Publicis' campaign highlights offline aspects of isolation, distancing

A new initiative by Publicis, in association with the Free Press Journal, includes a set of creatives designed to be used when families spend time together.

Many Indians haven't seen the world outside the four walls of their homes lately. In a situation like this, when the country is under lockdown, the internet tends to be a gateway to the outside world. On the other side, during times like these, disconnecting from the internet can actually help individuals take care of their mental health. This is the message that Publicis wants to emphasise on, in its new campaign with the Free Press Journal.

A creative in the campaign talks about how individuals can use this time to focus on their long overdue fitness habits and routines.

Publicis also emphasises on using this time to spend and reconnect with one's family - seeing that some users don't have much choice in this context.

This can also be a time to catch up with and get to know (other) family members, who you may not have spoken to or remained in touch with lately, better.

Finally, a message about hoarding and panic buying also finds its way into the campaign.

This isn't the first campaign we've seen in recent times that encourages creativity in times of lockdown. Pidilite is also running a campaign in association with user generated content platform Momspresso. Together, the brands have rolled out a creative initiative #IndiaCraftingMemories. The 21-day campaign encourages families to take part in various 'fun' crafting activities, and keep their children engaged in the process.

Fevicreate, a platform by Pidilite that encourages creativity, has collaborated with popular celebrity influencers, like Shilpa Shetty, Neha Dhupia, Rannvijay Singh, and Karanvir Bohra, to launch the #CraftingMemoriesChallenge across India. To further increase the reach of the initiative, Momspresso has launched it in 10 vernacular languages, and has also invited 1,000-plus influencers to be a part of it, and share their videos and pictures on Instagram and Facebook. An Instagram handle “India Crafting Memories” has also been created, which will be a repository for all curated content.

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#Repost @theshilpashetty (@get_repost) ・・・ It’s a dichotomy of emotions. I am concerned about what’s happening around us while we are hoping and praying for the situation to get better across the world, I’m also valuing and spending extra time with Viaan every day. We spent this morning creating these little love notes for each other. I genuinely value these moments.
We are crafting memories, are you? These are challenging times. You too can take up this #CraftingMemories challenge and make this time memorable for your kids! . . . . . . . @indiacraftingmemories @fevicreate @momspresso #CraftingMemories #Gratitude #MomSonTime

A post shared by Fevicreate (@fevicreate) on Mar 31, 2020 at 6:58am PDT

Going a step further, Ogilvy India has also conceptualised an ad for Tata Sky, which featured non-actors and their family members. The TVC highlights the different ways the DTH service could be used to spend time together. The ad was shot remotely in seven different cities - Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, Lucknow, Chennai and Jodhpur.

The TVC is meant to communicate that 10 of Tata Sky’s interactive content services have been made free, to encourage consumers to remain fruitfully engaged, learn and do something new in their homes. We asked Anurag Kumar, chief communications officer, Tata Sky, what the biggest challenge of shooting the TVC was. He says it was to get all of this done when no one - from Tata Sky, Ogilvy, to the director, music composer and the cast themselves - could step out from their homes.