BBDO Creativity Project

8/12/2019 BBDO Creativity Project

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Creativity appears in many forms. Te word creativity is imbued withso many meanings that its difficult to boil

down into a single definition. Its a com-bination o originality, flexibility, elabora-tion, synthesis, artistic value, fluency, andabstractness. Its a orm o divergent think-ing. Everyone has the ability to be creative,although many o us who believe were nothave merely been stifled at some point inour lives.

From an advertising standpoint,creativity has a much more targeted ap-proach. Its a way o addressing a problem,extracting important insights, and usingthem as a platorm rom which to create

0and implement nontraditional solutions.Creativity, in this way, can be used to a-

ect emotional, social, cultural, economic,and technological issues. Te ollowing five advertising cam-paigns successully addressed several is-sues in India rom the 1980s up till thepresent day. From scooters to shaving, thecommunication or these brands changedpublic perceptions o their products and,

most significantly, shaped the social sen-timents o their time. How and why werethey so effective? A dash o eccentricity,a sprinkle o madness, tablespoons o in-sight and a large helping o creativity.

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Hamara Bajaj(1989)

In the 1980s, armies o oreign brands like Honda and Suzuki stormedIndias economy. In retaliation, Bajaj Auto launched a compelling ar-gument to convince consumers that homemade was better than or-eign-made. Tus was born Hamara Bajaja patriotic anthem or thenew Indian spirit in the ace o oreign invaders. Te montage-basedad struck a chord with every Indian, rom children jumping out o theway to the Parsi man lovingly wiping his Bajaj. Indias collective con-sciousness had ound her new voice, one that was proud to be Indian.

Invasion of the foreigners

Rather than simply selling the commerce o a two-wheeler, Lowe Lin-tassHamara Bajaj portrayed and uplifed the sentiment o a nationthat aced oreign encroachment. Te ad encouraged the country toprogress in all aspects o lie through its amily vehicle. Te Bajaj scoot-er became an emblem o India, something Indians could wholly calltheir own. Te tagline itsel proessed the scooter to be ours, whichexpounded both amily and Indias peoples as a collective. Te ad cap-tured the mood o the nationthe desire or unity and pride in itsel.

Family before self

Buland bharat ki buland tasveer! As the soaring voice o SureshWadkar rose in national praise, every Indian experiencing the ad eltthe stirrings o hope, energy, and new beginnings. More than a jingle,the tune became a song or the nation. Even nations as large and robustas India need reassurance, and this song gave every Indian the prom-ise o a amily that stood strong together, unified through the scooter.Visually, the images o lie revolving around the Bajaj related to everymiddleclass Indian and remain relevant today.

Cheering for Bharat

Te Hamara Bajaj campaign ran in the 1980s, but is still consideredto be one o the most powerul ads in Indian history today. Althoughthe message is no longer relevant todayIndia no longer has to be toldto keep movingthe advertisement and its core idea o India as a am-ily remains ingrained in the Indian subconscious. Even afer 30 years,you can sing the song in public and others will inadvertently join you.Patriotism and being proud o your roots is something that sticks withyou long afer the product has ceased to exist.

Still a sing-along

Mention Hamara Bajaj to your parents and grandparents, and ev-eryone will know what youre talking about. Although the brand haschanged significantly since the conception o this campaign it nowocuses on sporty motorbikes to appeal to a new, younger generation the Bajaj Super and Chetak remain a very important part o recent In-dian history. You can enjoy the umbrella brand and its message withouthaving to buy the product. Its a lie statement.

Thank you for the music

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In the early 1990s, Cadbury dealt with the perception thatchocolates were a un treat or children, not a sophisticateddessert or adults. Cadbury appealed to its older audienceby making its chocolate awaken the little child inside everygrown up. Ogilvy & Mathers concept o a young womannervously munching on Cadbury Dairy Milk while watching acricket match, then running out onto the field in joy afer herboyriend hits a six, embodied this idea beautiully.

Cadbury Girl(1993)

No adults allowed

Everything in the ad was secondary to the girls acial anddance perormance. She was not bound by the conventionalideas o women as meek, quiet, and passive observers. Techocolate became an accessory, solely a source o comort andshared happiness, resulting in subtle product placement. Tegenius o the ad was how well Cadbury convinced its adultaudience that it deserved chocolate to reward its inner child.

Happiness is madness

Te young woman captured all o the sentiments o a delight-ed child against Indias national pastime, cricket. Her momento breaking ree rom apprehension and worry, giving hugs torandom spectators and dancing with abandon beore givingher boyriend a hug, was a moment that remains ingrainedin Indians advertising history. She encourages other adultsmost importantly, emales who were more likely to repressthemselves than mento show their emotions instead opolitely hiding them.

Magic in a moment

Te Cadbury girl, as she came to be known, became sym-

bolic o this era o liberation or women and broke socialconventions or both adults and women. Indian consumershad never seen a woman express hersel in such a crazy andrandom ashion on public television beore, especially not inthe gendered world o sports. Moreover, this Cadbury spotmarked a change in in advertising in the 1990s, specificallyturning commercials into a orm o entertainment and enjoy-ment, and creating more sensitive portrayals o women.

Era of liberation

Te Cadbury girl effectively showed what the child in all o us

could experience i given the chance, gave women an unlikelyrole in sports, and captured happiness in a mad dance. Shesucceeded in changing perceptions o women on televisionand chocolates appeal to adults. Cadbury had created magicin a moment, and this advertisement continues to be endear-ing representation o a chocolate bar.

Changing perceptions


MAKES


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Puddle War(2005)

Although the concept was not original, Daag Ache Hain became irre-vocably associated with Sur Excel. Lowe Lintas adapted Omo laundrydetergents Dirt is Good idea or Indias market. In Puddle War, alittle boy takes revenge on a puddle or spoiling his sisters clothes. Tecampaign centered on the simple truth that dirt is good i somethinggood comes out o it. Te advertisement ocused on the relationshipbetween the sibling to illustrate the underlying message and to con-vince mothers that dirt was a teacher, not an enemy.

Teaching a lesson

Tis commercial masterully wove together appealing elements: twoyoung children walking home rom school, a brother protecting his

sister rom a puddle by fighting with it, and emerging victoriously withthe puddles apology. Te boy was the hero o the film, and Sur Excelbecame the hero o his stains because it destroyed the remains o thebattle. By mentioning the brand solely in the last ew seconds o thespot, the commercial subtly showcases the power o Sur Excel.

Persuasion through subtlety

Te emotional appeal o the ad provides the most compelling argu-ment or why mothers should let their children get dirty. Te youngboy carries the burden o his sisters unhappiness and purposeullyruins his school clothes to bring a smile to her ace. ogether, the twochildren reflect timeless concepts: the bond between siblings is oneo the most important relationships and that the desire o children to

explore the world will never change.

A means of exploration

In other advertisements or bleach and detergent, the ocus was alwayson the end result o the product. Dirt was the enemy. Tis campaignturned this preexisting notion on its head by portraying situationswhere dirt helped to teach a valuable lesson. More importantly, thecampaign barely mentioned the cleaning powers o the detergent. al-lowing the storytelling elements to appeal to Indian mothers sensibili-ties more than a list o reasons o why other cleaning products worked.

Opposite day

Tis campaign ultimately illustrates the necessity o dirt in our chil-

drens education. Dirt allows children to explore the world to the ull-est. Tis advertisement also demonstrates the effectiveness o capturingthe illusion o a antasy world and the authentic relationship in a brandbenefit without orcing the product on the consumer. Te core con-cept o the campaign is a timeless capsule o a childs imagination thatremains relevant today. Tere will always be dirt in the world, childrenwill always all down, and there will always be cleaning products: allthat changes is the way we perceive the problem.

Dirt today, dirt tomorrow


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For the IPL Season II In 2009, Vodaone challengedOgilvy & Mather to create a series o commercialsthat simultaneously reflected Vodaones benefitsand the action on the field in new and imaginativeways. In response, the agency created a new wave o

creatures that completely surprised and revampedIndias advertising. Te ZooZoosa catchy, nonsen-sical term or these new egg-headed and egg-bod-ied creaturescharmed both children and adultsthrough their mini adventures. Te results o 10 dayso filming were a total o 30 different films, one orevery day o the IPL.

Thirty days, thirty stories

ZooZoos(2009)

Te ZooZoos hilarity stemmed rom their ability toexhibit human impulses in relatable situations. Forexample, in one episode, ZooZoos stand in line and takephotocopies o their heads, which reflects the phoneseature o backing up your phonebook. In another shortepisode, two ZooZoos collapse on the ground aferreading a newspaper and are carried away on a stretcherto illustrate the eature o checking the stock market.Trough these short and memorable stories, the brandbecame more likable and clever. Te strange but cutecharacters and stories stuck with you and became inex-

tricably associated with the brand itsel.

Instructive entertainment

Accepting new forms

India is a country o strange orms. Out o its thou-sands o gods, many have an unnatural number orshape o heads, arms, legs and accouterments. TeZooZoos are by no means godlyalthough theyhave achieved cult status in the Indian marketbuttheir own orm is unnatural and appealing to Indi-an tastes. Teir rounded bellies and heads, pointedsnouts, skinny legs, large eet, and over-exaggerat-ed expressions struck a chord within their intendedaudience. Teir appearance and relationships witheach other outlasted the IPL and continue to runwith Vodaones services.

Real life animationTe ZooZoos appearance, lan-guage, and backgrounds makethem appear digitally created.However, details like the creasesmade between the body suit andthe tights, and the shadows theycast when running around, provethe creatures to be costumed hu-mans. Tis blend o reality and an-tasy through illusionary means hadnot yet been done in Indian adver-tising, and the ZooZoos thereorecarved a niche in the market alltheir own.

In a country that thrives on thecombination o audio-visual effects toconvey almost everything, the Zoo-Zoos were a conundrum. Tey spoketo each other in gibberish, makingtheir audience rely on their bodylanguage and props to comprehendtheir actions. Tereore, you could bein any part o the country and under-stand the message. By questioningthe importance o audio to importantmedia like television and cinema,ZooZoos have subtly and unquestion-ably changed Indians perceptions ocommunication.

Changing communication


GOOD


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W.A.L.S.(2011)Te relationship between men and stubbleextends to many areas o Indian lie: crick-et and Bollywood, among others. BBDOMumbai decided to rupture this relation-ship on Gillettes behal. By asking womenwhat they thought about mens acial hair,the agency reconceptualized stubbles ori-gins. By pinpointing mens reusal to shaveon laziness, BBDO Mumbai transormedthe issue into a movement spearheaded bywomen. It started with a Facebook page andended as a national discussion. Ultimately,

women had a platorm to voice their opin-ions o mens lazy stubble.

Why shave India?

Shaving makes men sexier, cleaner, em-ployable, and gentlemanly. But in a nationcovered with hair, that approach is difficultto sell to men. By conducting a surveyasking women, not men, what they thoughto stubble and shaving, BBDO Mumbai ap-proached a non-user audience. What madethe campaign unique was both its approach

to women and its lack o televised adver-tising. Although multiple news stationscovered the movement as it snowballed, thecampaign was never explicitly shown ontelevision as a pure advertisement.

An act, not an ad

Te campaign went beyond surveys, Face-book, and digital orums. Bollywood ac-tresses Minissha Lamba, Neha Dhupia andMugdha Godse gave interviews to promotethe cause. In an activation event, W.A.L.S.

turned to making men shave. BBDO Mum-bai set up shaving booths in malls across thecompany or men to shave and be shavedor women, and organized the largest massshaving event that earned a Guinness WorldRecord. Trough an idea pitched on Face-book, the agency sparked a debate thataffected all Indian males who had passedpuberty.

Creating a conversation

W.A.L.S. made the act o standing in thebathroom, staring at the mirror, and me-chanically lifing a razor to your ace a sub-ject o conversation. It transormed womeninto an interest group or mens razors. Itembodied the era o the our screens: televi-sion, computers, smartphones, and tablets.

W.A.L.S. was also an activation campaign,which targeted a different group o people:20- and 30-year-olds who were Facebookusers, bloggers, and witter tweeters. Byocusing on media other than television,Gillette ultimately targeted its tech-savvyaudience and encouraged people to thinkdifferently about a chore.

Changing the way people think

Te conversation was not about the razoror Gillette, it was about what botheredwomen about men and why. By ocusing onan issue that was important to women, theagency touched a human cord and created

change through the movement. Indian menbecame much more conscious o the effectso their acial hair. Te razor became anagent o change, rather than an instrumento monotony. Te campaign ultimatelycreated a dialogue between the genders, andby extension, between the brand and theconsumer. It was a human reaction.

The human connection


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BBDO Creativity Project