Eicher shows concern for friends this Diwali

Eicher Trucks and Buses has released a video 'Yaaron ki Diwali' that addresses safe driving during the festive season.

On the occasion of Diwali and commemorating the festive season, Eicher Trucks and Buses has released a video titled Yaaron ki Diwali that addresses road safety concerns and safe driving as celebrations are in full swing. Taking forward the company's philosophy of 'Partnering Prosperity', the campaign aims to connect with the fraternity of truck drivers and buyers, the brand's core TG (Target Group).

Featuring popular actor Rajesh Sharma as the protagonist Babbu, the five-minute video showcases the life of truck drivers who toil hard under extreme conditions and spend most of their time on roads, even during the festive season. The video depicts the brand's commitment towards driver empowerment and its respect for the community.

An internal research conducted by Eicher Trucks and Buses shows that music and videos are the best platform to connect with drivers, considering most of them use their smartphones for entertainment during their long hauls as they traverse the length and breadth of the country. This aspect has been captured in the video wherein Babbu's fellow truck drivers engage him with music transfer from his phone, ask him to narrate ghost stories or sing his favourite Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar songs, in a bid to prevent him from driving while he is drunk.

#Yaaron ki Diwali was released on YouTube on November 5 and circulated as a WhatsApp video. The film has been directed by Faraz Ali, and co-produced by Spotlights. The agency and production house is Speaking Pictures.

Speaking about the campaign, P Ravishankar, EVP, sales, marketing and aftermarket - VE Commercial Vehicles, says, "Eicher Trucks and Buses is the leading brand of commercial vehicles from VE Commercial Vehicles and a driving force behind the modernisation of the commercial vehicle industry in India. The modernisation journey starts with our philosophy of partnering prosperity and extends beyond products to improve productivity and profitability for our customers and drivers. We wanted to wish them a prosperous Diwali through the video #Yaaron Ki Diwali, as well as spread the message of safe driving."

"The idea was to take the audience to a more engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking audio-visual that would have the potential to influence behavioural change," says Ali. "I wanted to stay away from statements like 'Don't drink and drive', but instead motivate people to stop their friends/loved ones from indulging in drunk driving with humorous and light-hearted gestures."

Eicher Trucks and Buses has a lineage of three decades of operations in India. The company operates in the 5T-12T truck and 15T-49T heavy duty trucks segment. Eicher has unveiled its new range of future generation trucks and buses, named the Eicher Pro series, which claims to deliver best-in-class fuel efficiency, higher loading capacity, superior uptime and overall vehicle life time profitability. Adopting a professional and holistic approach to modernise the Indian trucking industry, the new brand philosophy is to "Go Pro".

Message delivered?

Appreciating the execution of the film, independent marketing and communications consultant, Virat Mehta, says, "Product relevance is good and Eicher fits in seamlessly. All the individual elements (acting, music and set) are very authentic and match the mood."

However, Mehta thinks that because the plot gets predictable quite early, the film loses its suspense. "I had great expectations from the film. Unfortunately, somewhere within the first 20 seconds, I guessed the plot and the reason for this story. That spoilt the whole purpose of watching it. The end was expected and therefore very flat," he rues.

While Mehta questions the choice of medium which is more inclined towards a younger audience, he feels that it would not be possible to run a full five-minute creative on air. Moreover, the editing for television will rob the film of the acting and other good elements and thus hamper its emotional impact.

Commenting on the overall strategy, he adds, "YouTube and Digital do not have time restriction, hence, it has become fashionable to create long films. However, most of the films that I have seen, including this one, waste a lot of time and become loose in the storytelling, and therefore, in the impact. Short film making still has a bit of distance to cover in India."