Swiggy wants consumers to solve a puzzle with new campaign

Swiggy worked with creative agency Talented to come up with a sci-fi style outdoor and print campaign.

"Why is this a Swiggy ad?" - is the question the food delivery app is asking the consumers in its new campaign. Swiggy, which has been traditionally known for targetting the youth through online advertising campaigns, has taken the outdoor and print route for this one. 

It is asking social media users to come up with theories about the message behind the ad. "Explore every corner (of the ad). Tell us why you think this is a Swiggy ad. Your answer could win you Rs 1 lakh in Swiggy money," the campaign website says.

For Talented, the creative agency behind the ad, and the folks at Swiggy, the primary motivation was to release a memorable campaign that could combine the promotion of Swiggy's three business verticals - food delivery, Swiggy Instamart and Swiggy Genie - into one. 

Saurabh Nath, head, brand marketing, Swiggy, says that the ad illustrates how the brand is omnipresent.

"There was a little bit of magic and science behind the idea. I thought it was a very smart way of telling the consumers that we are omnipresent in their lives. We took all the traditional elements of advertising away from this campaign and introduced a concept of integration of several storylines in one creative. I feel the messaging is so on point with this one. Anything you want to get or deliver or whatever, Swiggy is going to take care of it for you," he says. 

Viren Noronha, senior marketing manager, Swiggy, observes that many quirky nods on social media and jokes have been made using the brand's identity. “We came across a social media post that said: the graveyard of my exes is my Swiggy saved addresses.” 

"We saw other quirky stuff online too, which made us realise that we are not just a food delivery app. It is very rare for a brand to make such a mark in pop culture. That's why we wanted to reach out to the public to understand their views on what makes a Swiggy ad. In the process, we noticed that no three answers look alike, and it also makes sense, as no three people have the same interaction with the app," adds Noronha. 

The creative, which has been primarily designed for outdoor and print, went live on October 14. Both parties, Swiggy and Talented, saw eye to eye on what the social campaign should look like.

"We are looking beyond what people perceive as a good ad, not the same old formula - make a TVC, put a lot of money behind the ad and see what comes from it. We wanted to explore mixture of mediums. Hence, this is an outdoor and print-supported campaign. Swiggy instantly agreed with the idea too," Sanket Audhi, creative and founding member, Talented, tells afaqs!"

Although the brand has primarily focused on outdoor promotion, it was expecting the ad to drive engagement on social media.

"The reason we went with the visual route is because we wanted to break the monotony of campaigns. This is not a style that you generally see outdoors. So, we wanted to go with an illustration that is very 1950s-inspired, from sci-fi comics and has a space theme. You look and stop," Teresa Sebastian, creative and founding member, Talented, mentions. 

The ad takes inspiration from different elements. There's a nod to Bollywood, along with a couple of popular Hollywood movies.

"Swiggy is omnipresent, anything around you can link to its services. That's when we thought of various illustrations popular in our culture and tied them back to the brand," Pooja Manek, founding member, Talented, explains. 

Swiggy's Nath says that the brand's aim was to have a two-way dialogue with the campaign. "It fits in quite well with the young brand that Swiggy is. We are putting together a puzzle for the user to sit back and figure out exactly where this is going."