Pepperfry turns the good Samaritan

The furniture mogul's latest campaign, conceptualised by L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, motivates people to look inside and spread goodness through an innovative narration.

Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the biggest and widely-celebrated occasions in the Indian calendar. Gleaming fairy lights, interspersed with dazzling diyas, the sound of sparkling crackers and cherished moments spent with family and friends constitute the perfect idea of Diwali celebrations in Indian homes.

And, to enhance this happy feeling, and make the occasion even more unique by spreading the message of doing good, online furniture and home products marketplace Pepperfry has launched a campaign called 'Iss Diwali Kuch Badal Ke Dekhiye'.

Conceptualised by L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, the campaign has been on air since October 13 and will continue until November 16. The aim of the campaign is to urge viewers and consumers alike to change their mindset, reach out to people around them and take some positive action. The storyline is inspired by real-life situations in which people introspect and experience how a shift in one's attitude and thought process can help us make a difference. Its tagline 'Iss Diwali Kuch Badal Ke Dekhiye' reinforces the campaign's objective.

The festive season which begins with Navratri and continues through Durga Puja and Dussehra, culminating in the Diwali celebrations, is India's premier festival season, a time when people make the effort and take the time out from their busy schedules to strengthen family and social ties.

Pepperfry has therefore approached the season with a clutter-breaking message that builds on this Diwali spirit. Unlike the transactional nature of every day interactions, there is an opportunity for people during this festive season to reflect on their behaviour, actions and their relationships with others and do good. It is this insight that Pepperfry has tried to capture through its latest TVCs. The ads use communication as a catalyst to bring about change in one's outlook.

The TV campaign is live across a bouquet of English infotainment, entertainment, movies, and lifestyle channels and select Hindi GEC HD channels, as well as regional channels such as Colors Infinity and Star Movies HD. The message is also supported by in-cinema advertising across top seven cities and outdoor advertising being executed in top four markets.

The campaign has also used digital and social media platforms such as Google, YouTube and Facebook to propagate the same message.

While Pepperfry's earlier campaigns have stressed more on the brand's professional image in terms of more tangible benefits like superior quality products, high standards of service, free and efficient delivery and assembly along with the other core category triggers like a wide range of design choices and superior value delivery, the current campaign positions the brand as a leader in the segment by establishing an emotional connect with its consumers and the transformation that its products can bring into people's lives.

Talking about the TVC, Kartik Smetacek, executive creative director, L&K Saatchi and Saatchi, says, "Diwali seemed like the perfect occasion for Pepperfry.com to widen its ambit of communication and own a larger brand idea. That's how the 'Iss Diwali, kuch badal ke dekhiye' campaign was born. The films seek to reinvent the role of furniture, which is not traditionally seen as a gifting item. By design, the stories are subtle and warm, keeping away from the dhoom and dhamaka of typical Diwali advertising, but instead capture the spirit of the festival."

Debarjyo Nandi, senior vice-president, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, adds, "This Diwali, Pepperfry has made a change and its message is just that -- to make a change-- by reaching out to someone and spread happiness. We have used furniture as the trigger for this change."

Speaking about the campaign, Kashyap Vadapalli, chief marketing officer, Pepperfry, notes, "In the past 18-24 months, brand Pepperfry has grown significantly and established itself as the number one destination for furniture and other home products in the country. We are now in a position to move beyond communicating just the features of a great furniture product or experience, but to establish Pepperfry as an agent of transformation. We've tapped into the Diwali festive spirit to make an appeal to consumers to make a change and connect with the goodness within themselves, and extend that connect to the brand."