Airtel celebrates a new beginning, brings new proposition for consumer

Airtel's latest campaign talks about its new look and new offers, such as live experiences on the go.

Telecom giant, Airtel, unveils its new brand identity in its latest campaign, and also talks about new offerings, which include mobile commerce and 3G services. The brand has also recently unveiled its new positioning, 'Dil jo chahe paas laye'.

Two television commercials created by JWT, the brand's creative partner, are currently on-air. The first TVC titled, 'Endless Goodbye', shows a couple bumping into each other repeatedly after having said their goodbyes.

The TVC begins with a couple who looks very sad as the young man is leaving. However, the very next moment, he finds the girl in a nearby café and is very excited to see her. Later, both walk down a street. They say goodbye to each other and the girl turns away, only to meet the man again, who comes in a cab. The girl hops into the taxi and both of them leave together. Then, the man asks the cabbie to stop the taxi and gets out, bidding adieu to the girl inside. The next instant, the girl comes running towards the man and hugs him. The TVC then shows the couple happily walking across the city. They enter a metro station and once again are very sad, as the young man boards a train. As the train leaves, the girl once again meets the man on the platform and happily hugs him. The TVC ends with a voiceover saying, "In Airtel's world, you'll never be away from your close ones. Dil Jo Chahe Paas Laye."

The second TVC titled, 'Street Performer', opens with a man dancing to the tune of Airtel's official ringtone. Next, a girl walks down the street; she stops as she sees the young man performing interesting dance moves. The girl stays for a while to watch him dancing; but leaves when she checks the time on her watch and realises that she is getting late. The man, who is still dancing, stops and finds that the girl has left. So, he follows her and catches up with her. He continues dancing while the girl is walking. The TVC ends with a voiceover stating that in Airtel's world, entertainment will never stop, followed by the tagline, 'Dil Jo Chahe Paas Laye'.

Mohit Beotra, head, brand and media, Bharti Airtel, says, "The TVCs showcase our new services and the new brand value of Airtel. The TVCs will be on-air for four to six weeks and will be followed by other campaigns, wherein we shall talk about more exciting and new services we have for our consumers."

For Maneesh Rangra, executive business director, JWT Delhi, the idea was to talk to consumers directly, by creating a different experience in the telecom space. The motive was to say that Airtel is one of the biggest brands, which caters to anyone, anywhere and at anytime.

Speaking on the TVCs, Adrian Miller, chief creative officer, JWT Delhi, says, "It was very clear from the beginning that we wanted to talk about new offers and the new Airtel. The TVCs reflect all that the new Airtel is about, as well as the brand's new proposition. We went through a lot of internal work and achieved what we all love."

The planning team includes Didi Sutishna, executive planning director; while servicing includes Nitika Aggarwal, associate vice-president and Protyusha Singh, account director, in addition to Suprotim Day, who is films head.

Mission Accomplished?

With a new look and a new bagful of goodies, has Airtel been able to connect to its consumers?

For Ashish Khazanchi, vice-chairperson, Publicis Ambience, it's a bold step from the advertiser and the agency to generate buzz about an ad, before it is actually on-air. He adds, "I personally prefer 'Endless Goodbye' as a film, lots more than 'Street Performer'. I always believe that the more complex the technology, the more you stay away from ads that make it look hi-tech. This is a neat emotional angle to a very big technological advance. This country is a sucker for such romance, never mind the 'firang' setting. The 'Street Performer' ad is very well directed too."

However, Khazanchi believes it's an idea that one might have seen before. "Both the commercials are going to generate more talk in the days to come. There are going to be Facebook fan pages and brand new caller tunes. But am I still missing a trick here? Is this the brand Airtel I have known all this while, or is it the shape of things to come?"

According to Shweta Khosla, planning director, Grey, the TVCs have taken the brand promise of warmth and connection and given it a refreshing, desirable, premium new voice.

Khosla says, "Not only are the stories a delight to see, they tell you what 3G does for you. For a nation that is unfamiliar with what 3G is, these films make it clear and will, for sure, create desire for it. The 'Goodbye' film is richer in story and emotion than the 'Performer' film; but the latter adds the fun dimension. However, the new logo doesn't live up to the films; it looks like Vodafone's brother."