Fukrey cast in Pepsi's new TV spot

This is the brand's first new TV ad in 11 months.

Remember Hunny (Pulkit Samrat), Choocha (Varun Sharma) and Lali (Manjot Singh)? They were last seen in Fukrey Returns the movie that released in December 2017. Pepsi India has released its new TV campaign #KyunSookheSookheHi featuring the very same characters from Fukrey Returns. The ad has been conceptualised by JWT India, produced by Corcoise Films and directed by Prasoon Pandey.

Pepsi's new TVC - #KyunSookheSookheHi

The ad starts off with Hunny and Lali waiting at the railway station to see their friend Choocha off. Choocha, sitting in the train suddenly has a craving for Samosa. Hunny immediately rushes to the nearby stall and by the time he gets samosas the train starts moving ; dodging people and obstacles and pulling off some super-balancing skills in the mix, Hunny manages to deliver samosa to Choocha who asks 'Aise he sookhe sookhe he?'. As the train begins to speed up and Choocha puts his headphones on Hunny appears, huffy and puffing, tattered clothes and all, with a bottle of Pepsi.

Pepsi has also changed its packaging. The new Pepsi 'Foodicon' bottles will feature different interpretations of age-old street food favourites and will stand out on the retail shelves. The distinct visuals on each were interpreted in origami and crafted by Spain's Raya Sader Bujana and design firm Cocktail Art. They created origami versions of foods such as Mumbai's preferred vada pavs, Delhi's beloved samosas and Chennai's favoured dosas.

Pack shot of Pepsi's new packaging
Click here to enlarge

The TV ad will also be supported by outdoor and digital campaigns. There will also be exclusive promotions with partners like KFC, Pizza Hut and Subway. The new PET bottles, featuring the different food inspired visuals, will be available to consumers across all modern and traditional outlets across the country.

Raj Rishi Singh

When talking about why the brand chose these characters three months after the movie was released and the brief to the agency, Raj Rishi Singh, director marketing, Pepsi, PepsiCo India, says, "The idea was never about Fukrey Returns. We had great consumer insights on food and friendship and we wanted to activate that. While we were briefing the agency, we were very clear we will take actors who will bring out that friendship. That was the context of how do we get people to stand for real friendship and while we were evaluating the choices, the Fukrey cast came to mind. They are a set of people who are popular, of the right age, and the friendship between these guys is beyond the film. We wanted e people to relate to the film and that's what we have done in the ad."

In the past, we have seen ads such as Bingo, where a girl tempts her boyfriend with the packet of chips to help her aboard a moving train. There has been a Fogg ad where a girl pulls the chain to help a stranger get on board a moving train. Well, this time around Pepsi has shown us a great example of 'bromance' in its new campaign.

Adding about the reason behind featuring this 'bromance' in this ad, Singh says, "This entire idea came out of a lot of consumer research that we did last year on what the occasions are where a consumer enjoys being young. The thing that came out was when they are among friends. The word 'Friendship' is very empowering for today's youth and we wanted to capture that."

In the past, Virat Kohli was the brand ambassador for the brand. We asked Singh how does the brief change while making an ad featuring Kohli versus that of the Fukrey characters. He says, "In both ads, neither Virat nor the Fukrey characters were the starting ideas. The starting point was always about what we want to communicate. Which stars work in each case comes at a much later stage when you finalise the idea and it is a part of the execution."

Since Fukrey Returns released in December 2017, we asked our experts whether it was a good idea by the brand to choose these characters to make their new TVC and if the brand, going with the 'bromance' angle, is a good idea.

Robby Mathew

Vishal Mittal

Robby Mathew, chief creative officer, FCB Interface, says, "I don't see much of a problem here. I really like the 'kyun sookhe sookhe hi' idea. Wash down yummy food with a Pepsi is a good space to be in. Very interesting executions can come out of it in the future. Running behind the train and bromancing are all just executions, I think. It's a well-shot film. The acting is top notch. Even the samosas look fresh!"

Vishal Mittal, group creative director, Dentsu One, says, "Fukrey is a pretty popular movie, these characters are well established and people are aware of them. So I think it is okay to release the ad a few months later. And even if somebody isn't aware of these characters, it wouldn't come in the way of understanding the story. Nothing wrong with a guy running behind the train to do something for somebody, as long as the story is interesting enough and there's nothing wrong with bromancing, romancing or any other 'cing', as long as the story is entertaining and interesting enough."

Adding about the execution, he says, "It's pacy, the actors are good, the chemistry between the actors comes out nicely... the idea of 'kyon sookhe-sookhe hi' is nice."

CREDITS

CREATIVE AGENCY: J. WALTER THOMPSON

Senior VP & Managing partner, Account management: Varun Channa

Chief Creative Officer: Senthil Kumar

Executive Business Director: Jaibeer Ahmad

Executive Creative Director: Udayan Chakravarty

Creative Director: Harsh Maheshwari

Sr. Creative Director: Dushyant Chopra

National Planning Head: Mythili Chandrasekhar

VP - Strategy Planning: Arnab Datta Chaudhuri

Account Director: Anuj Sharm

PRODUCTION HOUSE: Corcoise Films

Producer - Cyrus Pagdiwala

Director - Prasoon Pandey