The Hindu celebrates Maveli's noble deeds in Onam ad

Made by Ogilvy, it talks about how the great king's goodness and noble deeds are reflected in today's folks.

From calling out advertisers who tried riding the COVID fear to berating the 'valiant human spirit' after the appalling death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala, The Hindu newspaper has time and again and stood out for its long copy print ads.

This time, it's caught our eyes for evoking the spirit of Maveli in every one of us. Who is he? Maveli or Bali or Mahabali was a benevolent and generous king.

Mythology tells us that once Vishnu took the form a dwarf, Vamana, and approached Maveli. Vamana asked the king for three paces of land. When the king agreed to the request, the dwarf grew in size and covered everything in two steps. With no place, Maveli offered his head to Vamana for the third step. The dwarf placed his foot on the king's head and shoved him into the underworld. But, the king was granted a boon to visit his people once a year. That time is Onam.

The Hindu, in its print ad, writes how the generous spirit of Maveli is reflected in everyone. The print ad reads:

He lives right here. As the 80-year-old who buys provisions for his 85-year-old neighbour. He smiles through that girl who has been taking double shifts saving lives. He drives around the town delivering food to hungry people. He is the girl who gets tickets for a needy kid on the bus. His moustache now terrifies those who break the law. The moves of his paunch amuse the differently-abled-children he entertains every weekend. He is on the speed dial of all his friends, always around to help. He has rowed strangers to safety when they were in knee-deep water. He is the warrior girl who stood up for a fellow passenger's safety. The king of all things good, Maveli lives within each one of us. This Onam, let us celebrate him every day.

Parvathy Rajmohan, associate creative director, Ogilvy, wrote this ad and Nikhil Narayanan, who is a creative director at the agency shared it on Linkedin and had this to say:

In the past few months, the newspaper has released quite a few eye-catching print ads.

On July 4, 2020, it called out those who forward its 'e-paper' in an ad curated by Brand Marketing and Digital Teams of The Hindu Group. The newspaper on May 6, 2020, carried a full-page ad which spoke about how this virus has made us more empathetic and humane. And the 'Meet the Dumbest Creature on the Planet' ad on World Wildlife Day ad (March 3, 2020) was a big hit.