Know Thy Breaks
Posts tagged Financial Services
Experience An Afterlife In The Same Birth
Jun 2nd
Tag line: Retirement Matlab World’s Best Job
Client: ICICI Prudential life
Brand: ICICI Prulife Retirement Solutions
Creative Agency: Lowe Lintas
Exec Creative Director: Ameer Jaleel
Director: Shivendra Dungarpur
Production House: Dungarpur Films
Duration: 50 secs
Year: 2009
Story: ICICI Prudential has been at retirement solutions since 2002, the first in the category. Similar to its previous campaigns, this one also aims at building a positive outlook towards retirement. But this is the first change in tag line since the maiden ad, when the tag line was ‘Retire from work, not life’, though the brand idea was the same.
Message: The life insurance advert works on to change perceptions of retirement & help consumers to see that there is an upside to retirement. The aim is to go beyond stirring the consumer, & get him to start seriously investing in his future. It aims to make retirement aspirational for the hesitant Indian consumer. Hence, the route of pulling out one’s secret desires that have taken a backseat somewhere in the course of life. (***)
Insight: The insight is that of looking at the dreams that people stash away at the back of their minds, due to the daily grind of a job and other responsibilities. Also, the fact that it isn’t part of the Indian culture to invest for their own future. They’d rather plan for a house, children’s education & even marriage, but only a few will plan for life after retirement. (***)
Freshness: It’s an off beat idea to relate to the younger working man, who could then wisely save for his future, instead of portraying his harsh future, if he doesn’t invest. A fresh perspective to retirement & that too so very positive, in this aspirational era, where everyone wants everything & more. The greenery & sunny ambience in the film add to the positivity. Altogether it really gels with urban young audience. (***)
Verdict: There’s a concept in the tag line that can grow into much more. But The proposition with this category is the same, which doesn’t make the ad stand out very prominently. The execution of the ad is such that it sticks in the mind. If ever evolved into a campaign, it might possess the ability to dent this Indian truth (or perception)that the retirement is a compromised state in life.
Hifaazat Se Majboor
May 27th
Tag line: Jiyo Befikar
Client: Bajaj Allianz
Creative Agency: M&C Saatchi
Exec Creative Director: Rajiv Sabnis
Creative Team: Parveez Shaikh, Hemant Sapre & Shaista Vaishnav
Lyrics: Gulzar
Singer: Sukhwinder Singh
Music: Vishal Bharadwaj
Director: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
Production House: Dungarpur Films
Duration: 45 secs
Year: 2009
Story: Bajaj Allianz has unveiled a new multi-pronged corporate campaign, to re-emphasize its scale and stature in the category. The ad comprises of montage of visuals depicts that how people enjoy life taking risks when they have the assurance of protection by a loved one. While the earlier campaigns talked about products and the Super Agent (its mascot), the new one talks about how one can live a care-free life.
Message: Your mother shields you from rain. Your husband holds your hand while crossing the road. You protect your baby from sharp edges. Each of us is protected by our loved ones. Protection, which helps us live carefree. So the ad highlights Bajaj Allianz’s promise to give consumers Hifaazat (loving protection) from all risks by enhancing their financial opportunities & helping them live life to the fullest. (***)
Emotional Appeal: When it comes to an intangible product like life insurance, trust plays an important role in convincing a customer. Bajaj Allianz made a clever move at the right time… choosing to reinforce their consumer connect during a slowdown, when no one was actually trusting financial institutions. And Hifaazat or protection is a human instinct. People want to instinctively protect their near and dear ones from harm’s way. This human insight is at the centre of this creative strategy. The film sensitively portrays the protective and hence carefree relationship between loved ones. (****)
Music: Yeah, it deserves a mention as this is what you call soulful bliss… rendered by the infallible combo– Gulzar Sa’ab, Sukhi Paaji & Vishal ji. A song that you can go on listening to for years and still won’t get bored of it. Sukhwinder has an uncanny knack of breathing life into the lyrics via his vocal chord… and what about this line ‘Jiyo har lamha, tumko zindagi peene ki aadat hai’ which delivers the real impressive punch. (****)
Freshness: Hitherto, Bajaj Allianz had done an excellent job of persuading people to buy into their products through rational and product-focused communication with the Super Agent being the important face of the brand. But moving away from its earlier motto – Jaisi Zaroorat, Vaisa Insurance (tailor made to your needs), it now says, Jiyo Befikar (live without worries). As the brand touches over millions customers across age groups; geographies & income classes, this universally appealing positioning is a timely & mindful move. (***)
Verdict: This deliberate shift from functional communication to a more emotional communication based on real life situations, had to be needed to create a much stronger connection with the TG. The ’Jiyo Befikar’ TVC does just that. While the communication needed to focus on both life and general insurance, it brings out clearly in a climax shot that Bajaj Allianz offers a range of life and non-life insurance solutions.
Toons To Tutor You In Money Matters
May 8th
Tag line: A New Look at Life
Client: Tata AIG Life Insurance
Brand: Mahalife Gold Plan
Creative Agency: Bates 141
Exec Crteative Director: Russell Barrett
Director: Ayappa
DOP: Andre Menezes
Production House: Footcandles Films Pvt Ltd
Animation: Invisible Rabbit
Duration: 30 secs
Year: 2009
Story: Tata AIG Life has come out with their new brand campaign ‘Sukhi Dukhi’ for its Mahalife Gold plan. Sukhi represents the eternal optimist and Dukhi, the dejected pessimist. Like two sides of a coin, they present two perspectives on life. Sukhi is also a metaphor for the company’s customers who are happy and positive about life, supported by the benefits its products bring. Dukhi voices the confusion in the consumer’s mind when it comes to buying insurance. A cynical person who is yet to invest and experience the benefits of Tata AIG Life.
Idea & Message: Insurance is a complex product, where a person actually is purchasing a legal contract. There was a definite need to make life insurance products relevant/ comprehensible to consumers & the ad does it purposefully in a simple yet entertaining manner. To break the norm & grab the eyeballs, Tata AIG Life created two new animated brand ambassadors Sukhi and Dukhi to communicate the suite of products that Tata AIG Life is offering. (****)
Freshness: The financial advertising landscape in India has been warm and fuzzy for a long time. Happy families, mushy relationships, rona- dhona, hasna- gaana. The ideas are good, but because of the similarity in tonality and imagery, people remember the communication but forget the brand. But Tata AIG Life came up with a unique mix of live action and animation. Sukhi and Dukhi really live and breathe with such good scripts and situations around the products by sharing amusing anecdotes from their lives to launched the company’s financial solutions. (****)
Verdict: Every brand is following the same approach so much that the creative-landscape has turned an indistinguishable grey. Hopefully, that with their lovable quirks and nuances, Sukhi and Dukhi will make a lot of friends among the target audience and will end up becoming a long running, efficient and extremely versatile device for this brand like ZooZoos did for Vodafone. The format and the execution is a refreshing change from the standard cliches of life-stage depiction that is oft used in this category.
Spend on Your Child With Their Expertise
Apr 30th
Tag line: Faidey ka Insurance
Client: Kotak Life Insurance
Creative Agency: JWT
Creative Director: Nandita Chalam
Copywriter: Nandita Chalam
Art Director: Minal Phatak
Director: Rajesh Krishnan
Production House: Soda Films
Duration: 35 secs
Year: 2009
Story: A Kotak Life agent talks about how parents want their children to take up various professional options. As the agent mentions these career options, the child seated between his parents turns into an astronaut, doctor, etc in quick succession. The agent then describes how Kotak Life Insurance’s Child Plans ensure better returns from investments made in a growing market, which could facilitate higher spends on the child’s education. The film ends with the agent leaving the house with a piece of friendly advice – that a child must be given room to make his own career choice.
Positioning: The earlier campaigns of Kotak Life Insurance featured the tag line – ‘Zindagi se ek kadam aagey (One step ahead of life)’. The idea was that sound financial planning would help one stay a step ahead. Kotak Life Insurance has adopted a new brand positioning with a new tag line- ‘Faidey ka Insurance‘. Consumers now seek beyond protection and endowment from their insurance plans. In this context, leveraging Kotak’s core strength of investment expertise seems a natural extension for the brand. The new positioning is a reflection of Kotak Group’s strength in the area of research and capital markets. (****)
Freshness: No traditional emotional selling but bold thinking & outstanding execution. At least someone has tried to break away from happy emotional family based advertising. Kudos for breaking through the hackneyed child-centered mindless advertising done by some of the Life insurance players. (****)
Verdict: In today’s insurance parlance, a child plan is synonymous with the parent’s expectations from their child. Kotak Life Insurance through its TVC, attempts to break this mould. It gently suggests to parents to refrain from forcing their expectations on their child but allow and enable the children to exercise their choices and do what they like to do. It also reminds the parents that, they should invest and plan so that they can provide maximum resources when the need arises.
Insurance to Insulate Your Love & Life
Apr 25th
Tag line: Celebrate Life
Client: SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd
Creative Agency: O&M
Exec Creative Director: Anup Chitnis
Creative Director: Nitin Pradhan
Director: Amit Sharma
Producer: Hemant Bhandari
Production House: Chrome Pictures Pvt Ltd
Duration: 60 secs
Year: 2009
The soul of SBI Life has remained the same over the years & it just has a different expression this time. The core is the same. This new commercial is a fresh and romantic take on a young couple’s dreams of their older age.
The SBI Life Insurance ad belongs to the “feel good” category of financial advertising. Simple and entertaining, it leaves one feeling warm towards the brand. The play between the husband and wife is quite enviable and I’m sure a number of couples would want their relationship to be like that. The confidence the man shows in his future reflects on to the brand. It is in keeping with the spirit of their old campaign, featuring a group of old men playing cricket, to look at the brighter side of life. The brand tonality has been kept intact. It is just that the agency has tried to infuse youthfulness into the brand to appeal to the young insurer, who is married, in his 30s ensuring that the commercial has an emotional connect too. All in all, an enjoyable watch.
The message is about celebrating life & not giving out a cautionary message about the future. The film is shot in black and white, in keeping with the earlier SBI commercials which retain a realistic documentary like feel to it. The ad has been beautifully shot and the casting and performances are spot on. The track is sweet and that makes the commercial. That is the only reason why anyone would give this spot a second look.
The communication retains its core essence of ‘celebrate life’, and in the process creates a unique brand value that’s in consonance with the consumer’s aspirations. In contrast to most players who focus their efforts on the archetypal metro audience with propositions that overlap each other and often fail to create brand differentiation, the SBI Life commercial not only breaks clutter but manages to reach to a far wider audience.
