, and the new turn of events. However, the family has something else in mind and they surprise her with a new empty room that she can set up as per her choice. We set it around that premise that– you feel part of the house when you do things your own way. This is where the idea erupted from; Spaces gives you that kind of space where you can paint your own thoughts.
The larger goal was to embrace the old storytelling experience of advertising rather than doing gimmicky stuff. It is getting increasingly difficult to pitch films that are long-format, thanks to Metas of the world. We wanted the client to marry this long-format film, backed by harmony and songs. Therefore, we resorted to creating a pure emotional story at a time when everyone is going after the jester kind of tonality. Unlike many other scripts, this was one of the smoothest ones. We came along with three scripts in our armour, but we all were betting on this one because of the emotional gravitas that it possessed and how it felt like the right product story. The client was sold on the script on day one, and most of our time went into finalising the execution.
We were fortunate to work with Manoj and Deb. Manoj hails from Equinox, while Deb is a wonderful director who has shot many commercials for the Surf Excels of the world. We also partnered with music composer Gaurav. It was refreshing to listen to such a soulful track in the advertising space after a long period. A considerable amount of time and effort went into the characterisation. Since there are two kids in the film, we tried to find ways to get maximum out of the minimum mass that the kids put in. We also had to be in tune with the role of the mother and the emotions that the screenplay evokes, that too without saying a dialogue. These things came into play and we spent most of our time on them. It was not as smooth as the script presentation, but I’m glad we went through this journey.
The cherry on the top is that the campaign was very well received, with October being the most successful month for the brand ever. Though it’s very unfair to say that the campaign worked, and hence the business worked. There are many moving gears in our business, and campaigns and advertising is just one part of it. However, a fair proportion of that goes to how we influence the audience to buy, and our teams did a commendable job.
‘Category leaders don’t always need to play safe’
Kartik Smetacek
Chief Creative Officer, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi
"We observed that electronic retailers, both online and offline, end up talking to tech lovers about the latest and smartest offerings in the market. But no one tries to look out for the laggards, the ones who are struggling to keep up with technology. Reliance Digital is the largest electronics retailer in India, and we felt that if anyone should take on this mission of creating more inclusivity, it should be them.
The client’s brief was simple and they wanted to build a bond between the brand and the customers. Our big leap was to properly understand who these customers are; they aren’t all youngsters looking for the latest phones. There are also mums and grandmoms who are trying to just keep up. That’s when we took a decision to not look at this brand as a retail store that’s trying to sell you something. But something like a tech playground, some place that invites you to touch and feel and get comfortable with technology.
The client took a moment to soak in the strategy, as it was a big leap to walk away from the dominant category codes around the latest tech, the widest range and the best prices, which is what all electronics retailers talk about. But once they heard the scripts, they understood what we were trying to do.
We never looked at this as just a campaign idea, we always presented it and imagined it as a brand transformation idea. Over this year, we’ve worked with the client to literally reimagine their stores. They now have experience zones and programs like master classes where people are encouraged to simply play with technology. Even the sales staff have been retrained to sell less and help and guide more.
It was very important that the story we told felt real, genuine, and actually connected with people, so we crafted this with a lot of care. We executed it with Amit Sharma from Chrome Pictures, who not only shot it beautifully but added nuances to casting, music and the little pauses that fall in the middle. The most important line from the film came from the storekeeper– ‘technology is for playing, while playing you’ll learn’. If you go online, you’ll see how many people have literally seen their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, in the film and that’s what made them connect with the brand and this message of empowering everybody to move forward with technology.
We made two films that were shot over multiple days, Amit was shooting the grandmother film for us and we were on the final scene where the son gets amazed by his mother’s transformation. It was a very emotional moment with music playing in the background, when Amit suddenly asked the actor to shout this line, ‘Mommy, I love you!’ It was never part of the script. It was just a little bit of impromptu magic, but it really added a special something to the film.
The film received many positive comments, but one comment that stuck with me was something around– it’s a three-minute film, but I watch the whole ad every time. And, as I’ve always said, impact matters, duration doesn’t. There were a lot of learnings also in the process. The biggest one being– category leaders don’t always need to play safe. Sometimes even a category leader can adopt a challenger mindset and define a new path for the category itself, because that’s really what Reliance Digital did in this.”
‘While communicating a message, don’t tiptoe around it’
Binaifer Dulani
Creative and Founding Member, Talented
Shivani Gairola
Independent Creative Director
Some campaigns hit the nail on its head with so much finesse that change is automatically a byproduct of the action. The latest campaign by Talented for Urban Company drives the cause of dignity of labour with the simplest of ideas that came from two strong creative minds, Binaifer Dulani, Creative and Founding Member, Talented and Shivani Gairola, Independent Creative Director.
Q] Urban Company’s ‘Chhota Kaam?’ campaign puts forward the message that all work deserves dignity and respect. How did you come up with this idea and accommodate it as per the brand’s brief?
Binaifer: When the project came our way, we already knew about Urban Company’s efforts in terms of bridging the gap. Their app brought together all top-performing service partners in blue-collar roles in India, which was initially a massive, unorganised sector. The problem statement that emerged was how can we increase adoption. A big reason for the lack of adoption within one segment of the society was this unconscious bias and sense of weariness towards calling blue-collar workers at home. To tackle this, we could have resorted to highlighting the skills of the workers, the safety measures or the technical craft, but we wanted to scratch a little deeper. We wanted to have a conversation around this bias and throw light on the dignity of labour. Additionally, we live in India, a country where caste begets professions. Therefore, this was a conversation about equality in society.
Q] How did Urban Company take your idea, and how was it working with them?
Shivani: We were blessed because the client is really brave and they kept pushing us to tailor something that moves the needle in terms of the conversation, without focusing much on things like certifications and show reviews.
Binaifer: The reason why they could be so brave is primarily because affirmative action is at the heart of everything that they do. Even as agency partners, we wouldn’t have pitched this idea if we didn’t believe that Urban Company was doing enough for blue collared professionals within the app itself.
Q] What was the inspiration behind the story? Did you and your team experience something similar or was it something that shaped later based on common occurrences that we see in our society?
Binaifer: It started off with Balram Vishwakarma, a Bahujan storyteller who was co-opted very early into our creative process, and along with several perspectives, he brought Palash Harley and Hengam Riba to further fuel the research process. Balram shared his personal experiences, and told us that there was a municipality school opposite to where he studied. The common talk there was– if you don’t perform well or misbehave, you would be sent to this municipality school that houses many kids from low income and lower caste families– which was very demeaning. This became our inspiration and we started adding on this thought.
Q] Could you talk about some of the memorable and fun moments from the sets during the shoot?
Shivani: Yuvi, who is the kid in our commercial, is a powerhouse. Other than being a really cute kid, he is also a great actor; he is very natural and his skills can be seen in the film. It is amazing how Kopal was able to elicit such a powerful performance out of him. There was a natural chemistry between the kid and the actor who plays the role of UC professional in the ad. The subject matter of the film was a little serious. But the interactions with the kid set a very light and easy environment.
Q] What were the learnings from this particular project?
Binaifer: This work of ours further adds on the belief that– while communicating a message, it is better to be direct and not tiptoe around it. The more direct you are, the sharper you will be, and that is likely to leave a larger impact than tiptoeing around and making everyone happy and not being able to say what you really wanted to.
‘We picked the sweets with care to make sure that the video of brushing with them doesn’t look ugly’
Juneston Mathana
Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy India
"My bosses Harshad and Kainaz gave me this brief which was based on a very typical Indian idiosyncrasy—most people here don’t brush at night. The brief was about intent and initiative.
The numbers that came along with the brief highlighted that 80% of Indians don’t brush at night, and 9 out of 10 Indians suffer from cavities. All of this hit us together, and we realised that this is a very typical Indian problem and something has to be done about it. With the festive season in sight, we decided to incorporate this angle of people consuming sweets and link that with the larger idea of creating awareness. Through this piece of work, we wanted to initiate behavioural change, or at least start conversations around this topic.
I didn’t want the film to be scary, but something provocative and engaging. Then Harshad and Kainaz stumbled upon this idea of showcasing people brushing their teeth with sweets. We onboarded director Abhinav Pratiman, who took this thought further and lifted it to a whole new level. Our attempt was to hold a mirror in front of the people and point out their own reflections and behaviours.
We faced certain challenges while shooting the sequence of people brushing their teeth with something cold like an ice cream or kulfi. As a person who has sensitive teeth, I could feel the pain. In one instance, I had to look away from the preview monitor because I couldn’t bear to watch an elderly woman brushing her teeth with Dolly ice cream. We also had to make sure that the video doesn’t look ugly, so a lot of thought went into what kinds of sweets will be used for the ad.
The sets were filled with sweets, and it was really difficult to hold on to the temptations. It was really hilarious that during the shoot, we caught several of our teammates sneaking out, pretending to be on a call, and then stuffing their faces with sweets. For this work of ours, we received praise not only from industry members but also from consumers, especially mothers, who were one of our largest target audiences. If we have to drive behaviour change or include new habits in an Indian household, it is key to target mothers because half of our jobs are done if they are convinced.
We have been targeting different touchpoints and a lot of sweet makers in this process. We have partnered with some of the sweet makers because they are aware that it’s a win-win of sorts. Our tonality is along these line—sweets are not the enemy. Sweets are something we can’t avoid and we wanted to go with the message that enjoy your sweets but make sure you brush at night. Additionally, many sweet makers have understood our initiative and are willing to join hands with us.”
‘The fulfilment of spotlighting a relevant conversation sets this project apart’
Tiyasha Ray
Creative Director, BBDO India
"Privacy has always been among the top priorities of WhatsApp. It is what allows people to be their honest, real selves, as some conversations are easier when you are in control of the private space, they happen in. With this ad, we wanted to not just highlight the privacy features that the brand offers but also what privacy can enable emotionally in people.
Keeping this thought as the starting point, we started looking at life instances where this feeling holds true. Our film captures a private conversation between two sisters discussing life choices. It was only after we spoke to several women in their 30s that we realised how this was a reality for many women of our generation. At the same time, our goal was to show how privacy features foster closeness in relationships.
More than the time, it is the process, especially for an ad like this, that makes it memorable. A crucial aspect of the ad’s creative process was the countless sessions in our White Room—a space in our office that served as a safe space for collective deep listening. It is where we brought our own lived experiences, rarely told stories, and vulnerable selves. Following a community-based discovery model, we tried to foster a different social construct of human truth, empathy, and emotional data that helped us rearrange the existing pattern of brand communication.
One of the most unforgettable moments came after the ad was released. The first time I caught the ad playing on TV was when a bunch of us from BBDO were out at a restaurant. It was the first time we were seeing it as an audience and not as a downloaded file, after weeks and weeks of living with it. I remember the ad being televised between a cricket match, and we were the only people in the restaurant cheering for an ad and not the match! We did look a little mad.
It makes us really happy that the reception of the ad was beyond exhilarating. It was very exciting that people got the features so clearly. Further, the ad of ours also led to a lot of conversations. And most importantly, WhatsApp’s safety features, which help create safe spaces for people to stay connected, came through strongly too.
Witnessing people organically share the ad within their family groups to initiate meaningful conversations was particularly reassuring for us. Personally, the fulfilment of spotlighting a relevant conversation like this sets this project apart.
I felt the utmost amount of happiness when someone, who was not aware of the fact that I had worked on this particular ad, forwarded it to me. It is a great feeling to learn that our work was appreciated, acknowledged, and shared. Being recognised as one of the top ads of the year, alongside other outstanding work, is undeniably a high point for ‘WhatsApp Sisters’.”
