Ralco Tyres and Sonu Sood want to reduce the pressure on quick commerce delivery execs

BBDO India CCO Hemant Shringy explains why such a campaign, if Sood was a right choice, and when causevertising works.

Opposites attract and while one expected India’s fervent embrace of quick commerce to increase jobs and earnings for delivery executives, it has, unfortunately, raised the pressure on gig workers to reach customer doorsteps in mere minutes notwithstanding the rise in jobs for them.

A Research and Markets report from May 2022 says the Indian quick commerce industry is expected to showcase a CAGR close to 27% between FY’22 and FY’27.

Seeing riders wearing bright orange, yellow, or purple T-shirts hasten around city lanes on two-wheeler motorcycles has become an everyday routine. In the rush to reach a customer’s doorstep within the now-part-of-zeitgeist 10 minutes, the riders pose a risk to themselves and even others on the road.

Conversations around the need for such a delivery service have and will take place from time to time. Ralco Tyres’ new campaign takes the crux of the conversations and asks the customers to put the thought into action.

Starring actor Sonu Sood, the campaign urges quick commerce customers to write No Pressure Delivery as part of the instruction. This way, both the delivery executive and the app will realise there is no need to rush the order and the instruction will relieve the rider from the pressure of a sharp deadline.

BBDO India made this ad for Ralco Tyres. Its chief creative officer Hemant Shringy tells afaqs! the tyre category usually speaks about grip and safety and so “we took a unique take on pressure and that Ralco Tyres can take a lot of it.”

The brand’s take on pressure was first seen last year in a two-ad which spoke highly of the tyre’s ability to sustain pressure.

Speaking about the campaign, Shringy says that as a tyre brand and the fact that delivery executives are always on two-wheelers, “we felt the brand had a role to play in the conversation. And the brand's messaging that tyres can take pressure lent itself to a thoughtful human insight, that people shouldn’t have to take this kind of pressure.”

The overexposure of Sonu Sood

From helping people during the two years of lockdown(s) to becoming the face of many noble causes, actor Sonu Sood stood out as a silver lining. However, there is a possibility of people feeling exhausted after seeing the actor appear in one too many spots for such noble campaigns. It can, in turn, impact the effectiveness of a brand’s work.

Shringy does not agree. He says when the brand, the message, and the influencer are linked so seamlessly, audiences welcome it, and “we can already witness it with the positive, heartfelt comments.”

He goes on to add that Sood tirelessly works for one section of the population and the other section of the population appreciates him for it and gets inspired by his acts. Here, “he is working for the delivery riders and is having an impact on the people who place the orders.”

Balancing causevertising

Brands taking up a cause is healthy but how many times should one do it? Is there a number that it can balance with for-profit campaigns?

“I don’t think there is a specificity in terms of a number but what I think is important is for the brand to have a right to have the conversation,” says the CCO and adds that if the brand has relevance in the conversation, there is no set number where they should stop, but if there is no relevance, the brand shouldn’t even do one.

“And this piece, while being strongly contextual, isn’t devoid of brand thought. It takes forward the unique stance of Ralco Tyres being built to take the pressures of Indian roads,” remarks Shringy.