Lufthansa rides on cricket fever in new spot

The ad takes the 'More Indian than you think' idea, first introduced in 2014, forward.

Remember the 2014 Lufthansa ad where a grandpa isn't too pleased to travel to the US with his grandson "in a German airline"? After a gap of three years, the brand has released a fresh rendition of the 'More Indian than you think' idea which was first rolled out in 2014.

The current campaign is on TV and the brand is also promoting the campaign through theatre ads, digital, OOH and print medium. The ad has been conceptualised by MRM/McCann India and Kolle Rebbe Germany. The film has been produced by CZAR Film GmbH and directed by Martin Werner. The ad was released on YouTube on March 24, Friday and already has more than five million views.

The new Lufthansa commercial exudes energy while weaving together the power of humour and India's passion for cricket. The storyline follows a coach, as he drives his team to do everything like the Indians - train, meditate, eat and even dance like them. All this, in order to beat them in the game of Cricket. The ad highlights Lufthansa's own Indianised offering for its customers.

Sangeeta Sharma, senior manager, marketing and product, Lufthansa Group Airlines, tells afaqs! that the most challenging part of this campaign was raising the bar from last year and keeping the core of the ad true to the 'More Indian than you think' tagline. "We definitely wanted to do something where we could cut across various demographics and age groups... and cricket is a game that Indians love like no other," she says about the current ad.

How does Sharma measure the impact of her ad? After all, in this category, it's variables like price and past experience with the airline that impact brand preference more than marketing efforts. Sharma's team works with GFK, a research company, to track the effectiveness of the brand's ad campaigns.

She quotes the Ad Tracking Report (August 2016), as per which more than 80 percent of the target group with awareness of Lufthansa recognised the 'Grandpa-Grandson' TV spot and were also familiar with the story line. They recalled it as the 'grandfather-grandson' ad, 'truly Indian' ad and 'Indian meals' ad.

"We launched a China-specific ad last year but India was the first country for which Lufthansa launched a localised ad campaign ('More Indian than you think', 2014). After that, we launched the China-specific ad last year. We then launched an ad for the US market," says Lufthansa's Sharma.

"Our campaigns are not targeted at people who are already travelling with us. We are looking at new customers," she adds. To this end, the brand has mobilised various media platforms including below-the-line.

AD REVIEW

Arijit Ray, co-founder and managing partner, Paperboat Brandworks, a Mumbai based creative agency, says, "The Grandfather Commercial reflected the growing importance of the global and international 'individual Indian traveler'... It was a genuine attempt that tried to make 'sensitivity to Indian tastes and sensibilities' the anchor. The current communication has the same message with a different execution idea."

He elaborates, "The current communication is a clever attempt to continue the 'We understand the Indian mindset' story with cricket as the backdrop. The timing is relevant - the India Vs Australia series is underway and the IPL is close to exploding on us... there could not have been a better metaphor than that of an International cricket team needing to understand Indians deeper to beat them on their home turf."

This, Ray reasons, mirrors the challenge that Lufthansa faces as an international airline. "I am sure this is a long term strategy," he surmises, adding, "The nimble and aggressive strategies of brands like Etihad and Emirates are the touchstones against which brands like Lufthansa have to measure up."

Ray recommends turning this "seemingly uni-dimensional" campaign into a 360 degree one. "It will get more and more important for agencies to have a constant dialogue with various profiles of the Indian traveler. The pecking order of aspiration in the airline space has changed dramatically. Asian and Middle-Eastern Airlines are the new flavour. European airlines have a lost a bit of sheen," he says.

Roshni Dadabhoy, creative lead, DigitasLBi, Mumbai, a digital agency from the house of Publicis, says, "This is a great example of one brand thought being executed in multiple ways. The Grandpa commercial was warm and slightly closer to home. The coach commercial, looks at Indians - their food, customs and entertainment - in a different light, but I personally think it's humorous and not condescending. The fact that they've used non-Indians to appeal to Indians is a clutter-breaking move. Great execution of idea to brand thought to film!"

She adds, "Films that strike a home run on digital usually tend to be super sentimental or humorous. This one checks the latter, and I think it will do its job well. I hope there is some surround activity on digital platforms to drive home this thought. #MoreIndianThanYouThink is a great conversation starter and content peg for the IPL."

Adding further she says, "Over time, I see airlines moving away from the price story and moving towards narrating experiences with great storytelling. They're using the power of advertising to showcase a story, but they should leverage digital platforms a little more effectively. Travel is a source of great stories. These stories, and the rich content that comes with them, should be harnessed by airline brands to create compelling narratives on digital."

CREDITS for Lufthansa 2017 TVC

Conceptualised by: MRM//McCann India and Kolle Rebbe Germany

Creative agency: MRM//McCann

Media agency: Mindshare

Production company (Berlin): CZAR Film GmbH

Director: Martin Werner