TVC: Idea–Raksha Bandhan
By: Lowe Lintas Idea Cellular’s indian festivals series is out with a spot on the upcoming Raksha Bandhan. It opens on a delhi street where a young lady stops to ask a cop for directions and spots his empty wrist. On asking him why so, the cop replies that he’s been on duty this rakhi day. To this the girl immediately brings out a rakhi and ties it on his wrist. As a return gesture, the cop insists she save his cellphone number and call him in case of any problem. After the voiceover says ‘Public aur police ke beech bandhan – ek accha idea’, the cop shooes away two boys who’ve been watching this from a distance. Do we like ‘Never mind all that, if this made you smile, go savour a rich kesar kheer on our behalf,’ is what we’d said in this space while featuring Idea Cellular’s Diwali ad. While what we thought was a campaign extended itself to Christmas and Valentine’s Day, it now seems the agency has marked nearly all major Indian festivals to make a sweet spot for. This time, we’re as impressed, more so over the subtlety in the spot rather than the longevity of the idea. Raksha Bandhan has assumed a new role here, and we’re glad this ain’t yet another brand taking off on the sugary sweet route of bhai-behen love and mushy gifts. The setting is Delhi, so although Idea becomes yet another brand in a list of many to make a statement with women’s safety as a backdrop, it still stands out thanks to the novelty of the actions. The Delhi cop might really be a Delhi cop (or a thulla, as they call them), for his accent is perfect. The young lady’s spontaneous show of sisterly affection toward him evokes good warmth; and while most of us might detest Delhi’s thullas in real lives, we’ll still be hypocrites while watching a random act of kindness toward them on television. The 30 seconds here have been fully utilised and edited with razor sharp hands, each shot establishing the narrative cleverly. Eventually, there is an impressive after taste too, with the cop immediately delivering on his brother duties by shooing away onlooker boys. Wait, but where is the network, speeds, tariffs, discounts and other elements of the cellular company here? Almost all Idea ads have had no mentions of these and we really don’t mind that, for it only adds a fresh feel to a telecom campaign. Besides, with a new festival every other day, the agency has many opportunities to drive the idea home. Happy Raksha Bandhan then! To watch this film, feed this easy-link into your browser: bit.ly/IdeaRakhi
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