Havells fans: For a change

The six-week campaign talks about the brand's fan range as a catalyst bringing in winds of change.

After its tryst with the supernatural (in Bijlee baba), Havells has come back with yet another noticeable campaign. Going beyond product features, the campaign for Havells fans introduces and encourages a change in mindsets.

The campaign, conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, comprises four films of which two -
'Dining'
and 'Registrar's Office' - have been released. Dining shows a family asking their maid to join them at the dining table for dinner after she serves the food. The hesitant and shy maid sits, and smiles when a family member appreciates the vegetables. A voiceover asserts, 'Havells fans, hawa badlegi'.

The other film, shows a newly married couple at a marriage registrar's office, where the husband explains to the official that he will adopt his wife's surname.

Interestingly, the six-week campaign, which coincides with the India vs Australia test series, did not set out to bring a social change. Amer Jaleel, national creative director, Lowe Lintas & Partners, explains that there is nothing that separates one fan from the other, except perception.

"When you create love for your brand, people opt for you. We thought the best way to get into people's mind in such a low-involvement category like fan was to put the brand in your head. The communication had to generate a fresh breath in consumers' thinking; winds of change, if you like," he says.

He clarifies that instead of an attempt to change people's mindset, the campaign merely chronicles the change.

The TVCs have been directed by Anupam Mishra of Crazy Few Films. Considering the subject was delicate, Jaleel says it had to be dealt with care so that it did not come across as corny. "Therefore, we had to be careful about the casting. The pitch of the ad had to be perfect and the acting had to be candid and not strained. And, the production house really worked hard to get a good cast," Jaleel adds.

The way the wind blows

Vedobroto Roy, executive creative director, Dentsu Communications, says that the campaign will leave its mark. "For an audience, the TVC is entertaining and has a wow factor. The rationale leaves a lot to the imagination - that is what makes Havells fans different from the rest. But as long as it engages the consumer in some way or the other, the ads are helping the brand," Roy says. He likes the Registrar's Office film better, he says, as it actually opens minds closed to this possibility.

Partially agreeing with Roy, Divyapratap Mehta, chief strategy officer, Publicis Capital says that while the audience would like the ad and talk about it, they wouldn't know why they should buy Havells fans. "Havells is sending too many messages to the consumer. The consumer is most likely to be confused about what the brand stands for. Like all Havells ads, this one too is attention catching. But I am not sure whether it builds any sustained advantage for brand Havells," he opines.

Earlier commercials of Havells, he says, were based on strong product superiority delivered in an interesting manner (Shock Laga, Ujjwal ati Ujjwal and Wires That Don't Catch Fire). In fans, the brand has talked about Bijli Bachhao and Forever fans.

"The current ads are definitely engaging and leverage a very powerful societal insight. It would create empathy with a large set of consumers. However, they have no connection with the category or the brand. It could turn big if the brand stood for change and new thinking across its range of products. Those then would be powerful values attached to a modern brand," Mehta elaborates.