The real power of this campaign lies in the marketing idea, which is fresh and innovative, and once that is in place, half the communication battle is won

Interesting new campaign from Airtel. A good example of how a sound marketing strategy can result in not just focussed, relevant creative work, but also expand the market category as a whole. Airtel has decided that rural India must use more mobile phones. And the way that’s done is through making business sense rather than resorting to hard sell. As in, instead of selling the connections per se, they are telling small townies and villagers they can convert the phone into a source of revenue, and not just use it as a communication device.

The two commercials star ‘art-film’ actors Shreyas Talpade and Rajpal Yadav. In one film, Yadav plays a small-time tour guide who wants to start his own business. Talpade, his pal, shows the way. He tells the former he can get tourist gangs through his phone itself, so the device becomes a ‘mobile office’. No need to spend money on a brick-and-mortar structure. And sure, the trick works. The man is inundated with gullible firangi travellers, to whom he sells cow dung as a work of art.

In the second ad, Yadav plays a village paanwala. And he’s worried about his stagnating sales as only that many people come for a paan in his village. Talpade helps expand his business with a ‘mobile paan’ idea. Now people from other villages too order paans on the phone, as the paan shop’s sales go through the roof. ‘Airtel bajega to tarakki bolegi!’ is the thought.

Sure, the creative itself isn’t sizzling, but that doesn’t really matter. In fact, I like the simplicity and the earthiness. The real power lies in the marketing idea, which is fresh and innovative, and once that is in place, half the communication battle is won. I would go ahead and say the marketing and advertising frat must use this campaign as a case study on the sort of value-additions that happen when the brand manager from the client’s side and the account planner from the ad agency’s side work in sync as partners. The strategy can become so powerful, there’s very little work left for the creatives to do.

Yes, I agree, category expansion is a route fraught with peril, as rival brands will benefit too when the market expands. But that risk a market leader has to take if it wants to make inroads into new
markets.

And by the way, not that it matters much in this context, but both Talpade and Yadav do a great job. As they do in similar roles in the feature films. Good casting. — Anil Thakraney