Plywood advertising moves beyond viruses and strength

The ads emphasise on technical details, such as whether the board emits fumes and its resistance to fire.

Recently, we noticed two plywood ads, which emphasised on details unrelated to the strength of the wood itself. Century Plywood (CenturyPly) continued its association with the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the second year in a row, and announced the launch of Firewall technology in its Architect Ply and Club Prime range.

According to a press release, Firewall technology involves use of nano-engineered particles, which are embedded in the polymer matrix of a plywood, thereby giving it firefighting properties.

The brand has launched new TVC in association with film production agency Eeksaurus, which is also regarded as the Oscar of Animation. The conceptualisation and script of the film has been done by creative agency Walter Thompson. The ad film perfectly captures the extraordinary capacity of CenturyPly Firewall plywood to contain the spread of fire.

The advertisement will be aired on TV, digital, publisher, OTT and trade channels to ensure that the (target) consumers are aware of this pioneering advancement brought to the wood panel industry by CenturyPly.

Commenting on the launch, Keshav Bhajanka, executive director, CenturyPly, said, “We are deeply concerned about the rising incidences of fire across our country, and have decided to focus on what can be done to address this issue so that our customers continue to derive peace of mind from this solution. We wanted our film to assimilate that Firewall technology contains fire spread and smoke generation, and gives the customers crucial time to act.”

The second ad we noticed was that of Greenply Industries. The ad campaign, featuring actor Boman Irani, aims to highlight the risk of formaldehyde emission from plywood and showcases the zero emission (E-0) product range of the company. The TVC campaign has been created by Ogilvy India.

The campaign was designed to raise concerns about formaldehyde emissions in plywood. Home is supposed to be a safe space, a mask-free zone. According to a press release, an E-0 grade emission compliance ensures that the plywood emits negligible formaldehyde, and that its manufacturing facility has on-site testing mechanism to monitor quality.

The campaign transcends its role as a product advertisement and becomes a relevant message issued in public interest. The communique hopes to initiate new conversations that will ultimately change our perception of safe spaces.

Against the assault of invisible enemies inside our living spaces, only a champion can stand. That champion is Greenply Industries, forever forging innovations that serve in the interest of health and well-being.

In the past, plywood ads focused on aspects of the wood, such as strength, durability and, since the COVID pandemic started, its ability to ward off viruses.

Take a look at some of these examples below: