Whatsapp's new ad campaign highlights privacy when messaging

The campaign will be live across Facebook, Instagram, TV, Digital, OOH and Radio.

Today, WhatsApp launched the India edition of its global consumer marketing campaign - ‘Message Privately’. Building on its previous ‘It’s Between You’ brand campaign that was launched in July 2020, this campaign reinforces WhatsApp’s commitment to user-privacy, through its end-to-end encryption technology.

The campaign’s overarching concept is that privacy leads to progress and fosters closeness in relationships. It has been narrated through relatable and endearing everyday real life instances of how WhatsApp remains a safe space for users to share their most personal moments with their loved ones.

Avinash Pant, Director - Marketing at Facebook India, comments, “We believe that all of us need to have an assurance of our own personal space and that privacy is an important component of our lives that helps to drive growth, and brings people closer. Our endeavour is to highlight that the privacy provided by WhatsApp through end-to-end encryption, is not just a feature, but a feeling, that leads to real human connections and to progress. The campaign is built on several real life stories from our everyday lives that people can easily relate with. It's a matter of great privilege that two billion people around the world trust WhatsApp to deliver their personal messages everyday and this campaign is an affirmation of our users’ unstinted faith in WhatsApp.”

The integrated marketing campaign launches on television with two films first:

Golden Jubilee brings alive a heart-warming real moment between an older couple, too shy to profess their affection publicly, exchange private messages on WhatsApp on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary celebrations amidst their family.

Dream Job, second story in the series, is about a young woman who receives exciting news from her Cricket coach. Eager to share it with her busy mother who is attending to some guests, she messages her on WhatsApp and breaks the news, creating a rare emotional moment of celebration for the mother-daughter, quite unknown to their guests.

In addition to these lead films, the campaign will be amplified through radio and OOH and will include content tailor-made for Instagram and Facebook in the form of vertical short format stories, Gifs and Motion posters to drive relevance.

The campaign has been conceptualised by BBDO India. Josy Paul, Chairman, BBDO India comments “WhatsApp is like your living room, private and intimate. It’s that safe place where we can all thrive. That’s our truth. And that’s what we set out to capture through relatable stories and moments. The campaign brings to life the joy of privacy in all its everyday drama and diversity. Interestingly, in the films, you never know what’s the exchange between the characters. You can’t see their messages. That’s private. But you get the feeling. It’s privacy that leads to beautiful moments of progress.”

The ad-films are directed by celebrated Indian film-maker Shimit Amin, “WhatsApp is such a daily part of our lives in all sorts of ways and that goes without saying.It was really good to use our head and deconstruct scenarios to focus on where privacy would play an important role in an Indian context. “How is this brief relevant for Indian audiences”, was always a question before all of us. BBDO and WhatsApp India team were incredibly supportive in the various experiments we went through to arrive at what final worked and came to be. Without the trust and support we received this work would not have been possible.”

The campaign will be live across Facebook, Instagram, TV, Digital, OOH and Radio.