#13thKiTayyari kijiye, but why?

The mysterious billboards asking us to stock up on Pepsi, Maggi, Amul Lassi, among other things has us scratching our heads.

In adland, there are some questions we always wanted to see answered. 'Hum Chlormint kyun khaate hain?'; 'Kya aapke toothpaste main namak hain' or 'Kya aap Close up karte hain?'.

Now, a new question has cropped up that's got us scratching our pandemic and lockdown weary minds. And that is what is on July 13? How did this question arise?

Since the last few days, social media is awash with posters of billboards featuring brands from competing companies but sporting the same copy:

#13thKiTayyari kijiye, Maggi stock kar lijiye

#13thKiTayyari kijiye, Amul Lassi stock kar lijiye

#13thKiTayyari kijiye, Pepsi stock kar lijiye

Maggi is from Nestle, Amul Lassi from Amul, and Pepsi from PepsiCo and yet their billboards feature the same copy.

After the debate last week great to see interesting and innovative use of media, especially OOH, during the lockdown. But question: who is behind this campaign? OOH + digital is a fantastic combination. What say @laqshyamedia @PradeepDwivedi @swapanseth @TheAdClub_India pic.twitter.com/BzdiO1nORa

— Roshan Abbas (@roshanabbas) July 10, 2020

While social media, Twitter, in particular, tried to guess the answer, we saw Roshan Abbas, MD, Geometry Encompass who was pleased to, "see interesting and innovative use of media, especially OOH, during the lockdown."

13th July ki tayyari hum bhi kar rahe hain! Saath milkar laayenge India ke chehre par muskaan with new episodes! #SwitchOnSAB #LetsEntertainIndiaTogether #13thKiTayyari https://t.co/YNQIU5Llur

— SAB TV (@sabtv) July 10, 2020

Even Sab TV got into the act and asked everyone to wait for the 13th as it will air new episodes while Raj Nayak, founder and MD, House of Cheer lauded the fact that a leading advertiser was supporting outdoor advertising in these tough times.

Among the several guesses, one theory came out: On the 13th, TV channels such as Sony, Zee, SAB TV and Star Plus will air new episodes and a souced confirmed to us that it's related to a campaign from Zee5, the OTT platform from Zee Entertainment Enterprises. But, what would a streaming platform have to do with the advertising of stocking of FMCG goods on billboards?

We reached out to Zee5 but go response. We will update the story once we do get a reply and until that time, a good amount of deduction and guesswork is our best way to get these questions answered.