School is now cool

School need no longer be an unpleasant experience for children, communicates Educomp Solutions in its new campaign, thanks to the innovative teaching techniques of Educomp smartclass.

Getting their children ready for school in the morning is a daily challenge for most parents, and is replete with drama and histrionics. But, thanks to Educomp Solutions, the scenario is different.

In its new campaign, Educomp Solutions talks about the delight and the enthusiasm children show while getting ready for school, thanks to Educomp smartclasses' unique teaching techniques, which have been adopted by various schools.

Conceptualised by Dentsu Marcom, the television commercial titled Role Reversal, shows an unbelievable situation, in which school-going kids, in a role reversal, are up in the morning, and pester their parents to take them to school. The reason for the children's enthusiasm is that they are no longer taught using the blackboard in class, but are instead, taught digitally.

Speaking about the concept, Abhinav Dhar, senior vice- president, Educomp Solutions, says, "The main objective behind the campaign was to build awareness amongst parents about the Educomp smartclass programme, with schools having adopted new technologies to teach children. Classrooms no longer consist of old blackboards. There are many schools which use videos, and other digital technology in order to make studying interesting."

Titus Upputuru, national creative director, Dentsu Marcom, explains, "The idea was developed from an iconic British Airways advertisement that said 'Children walk to school and run back home'. Consumer insight, too, proved that children enjoy the engaging format of Educomp smartclass, and are more than willing to attend classes which were earlier boring."

Educomp Solutions has tied up with more than 8,000 schools across India, where the Educomp Smart-class programme is run across all subjects and grades.

Revolutionary step

Advertising professionals feel that while the TVC has been able to pass on the message, the concept could have been a bit more interesting.

Rajiv Agrawal, executive creative director, Percept/H, says, "If the main objective is to convey the fact that kids find Educomp smartclasses interesting, then the TVC is a success. But, the ad should also explain how/why schools are now different. The jingle is catchy, though."

Vivek Dutta, business director and national planning head, Hakuhodo Percept, says, "Considering that the communication targets parents, the commercial seems to be too high-paced and vague in delivering information about the Smartclass communication process. Somehow, it fails to convince how and why children find these classrooms more endearing. It will probably take more than a catchy soundtrack to do so."

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