"We are more than doubling our digital spends": Partho Chakrabarti, PepsiCo, on Kurkure's festive campaign

The campaign encourages people to ditch the usual overdose of pretentious sweetness and obligations this festive season, and embrace their quirky nature with brand Kurkure.

The Great Indian Kurkure family of Bollywood celebrities Parineeti Chopra, Boman Irani, Ramya, Farida Jalal and Kunal Kapoor is back to spread laughter and mischief in the latest 'Why so sweet? Be Chatpata!' campaign launched ahead of the festive season. Executed by JWT India, the campaign encourages people to do away with the usual overdose of pretentious sweetness and obligations, and embrace their 'chatpata'/quirky nature.

The ads, directed by Dibakar Banerjee, show the Kurkure family encouraging their guests in wacky ways to shed all inhibitions and be real. On the concept, Babita Baruah, SVP and business head, JWT India, says, "Kurkure has always been at the forefront of coming up with quirky ideas that relate to our everyday lives. The latest TVC captures the essence of Indian festivities and the moments shared together with families in a fun way."

Partho Chakrabarti, vice president - snacks category, PepsiCo India, says, "Kurkure is a brand that can shape thinking; it brings an alternative point of view to Indian families who are, by nature, very polite, sometimes excessively. Kurkure allows people to poke fun at such attributes, without being serious."

The campaign was rolled out on September 1 and will run through the festive season including Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja and Diwali. It is being supported by outdoor and print media.

In a first, this time the ads have also been shot in regional languages like Bangla and Tamil. Chakrabarti informs that these are not dubbed versions of the Hindi TVC, but created specifically for different regions and festivals specific to them, for instance, Durga Puja ad for East India. "Kurkure is not just a North brand; our TG is all Indian families. We are spending equally on national and regional media, and are more than doubling our digital spends for this campaign to reach out to over 20 million consumers," he states. The brand's digital plan includes exclusive content for the medium which will be co-created by consumers.

Kurkure will be launching special gift packs during Diwali. The limited edition packs, priced at Rs. 60, Rs. 90 and Rs.120, will be available across retail outlets and on Amazon.in.

PepsiCo entered India in 1989 and has grown to become one of the largest MNC food and beverage businesses in India. PepsiCo India has been consistently investing in the country and has built an expansive beverage and snack food business, supported by 37 beverage bottling plants and three food plants. PepsiCo India's diverse portfolio includes brands like Pepsi, Lay's, Kurkure, Tropicana 100%, Gatorade and Quaker.