Will Myntra's latest ads bring offline shoppers online?

Through its latest TV campaign, the brand woos "80 million consumers" who're yet to warm up to the online world for their fashion needs. A look at the psychological barriers the brand tackles.

During the early days of online shopping, people were apprehensive to use credit cards. This was due to online frauds and complicated exchange policies of products. But now, there seems to be an added psychological barrier, which is especially true for fashion shoppers. Gifts purchased online don't seem to impress customers. And, this is what online fashion brand Myntra's latest campaign tries to convey, as well as tackle.

The recently-launched brand campaign titled 'Try Myntra. You'll Love It', is a two-film television campaign. In the films, the characters seem to have a psychological barrier to accept gifts that have been given to them which have been purchased online, and not bought from a shop.

Targetted at fashion and lifestyle shoppers who are yet to board the online bandwagon, the campaign, which has been conceptualised by Taproot Dentsu and produced by Oink Films, aims to address the inhibitions of around 80 million offline shoppers who transact for other services online, but are faced with a resistance to purchase fashion online.

The campaign hinges on the belief that existing customers are allies who can convince the non-buyers by allowing them to unknowingly enjoy a hassle-free online shopping experience. In the TVCs, actors Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey, Prateik Babbar, and Amol Parashar try to get across the message of 'Try Myntra. You'll Love It'. The situations and script are crafted to mirror and dispel the fears and concerns faced by 'non-buyers of online fashion', and urge buyers to give Myntra a try.

Speaking about the campaign, Myntra's chief marketing officer and head of international brands Gunjan Soni, says in a press release, "Myntra, as a brand, has a clear vision to be the most vibrant, fashion-forward, yet a friendly and relatable brand that helps Indians look good. This campaign aims to influence India's offline shoppers by addressing their inhibitions towards online fashion and show them in a light-hearted way how easy it is and is as much fun to shop on Myntra."

Soni further adds, "We are working hard every day to ensure shopping on Myntra is the best 'fashion shopping experience' at every step -- great brands, fantastic selection, timely delivery, and early doorstep returns. We have used existing Myntra shoppers as our allies, as well as our voice, to deliver this message."

Pallavi Chakravarti, executive creative director, Taproot Dentsu, says in a press release, "There are 80 million well-groomed, brand-conscious, internet-savvy people out there, who buy everything online, except fashion. Their minds tell them that a platform like Myntra will give them the range, quality, trends, and looks they seek. But, their hearts don't quite agree. Logic and rational reasoning have clearly been insufficient to convert them. So, we put forward an argument that they can't possibly win. After all, how do you dislike something just after you've liked it?"

But, will this campaign convince the 80 million people to shop online?

Hozefa Alibhai, co-founder, Puppet Pictures (An ad film production company), says, "If the idea was to connect with the 80 million people who haven't shopped online then why would you cast celebs instead of real people? To me, the films are more a story of Abhay Deol and Prateik Babbar. Also, shooting these films on real location versus such upmarket sets would have been more of a connect."

Tinu Cherian Abraham, a social media expert and marketing professional, says, "The major hurdles for online shopping are the doubts that customers harbour about purchase returns and the fear of online transactions. Myntra is trying to address these concerns and encourage more people to buy fashion online, soon after having faced a setback in its 'mobile only' strategy."

As rightly mentioned by Abraham, it can be noted that in the recent past, even companies like Amazon and Flipkart, have harped on the difficulties of online shopping.

Are the ads well-executed?

Alibhai says, "The films are nicely directed and have good performances. I only wish the setting looked more real. How many people in India live in houses like those shown in the films?"