Why Bournvita chose Mary Kom and her son to talk about strength

Since 2011, Mondelez-owned malt beverage Bournvita has portrayed mothers imparting life lessons to their children through sports—a mother outruns her son during practice, teaching him the value of hard work and habit of winning, ultimately leading him to surpass her. A young girl trains in boxing under experienced boxers, as her mother watches with a smile because that’s the best way to stay ahead and tackle the curveballs life throws at you.

'Tayyari Jeet Ki'—the preparation to win—remains one of Bournvita's most popular advertising campaigns. Created by Ogilvy, the latest work from the brand and agency explores the theme of strength, highlighting that it isn’t gained simply because one’s mother is a famed Olympic medal-winning pugilist; it is something one must earn themselves.

And therein lies the point of interest. It is the first time Bournvita has cast a celebrity in its ‘Tayyari Jeet Ki’ campaigns. A 45-second commercial, which has already recorded over 5.9 million views in just over a day on YouTube, features Mary Kom and her son Khupneivar Kom discussing the origins of strength.

Akshay Seth, the executive creative director at Ogilvy, spoke to afaqs! (he wrote this ad) about why a celebrity was cast, how he ensured the focus remained on the message rather than the celebrity, and how the agency consistently incorporates life lessons into the campaigns.

All Bournvita ads have traditionally featured an ordinary mother-son duo. What led to casting a celebrity athlete like Mary Kom and her son?

Bournvita is a genuine, relatable, everyday brand. We draw insights from daily routines, allowing our stories to inspire rather than relying on the status of a high-achiever. In this case, we needed to discuss something as fundamental as strength, but in an inspiring, Bournvita manner.

To make this truly impactful, it needed the right context. The idea was to feature Mary Kom and her son, but in a way that’s almost inverse-celebrity casting. She doesn’t celebrate her achievements but instead discusses something even more important – the need to build strength. Legacy doesn’t build strength; strength builds a legacy.

The ‘Tayyari Jeet Ki’ campaign focuses on one aspect per campaign—habits, failure, and perseverance. How do you decide which to focus on?

Given the brand’s rich legacy over the years, it is a welcome challenge for the team to produce something inspiring year after year. Along with our client and planning partners, we assess the life lessons that resonate (or don’t) with parents. A combination of what feels most inspiring to our collective instincts, refined through consumer research, helps narrow down the themes.

How do you ensure the script reads like an everyday conversation rather than an overly celebratory message, especially when featuring an athlete?

The biggest test when working with a celebrity is crafting the story in a way that ensures people remember the narrative. In the Mary Kom ad, the aim was to write a natural conversation between a mother and her son. 

It just so happens that they are Mary Kom and her son Khupneivar. This was supported by consumer research with mothers who recalled conversations where they told their children that simply because their parents were doctors or mathematicians, they wouldn’t inherit those skills without hard work.

Cadbury Dairy Milk, Silk, and 5-Star release ads around Valentine’s Day, while Cadbury Celebrations does so for Raksha Bandhan and Diwali. Could you tell us about Bournvita’s campaign calendar?

We look at two main categories—brand love and business objectives. For example, last year we launched ‘Forced Packs’ to build brand love. This year, we focused on nutrition and Vitamin D, using artificial intelligence and former cricketer Rahul Dravid to meet a business goal. The calendar is roughly split between brand love initiatives and campaigns that address business objectives.

Credits: 
OGILVY MUMBAI – MONDELEZ INDIA
CADBURY BOURNVITA - BUILT NOT BORN
CCOs India: Kainaz Karmakar, Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Sukesh Nayak
ECD & Copywriter: Akshay Seth
GCD: Chinmay Raut
EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON: Hephzibah Pathak
CEO: Rajesh VR
President and head of Mumbai AND Kolkata Office: Hirol Gandhi
CCO MUMBAI: Anurag Agnihotri
DCSO: Ganapathy Balagopalan
Creative Team: Zaid W. Naresh Dhondi, Shivangi Naik, Yash Narvekar
Account Management Team: Beenu Kurup, Nikita Agarwal, Meet Kuvadia, Shrushti Tavadia
Brand Strategy Team: Russell John, Shiksha Singh, Aayushi Jadli
Client Team: Nitin Saini, Vikasdeep Katyal, Rohita Singh, Sagar Malik, Joywin Fernandes, Anjali Madan, Aishwarya Chopra, Rakhee Bansal
Director: Shashank Chaturvedi
Production House: Good Morning Films
Media Team: Wavemaker India