'Parroting' opinions? Dailyhunt wants you to think again...

With Dailyhunt's new campaign, the call to action is to create your own opinion instead of being a 'tota'.

Election season is around the corner in India and news aggregator Dailyhunt announced the launch of its new election campaign, Dailyhunt Chalao, #KhudKiSochBanao (which roughly translates to 'form your own opinion'). The multi-media campaign will run across TV, digital and radio to eligible voters in tier II and III cities about the importance of forming one's own opinion.

Don't 'parrot' other people's opinions, says the new ad for Dailyhunt

A previous campaign highlights news accessibility by showing people from all walks of life using the app

Umang Bedi

Amit Akali

Umang Bedi, president, Dailyhunt, says, "The 'Khud Ki Soch Banao' campaign resonates with the philosophy of the brand. With the increase in use of smartphones, expansion of 4G to rural villages, the growth of social media and media outlets, Indians are bombarded with multiple avenues offering news, varied opinions and biased narratives that can affect election outcomes. The consumer feels the absence of a credible news brand that can provide unbiased coverage and multiple perspectives on every topic.... The Dailyhunt brand fills that void for the voting public."

Amit Akali, founder and creative head, What's Your Problem; the agency that ideated and brought this ad campaign together, says, "We are excited to partner with Dailyhunt for this campaign. We bring forth the issue of biased, polarised opinions being formed against the backdrop of elections. We feel like 'Tota'(parrot), as a metaphor, helps start the debate on how important it is to have a platform that can give multiple perspectives allowing you to form your own opinions."

We asked industry experts what they thought of the ad, this is what they had to say...

Saurabh Mathur, head planning and strategy, VML, India

Saurabh Mathur

The current narrative on the elections changes as soon as you change news channels. Agendas and biases tend to drive news, instead of facts. In that context, the campaign itself seems to be relevant to what a lot of us are thinking. In this polarised setting, what source can I trust? Or is it a combination of sources that will help form my opinion.

A recent study by the journal, Intelligence, showed that people find it extremely difficult to reject misinformation, so they share it first and check later (if at all). Only by inducing a sense of intellectual curiosity can this problem be solved in the longer run. One single piece of communication can't possibly solve the problem, but it's a step in the right direction. WhatsApp also did a campaign late last year that urged people to 'check before they forward' a message.

WhatsApp ran a campaign in 2018 that talked about forwarding messages without verifying information first

The use of 'Tota' is a nice touch since it has a universal meaning for all viewers across segments and geographies. This also makes it easier to push it via various social and digital marketing channels. While they touched upon an interesting discussion point, it ended up becoming a very obvious product plug. If would have been great to see a more pointed direction for viewers on how they can actually form a balanced opinion. This could have been a series of educational and fun videos instead of just a single piece.

Viren Razdan - managing director, Brand-nomics

Viren Razdan

The ad is very topical - feeding into the spirit of forming your 'own opinions' versus getting carried away by the sea of propaganda that surrounds us in these times. But it's a start, whether it really makes a difference is for us to see. Such campaigns need to engage at a much deeper level. The campaign seeds the thought of growing a spine and not "parroting" views. The metaphorical device ('tota') used cuts ice at a local idiomatic level. Parroting what's been told to you does tell a tale, but towards the end, it does begin to irritate a bit.

Point made - let's get into a discussion now. I am curious to see how this campaign furthers this thought. Provocation is good, so now what? If the idea is to get bold - then walk the talk!

Priya Gurnani - creative head, Publicis Worldwide, Bengaluru

Priya Gurnani

Dailyhunt's ad points towards a very nice insight. In a clutter of so many biased opinions, the country will only progress if one is objective about our nation's governing reality. A reality that in today's day and age is difficult to come by through media. The ad uses the "parrot repeating what it hears" device very well. It's a device that is very inbred in our culture and is often used as a barking insult by parents. Because it comes from a cultural nuance it should definitely resonate with most audiences.

In the west, the elephant of fake news was brought into the spotlight a while ago. Kudos to Dailyhunt for bringing it to the forefront in India. It's a start and it is a good brand promise. Will it make a difference? We will just have to wait and watch. The insight is great and valid, but it comes from another publication. By the end of the ad, as a consumer, it flared up my cynicism. How do I know if their news is true? Seemed like a self-proclamation without any validation. Overall, a good ad; will it work in the brand's favour? Debatable...

ALSO READ: "Acquiring users is easy; keeping them on the platform is hard": Umang Bedi, president, Dailyhunt