 "After Google, Wagh Bakri attempts ad roadblock on Republic Day")
In a first for a regional advertiser, Wagh Bakri, which controls 80 per cent of the Gujarat tea market and has a presence in 10 other states, will run a four minute film during commercial breaks between 10 am and 11 pm on 15 channels on Republic Day. The channels include Hindi and regional news channels, besides high definition or HD feeds of Hindi general entertainment channels.
A four-minute ad film by one brand will effectively become a roadblock for others as most news channels will not have commercial breaks of more than four minutes that day. The total investment, including teasers on January 24 and 25 and the actual advertisement on January 26, will be Rs 2 crore.
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“This is one way of setting up a roadblock,” says Manish Bhatt, founder-director of Mumbai-based creative shop Scarecrow Communications, the agency that conceptualised the film for Wagh Bakri. “You either tell the channel or channels outright not to carry ads of other companies or you book advertising time in such a way that others are effectively kept out. We opted for the latter,” he says.
Google had run an ad block on the ZEE group of channels during the launch of its Android One phones last September. National advertisers like Hindustan Unilever and Vodafone have used ad blocks in the past but restricted them to a single network or channel. Wagh Bakri’s attempt will be the first instance of an ad roadblock across networks.
It is also the first time a roadblock has been attempted on news channels during the visit of a head of state and on Republic Day.
“This is a new campaign with a new tagline (Rishton Mein Garmahat Laye) and we felt a roadblock was a good way to make a start. We spoke to various media owners and found them receptive to the idea,” says Parag Desai, executive director, Wagh Bakri Tea Group.
The film speaks of rejuvenating personal relationships with a cup of tea, tapping into the revival of Indo-US ties.
The ad has been produced by Chrome Pictures, which also executed the popular Google Reunion campaign, a film that speaks of how two friends separated by the 1947 Partition are brought together years later by the simple use of technology. It is considered a benchmark in long format advertising in India. Long format ads exceed the 2 minute length of regular commercials. In the last few years, advertisers such as Nestle (Stammering Stand-up Comedian commercial for Nescafe), Sony (Alpha Stories), Adani Wilmar (Fortune Ghar Ka Khana) and Havells (Respect for Women) have used long format ads to convey their brand message.
Ad experts say Wagh Bakri’s rendition is another way of interpreting the rejuvenation theme that runs prominently through most tea advertising in India. Rival Tata Tea, for instance, speaks of a social awakening with a cup of tea in Jaago Re, while Hindustan Unilever’s Brooke Bond has explored individual rejuvenation with its Taaza brand.
THE ROADBLOCK BANDWAGON
- Wagh Bakri will be the first regional advertiser to attempt an advertising roadblock on TV. So far, only national advertisers have used roadblocks
- The total investment will work out to Rs 2 crore
- PepsiCo is also sponsor of IPL
- The ad attempts to convey the message of rejuvenation, tapping into the revival of India-US ties
- Long-format ads have become popular in the last few years, thanks to the Google Reunion film (released in 2013)