ShopClues: A Sunday surprise

Online marketplace ShopClues.com has rolled out a witty campaign to highlight the propositions offered by its new sale property, the Sunday flea market.

After the funny Bhains ki aankh campaign for the six to nine Gharwapsi Sale, online marketplace ShopClues has rolled out another witty TVC titled O Bhaisaab. This time, to highlight the proposition offered by its new property, the Sunday flea market. Through the ad, ShopClues showcases how shoppers gasp in disbelief when they check out the discounts and deals on this sale property.

The new TVC created and conceptualised by Enormous Brands, plays on the Indian notion that when someone remembers you, you start hiccupping ceaselessly. Directed by Arun Gopalan, the ad film shows a woeful man called Bhai Saab who suffers this fate every Sunday when people around the country see the deals on offer on the Sunday Flea Market and let out the popular expression of surprise, O Bhaisaab. The core idea is encapsulated in the final message of the creative, Duniya bhar ka aflatooni samaan, kuch aflatooni rates par. The film has been produced by Storytellers Films.

In the digital leg of the campaign that preceded the TVC the character Bhai Saab was popularised on Twitter and Facebook for two weeks. After it acquired a substantial following, ShopClues disclosed the company's association with it as the official mascot of the Sunday Flea Market.

bahot pareshan ho gaye hum hichki se #FirSeHichkiyan kuch to madad karo bhai log #DubsmashDay pic.twitter.com/wJuZcBao3r

— Bhaisaab (@O_Bhaisaab) December 5, 2015

Bhai Saab is an endearing figure called Omi Bhaisaab, a middle-aged Indian man who is a Chemistry teacher in Kanpur. He has a wife and a son whom he adores. While Bhai Saab loves watching sports and movies, he likes to be kept updated with world news. He is a fan of Amitabh Bachchan and wants to travel to Europe someday. In the midst of his simple and sorted life there is only one complication; the incessant hiccups every Sunday. The reason is eventually revealed in the TVC.

During the two weeks, ShopClues posted interesting content about his day-to-day routine. Bhai Saab has so far garnered 1,333 followers on Twitter and 6,640 likes on Facebook.

Speaking on the campaign, Radhika Aggarwal, co-founder and chief business officer, ShopClues.com, says, "The ShopClues Sunday Flea Market appeals to the common Indian who is used to shopping at delightful price points from local bazaars on specific days of the week. We have emulated this delight on the online platform and through this TVC we want to garner greater mindshare for this property. The idea is to get more and more shoppers to check it out."

Ashish Khazanchi, managing partner at Enormous Brands, adds, "The Sunday flea market offers unbelievable deals on everyday products. 'Unbelievable' being the starting point, we used the exclamation 'O Bhaisaab' to portray it and establish Sunday as SFM (Sunday Flea Market) day in the minds of the customers."

The Flea Market concept has been modelled after the prevalent shopping format wherein products are sold at huge discounts without compromising on quality. Featured products under the Flea Market promotion are either in less quantity or in odd numbers, which is why the merchant is willing to sell them at highly discounted prices.

The Gurgaon-based ShopClues was founded in July 2011 in Silicon Valley. It is the Indian subsidiary of Clues Network Inc., a US corporation. With 2.5 crore listed products and over 3,00,000 plus merchants, ShopClues is an online marketplace which claims to receive more than 100 million monthly visitors.

Unforgettable?

Calling the campaign a good creative leap for ShopClues, Spandan Mishra, head, strategic planning, Rediffusion Y&R, says, "The execution works and the unexpected build-up to the idea of Bhaisaab is a clever property to create."

"The detailing is solid and can ensure the Bhaisaab character be extended beyond the flash sale space on Sunday," he suggests.

"It's a good bit of advertising where the creative idea is the champion. The service is nothing great, but by taking the creative leap of Bhaisaab, they've made ShopClues far more memorable than many brands jumping on the e-commerce band-wagon," he adds.

Mishra also appreciates the use of the SFM tagline aflatooni samaan at aflatooni daam which makes "what seems like a flash/dump sale cool and acceptable".

Sambit Mohanty, creative head, DDB Mudra North, finds the campaign entertaining. "It uses a memorable character in a memorable desi way to make a point about the ShopClues Sunday sale. The Twitter handle belonging to Bhaisaab is also a fun way of integrating this character in the digital medium," he says.