Tailors become soothsayers for ACKO's heart health ad

To differentiate itself from other World Health Day ads, ACKO, an online D2C insurer, leveraged tailors’ expertise in taking body measurements—specifically waist and hip measurements—as an alert system, signalling that it may be time to get your heart checked.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), if the waist-to-hip ratio (waist measurement divided by hip measurement) exceeds 0.85 for women and 0.90 for men, a heart health check-up should be considered.

Prateek Malpani, senior director of brand marketing at ACKO, gauges the campaign's success based on its tangible impact, not on social media metrics. Leo Burnett created the campaign and piloted it in Mumbai, with plans to expand its reach across the country.

What made you take this approach?

We didn’t want to engage in virtue signalling on World Health Day, so we waited for the right idea. Insights from the ACKO Health Insurance report revealed that claims related to heart diseases have tripled among people aged 31 to 40, with the largest claim for a cardiac arrest amounting to Rs 1.10 crore. This highlighted that heart diseases are a serious issue for the Indian population.

We found that seeing problems is the first step. However, simply stating this without context might sound preachy. Our agency partner, Leo Burnett, brought us the waist-to-hip ratio statistic, which the WHO validates. It then seemed obvious to use tailors—people who measure waists and hips every day. So, we partnered with them to create a meaningful on-ground initiative.

How did people respond to this campaign?

The campaign was so well received that we are considering turning it into a full-fledged programme. People suggested leaving measuring tapes in fitting rooms so they could measure themselves. Another idea was to feature waist and hip measurements on the size guides of major fashion portals. We received encouragement to promote this concept in gyms, where customers could obtain their waist-to-hip ratio measurements.

With the rise of fast fashion and athleisure, not everyone visits a tailor regularly. Was this a concern before launching the campaign?

Yes, we did question whether tailors were the right approach for this campaign. However, there is still a demographic that visits tailors for certain occasions, such as weddings, or for suit fittings and alterations.

How did you plan to measure the campaign’s effectiveness?

The campaign was largely a topical, social media-driven brand awareness initiative. Our primary goal was to generate brand love, with people sharing, commenting on, and liking the campaign. Engagement, rather than business metrics, was the key focus. However, the ultimate measure of success would be if we managed to create a real on-ground impact.

ACKO has showcased a number of celebrities in its advertisements, such as Saif Ali Khan and Sara Ali Khan, along with Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi, who portray Munna and Circuit. How effective is this in today's landscape, where every other content creator is considered a celebrity?

Our partnerships with celebrities have been highly effective because we don’t use them as just faces. They play an integral role in the narrative, which would not have been possible without them. For example, we wanted a father-daughter duo, and there was no better choice than Saif and Sara. Similarly, we couldn’t have recreated Munna and Circuit without Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi.

Their characters are known for challenging traditional norms in their films—Munnabhai M.B.B.S. promoted compassion among doctors, and Lage Raho Munna Bhai advocated Gandhian principles of non-violence. They brought this same ethos to our ads, where they champion change in the insurance industry, such as zero waiting periods under ACKO health plans.

With Saif and Sara, the focus is on the modern way of buying car insurance, i.e., not purchasing it at the showroom. For Madhavan, he is the voice of the customer, questioning us: “How are your premiums so cheap?” “How can you offer a zero-waiting period?” “How do you settle claims so efficiently?”

What are your plans for the festive season?

Insurance, especially health and auto insurance, is a category that is not seasonal. You don’t buy health insurance just because it’s Diwali, nor do you buy auto insurance unless you’ve bought a car. That said, October, November, and December are peak times for auto insurance, as many people purchase cars during this period. Similarly, March is significant for health and life insurance due to tax season.

Is ACKO still in the awareness stage, or has it moved forward?

For ACKO auto insurance, we’ve moved beyond the awareness stage. People are familiar with the brand. Our current focus is on enhancing the quality of that awareness—people know ACKO, but do they know its key benefits? However, health insurance is still in the awareness stage, as this is only the first year of us scaling it.