Fujifilm takes to long format to advertise med equipment, cameras

Japanese photography and imaging company, Fujifilm has released its first brand campaign in India titled, 'Never Stop'. The ad film exhibits a hospital setting, showcasing the brand's range of medical imaging products.

Conceptualised and created by Hammer Communications, the ad film depicts a regular Indian family's visit to a hospital during a health issue. The campaign highlights Fujifilm's presence in the Indian healthcare sector, exhibiting the brand's medical imaging products for procedures such as mammography and colonoscopy, among others.

'Never Stop' campaign is set to air across all digital platforms and leading OTT brands such as Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon Prime, et cetera. The campaign will also spread across print, online news portals and other OOH avenues including metros, airports and hospitals.

Typically, Fujifilm is known for its range of cameras and photography accessories. Yet the brand has chosen its healthcare imaging products as the bedrock of this first-ever Indian campaign. We asked Haruto Iwata, managing director, Fujifilm India, why.

He responds, “With our new campaign ‘Never Stop’, we wanted to communicate and highlight the company’s diverse array of business operations along with our corporate mindset. The digital film has been designed keeping in mind Fujifilm’s transition from being a photographic film company to a holistic brand that provides value across different fields and contributes to the resolution of various societal issues.”

But why build the campaign primarily around the healthcare sector, we wondered. Iwata explains, “Fujifilm’s core business in India comprises almost 50 per cent of medical imaging. With this campaign, we hope to create awareness about the brand’s services across sectors and highlight its long-standing relationship with the Indian consumers.”

Answering the question about the TG, Iwata says, “We aim to target ‘new young India’ comprising of the medical diagnostic fraternity, doctors, photographers, printers, IT segment for data storage and so on.”

Ad Review:

Speaking about Fujifilm's intent behind the campaign, Shouvik Roy, brand consultant, says, “I am not sure what the intent is. The only thing that stands out is that medical imaging is the main thing Fujifilm does now. So, to that extent it does the job.” While the film tries to draw emotional connections with the audience, Roy thinks the ad appears to be 'very forced' and incoherent. “In my opinion, it doesn't do much for the brand at an emotive level despite trying to. This is an example of how long format films can get very repetitive and boring if there isn't any cohesive story — and the attempt to present one looks very forced.”

The ad film delves into at least three categories of Fujifilm products – Polaroid instant-image cameras, DSLRs, and medical imaging. “This amalgamation of multiple products,” Roy points out, “almost seems like a film where they have tried to bring the two TGs (photographers and hospitals) together somehow.”

Commenting on the ad film's inclusion of multiple product ranges, Viren Razdan, managing director, Brand-nomics says, “I did not know the range of products Fujifilm has and this film does tell me about that.” “The ad film,” Razdan suggests, “attempts to weave its moments through a roller coaster ride punctuated by product placards.” Critiquing the story of the film, Razdan says, “The film laboriously meanders with cliched emotional drama, you wait for it to end… and literally Never Stops.”