Idea: Safety Net

Idea Cellular's new TVC released around Independence Day urges people to break free from those attempting to fool them.

'Hum Nahin Banenge Ullu... Hum Nahin Banenge Ullu Aaj se...'

These lyrics are from the latest Idea Cellular TVC, which is set in the form of an anthem and sung by a choir dressed in yellow and white. Released around Independence Day, the TVC shows singers from all religions taking a pledge of not being fooled by the conmen (or women) because they have the power of Idea Internet with them.

The ad is an extension of Idea's 'No Ullu Banaoing' campaign that shows various situations where people refuse to accept claims at face value, because they could cross-check such claims on the Internet.

"The brand wanted us to do something captivating around Independence Day," says Ashwin Varkey, creative director, Lowe Lintas, the agency that designed the ad. Adding to that Sashi Shankar, CMO, Idea Cellular, says that all of Idea's advertising is about category building instead of the product. "The new TVC celebrates many stories of people from across the length and breadth of the country who have now got a new freedom to celebrate - from getting conned," he says.

The new TVC is much inspired from the yester-years' Doordarshan ads that showed choirs and people lighting candles. In this ad, the singers are shown using smartphones and feature phones instead of candles to light each other's phones. Varkey and Shankar point out that it reflects light and freedom. "The power of internet is being passed on to people; young and old, urban and rural, man and woman; across the country, giving out the message - Idea Internet is All India," adds Shankar.

Idea launched its 'No Ullu Banaoing' campaign, at the beginning of this year to promote the usage of mobile internet by spreading awareness about the benefits of the service. The objective was to build relevance and communicate Idea's strong pan-India internet network.

It specifically portrays unexpected segments of consumers who turn out to be Internet-savvy (housewives, senior citizens, rural folk, tier II or III town families) and how they use mobile internet to get out of sticky situations. The new campaign is supported across all the platforms.

Impressive?

According to Manish Bhat, founder director, Scarecrow Communications, the visual of the ad is good but audio fails to make a mark. "Overall, I liked the ad... a good one close to Independence Day and as a viewer I got intrigued by it. Presentation-wise, you will be reminded of typical DD choir, which is coming across very well. Having said that, the lyrics could have been tighter and music could have been hummable, which is not the case here. It will have a visual recall but not audio unlike the Blackberry Boys and Tata DoComo ads that are examples of good audio recall."

Jayanto Banerjee, national planning director, Hakuhodo Percept agrees that this is an extension of 'No Ullu Banaoing' campaign. "The whole 'no ullu banaoing' original campaign was fantastic. A great idea, it connected easily with its target. Idea sees itself as a champion of empowering Indians through the internet. Somebody at the agency or client saw a great opportunity of linking Independence Day with this." Banerjee confesses to being a little disappointed with the final output, which isn't very fresh or appealing.