It is when global brands try to ‘Indianise’ that they mostly miss the real connect. Thankfully, the Facebook ad released last week to celebrate Holi has no such problems. It is Indian in ethos and execution, yet it is global in messaging. The ad itself is very simple. A linear script, no real surprises, except the predictable one in the end.
The ad is warm, friendly, unassuming. That too, with just the right touches of emotions. It is all about the celebration of a festival that brings joy and happiness, and symbolises friendship and camaraderie; yet our heart goes out to the loneliness of one of our own in a far-off land, all alone and forlorn. Posted there in an alien land, toiling away without family or dear ones.
The contrast is heightened between the vibrant colours of Holi at home and the desolate ‘white’ snow-clad Romania. The new Facebook ad captures the contrasting realities, and suddenly somehow Holi without that friend in a faraway land just doesn’t feel the same. Facebook today is everywhere. With everyone.
At everytime. Almost omnipresent. But the fact that it can enrich our lives in simple ways, and meaningfully, is something that we don’t quite realise because the brand is so much a part of our daily lives that we almost overlook the obvious. The new Facebook ad reminds us of just that: this is a brand that connects you not just to friends, but connects to them in a way that makes you smile and warms your heart.
Friends in India get emotional about the loneliness of a friend abroad. So, they get the Facebook network to come alive. Friends and friends of friends are contacted and pressed into service; Holi colours are improvised. And the lonely Indian in the white snows gets plastered in Holi colours by his local chums.
There is nothing unusual in the FB narrative. But seeing the ad, one was reminded of the old Jagjit Singh song 'Hum to hain pardes mein, desh mein nikla hoga chand'. That poignancy. That feeling of being not just alone and despondent, but of being left out of the small pleasures that home is all about.
There are many messages interwoven in the short FB commercial. Friends. Community. Fellow feeling. No borders. No timelines. Just proximity. And love. And togetherness. Yet, it is a simple commercial. And there is always beauty in simplicity.
Facebook is today a part of the fabric of India. And a story of more love, more happiness together, is a message that India needs, both within the country and outside. Well done FB. There’s a new Brooke Red Label ad too that was released last week. A cab is stuck in traffic. It is raining. An old lady is escorting her granddaughter from school.
A transgender comes and knocks on the window. The old lady gets irritated and curses under her breath. But the transgender surprises her by saying she’s not there to sell anything: just doing her good turn for the day by handing out free cups of tea to all those caught in the rain and the traffic. The old lady happily accepts the cup of hot tea; then blesses the transgender by lovingly touching her face.
Nice story. But nowhere as cutting-edge as the murti-maker or the Kumbh Mela narratives from the same brand, not too far ago. One has seen the same climb-down in Surf Excel’s creatives: the Hindu-Muslim theme that seemed to form the undercurrent in Brooke Bond’s story-telling of late has been jettisoned.
Perhaps the mood of the nation is not so kind any longer to allow partisan communication. And that is where one believes that brands must have a back bone. A consistency. A certain strength of character where change in the environment should not lead to dilution of brand beliefs. Levers' advertising in the past few years made much out of creating Hindu-Muslim amity but somehow always managed to tilt the messaging away from the Hindu majority.
This led to much trolling and angst in social media. Now that the mood of the nation has turned even more turgid, Levers seem to have backed off from this religion-focused communication. Which is both good and bad. Good because it fans no controversies; bad because it shows that holier-than-thou narratives are just created to give the brand a more evolved halo of being progressive, not to irrigate its soul.
Holi normally sees a lot of brands trying to be fun and friendly. But it is easier said than done. Most creatives just end up being identikit. A bit of colour, loud music, gaiety and dance. Methinks doing a Holi ad just because others are doing it, is a waste for all. Better to celebrate if you have something meaningful to say. Otherwise, like the Brooke Bond transgender ad, it will just be about ticking the box.
(The author is an advertising veteran)