If someone needs to be awarded for using the maximum number of celebrities to push a brand, it surely has to be Kalyan Jewellers. This Diwali they not only employed Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda, but hired Katrina Kaif too for their Hindi heartland festive campaign. But the celebrity parade had many many more regional stars… Manju Warrier (Kerala), Prabhu Ganesan (Tamil Nadu), Shiva Rajkumar (Karnataka) and Akkineni Nagarjuna (Telangana & Andhra). There was also a bevy of regional starlets who joined the Kalyan festive push — Pooja Sawant (Marathi), Wamiqa Gabbi (Punjabi), Kinjal Rajpriya (Gujarati) and Ritabhari Chakrobarty (Bengali)!
The only brand that paraded a similar line-up of celebrities was Flipkart earlier this festive season with Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Dulquer Salman, Mahesh Babu and Puneeth Rajkumar seen in different avatars for the e-commerce brand. To be honest, such an army of famous faces can be bewildering instead of bewitching.
Kalyan Jewellers, of course, would surely justify the star line-up based on the relevance of each celebrity region-by-region, and that they had multiple creatives running, but honestly, it did seem like a bit of an overkill. Given that gold demand has been pretty muted due to high prices, one wonders if all these movie stars actually delivered the desired sales.
Kalyan have a history of famous past endorsees, from Mammooty to Mohanlal, Sushmita Sen to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and even Sachin Tendulkar, who has graced the brands’ events. Kalyan’s owner Kalyanaraman really has an insatiable appetite for stars — he hired singer Yesudas way back in 1972, the most famous figure of those times, to inaugurate his Kalyan Textiles showroom in Thrissur, the precursor to today’s jewellery business.
Diwali advertising did pick up some late momentum with new campaigns by Santoor Gold, Ferrero Rocher, ACC, Peter England, Cadbury, Parryware, Reliance Fresh, Reliance Digital, Nexus Malls and some more. None, bar the Nexus Malls ad with Ayushmann Khurrana, had either spark or sparkle. The most interesting campaign this last week, in fact, came from IKEA.
IKEA, the global home furnishing brand, launched a new ‘Let’s Celebrate Sleep, Everyday’ campaign last week. The television commercial opens on a family struggling to fall asleep at night due to various irritants such as ambient light from the windows, ambient sounds from outside, uncomfortable mattresses and pillows and a buzzing phone. IKEA suggests better sleep solutions through IKEA’s ergonomic pillows, pocket spring mattresses, darkening curtains, comfortable textiles and lighting solutions.
But it was not the television creatives that impressed me. It was the larger concept. Yes, talk of six key ingredients required for a peaceful sleep — comfort, light, temperature, sound, air quality, colours and furnishing. All play a significant role during a sleep cycle and IKEA offers products that satisfy each of these.
Actually, the interesting back story on IKEA is that the brand conducted research globally that came to the conclusion that 63 per cent of people feel unhappy with the amount of sleep they get and IKEA has made it their mission to awaken people to the value of good, sound sleep. Ikea has partnered with Dr. Guy Meadows, co-founder of The Sleep School and created a ‘sleep hub’ globally, focusing on all products that help you ‘sleep like a log’.
Coincidentally, Bombay Dyeing also launched a campaign last week titled #TakeBackSleep highlighting the importance of adequate sleep for physical health and mental agility, drawing attention towards the apathetic attitude that young adults have towards their sleep routines. As a campaign, it is designed to educate, sensitise and showcase the need to adopt good sleep habits along with diet and fitness routines. The campaign has an optimistic and sensitive tone, presenting relatable situations from daily lives of millennials who have been neglecting sleep.
The campaign is interestingly supported by a panel of ‘sleep experts’ who share deeply researched insights and advise on good sleep habits.
An interactive Sleep Quiz has also been designed focused on modern lifestyle habits. Using contemporary scenarios, this Sleep Quiz draws attention to triggers for sleep deprivation. All very interesting.
Both IKEA and Bombay Dyeing have picked sleep to awaken young millennials. Commendable, to say the least. The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon last week highlighted Airtel’s customer obsession to be the network that ‘cares for its customers’.
Airtel’s innovative initiative motivated runners at the marathon using personalised messages from loved ones and supporters beamed on large screens playing video messages to select runners as they came closer. This was executed with the help of RFID readings of the runner’s bibs. For once technology married advertising. And we all lived happily ever after.
(The writer is an advertising industry expert)