Pepperfry tries to touch the softer side of a consumer’s heart with its latest Diwali ad campaign. Reviewing the ad for ‘From Logo to IMPACT’ on Bloomberg TV India, Sonal Dabral, Chairman and CCO, DDB Mudra Group says he is delighted with the story it tells, and the casting is ‘A-class’, but cautions brands against bombarding viewers with slice-of-life stories
Reviewing the latest ad campaign of online furniture retailer Pepperfry in Episode 29 of ‘From Logo to IMPACT’ on Bloomberg TV India, Sonal Dabral, Chairman and CCO, DDB Mudra Group says, “I was quite delighted to see the Pepperfry ad because I thought it was a nice story. However, unless a story is well-told, it all comes to nought. In this case, I thought the casting was A-class, both of the landlord and the poor young man with no money. I also thought that everything about the production, the direction, the art direction and the use of music just felt right. Little details like when Uncle comes in and looks at the young man’s table, to have the detail of the glass being broken, the way the bricks were supporting it and the kind of books lying there, it felt absolutely real. And I was so delighted not to see a guitar in the frame because every time you have to portray a young man, you put in a guitar there.”
However, saying that a lot of brands are working on similar ads, Dabral added, “We are seeing a lot of commercials for many brands showing the genre of a slice-of-life story with a few dialogues between two people showing either friends, relatives, husband-wives or lovers at an emotional moment with strains of a guitar or a piano with the logo coming in. This is something we all need to be a little wary of. It shouldn’t come to a stage when the audience gets fed up of them.”
Lauding Pepperfry for trying to show the goodness in people, Dabral said, “As Indian consumers, we are emotional people. We like laughing a lot, we like crying a lot, relationships move us and are important to us and that’s why we are seeing more and more of such work coming in. But brands talking about goodness is a great thing and that should continue.”
About the campaign
Pepperfry’s ad campaign ‘Iss Diwali Kuch Badal Ke Dekhiye’ opens with a landlord ringing the bell at his tenant’s door. A boy wearing headphones opens the door and is informed by the landlord, whom he addresses as Uncle, that he is late in paying the rent by four days. Right then, the older man notices a makeshift table that comprises a cracked glass balanced on stacks of newspapers. The boy who hands him the envelope containing the rent finds Uncle looking at the cracked table.
On Diwali, he opens the door and is greeted with a surprise. He finds that a beautiful wooden table and chair set has replaced his older arrangement. Surprised, he goes to his otherwise serious-looking landlord who wishes him a Happy Diwali with a hint of a smile.
Pepperfry has tried to depict the inherent goodness in humans and shown a landlord try to cheer his tenant who is staying away from his family during a festival with an unexpected act of kindness. The commercial ends with “Iss Diwali kuch badal ke dekhiye”, telling viewers to do something similar this festive season to spread love and happiness.
About the Show
Each week, the half-hour show ‘From Logo to IMPACT’, co- produced by exchange4media and Bloomberg TV India, brings together top CMOs, ad gurus and agency heads to provide an in-depth analysis of the hottest trends and news in the ad-media-marketing space. Its focus is on the new age economy and new entrants in the advertising space. The show is aired on Bloomberg TV India at 10.30 pm every Wednesday, with repeat telecasts at noon on Saturday and 6.00 pm on Sunday.
