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CAMPAIGN LOGIC: Radio Mirchi

Subtlety is the leitmotif this time. Radio Mirchi's new campaign broke a few weeks ago "" a "classical multimedia campaign" in the words of COO Prashant Panday "" and there's no hardsell of the FM radio channel's new programme line-up, no harping on marketshare, not even publicity for the radio jockeys.

In fact, there's no sign of a radio anywhere. Consider the two television/cinema commercials that McCannErickson has devised for Radio Mirchi:

Two cars speed on, on different roads. At they near a blind intersection, the light on both roads changes to red. Neither notices, and speed on. Inevitably, they crash.

As smoke billows from under the crumpled hoods of both cars, a fascinated crowd gathers around for the fight that must surely ensue. As if on cue, one of the drivers pushes open his door and strides out.

The turbaned Sikh moves forward purposefully, pointing an accusing finger "" and starts singing "Tera kasoor na mera kasoor" (Neither your fault, nor mine). The other car owner, too, steps out and joins in "Na tu ne signal dekha, na maine signal dekha" (Neither you nor I saw the signal).

As the bemused crowd's gaze ping-pongs between the two, they start dancing, continuing with the rest of the old Hindi movie song: "accident ho gaya rabba rabba".

The camera pans away from the scene, and a male voiceover announces: "Radio Mirchi sunne wale always khush".

If the first, 30-second ad is all about humour, the second aims for a little poignant appeal. A boy stands tiptoed on a stool and reaches for the cookie jar on top of the kitchen shelf.

Naturally, it overbalances and crashes to the floor. The mother rushes into the kitchen and in one glance takes in the sight of the broken glass and the child cowering on the stool.

She tucks her saree pallu into her waist, readying for action "" and breaks into the Sholay number where Hema Malini dances on broken glass.

The child slowly lowers his hands from his face and smiles, in time for the voiceover. "It is a little over-the-top," admits Prasoon Joshi, regional creative director, South and South East Asia, McCann Erickson.

That's all right with Panday and his team "" larger-than-life suits them just fine. "We wanted the campaign to reflect the brand personality. It had to be youthful, high energy and vibrant," explains Panday.

The hoardings and print ads faithfully portray that communication, helped along by bright, fluorescent colours, trendy fonts and a hip, Hinglish tone.

"Doosri ladki par maari line. Girlfriend boli: "I am fine." and "Bahu ne jalaya pulao. Saas boli 'Wow" "" humour plays a predominant role. "Radio Mirchi is like a pep-up pill. We're going back to our original brand promise of being a sunshine radio channel," states Sharath Chandra, senior vice president, marketing and business development.

That marks a change from last year's campaign where Radio Mirchi declared itself to be "Aapka apna Bollywood radio channel", building on its celebrity interview-shows format.

Over 100 new celebrity interviews "" not restricted to Hindi cinema, but including athletes and authors, among others "" were played every month, apart from the regular, film-based programming. Even that was a shift in strategy from the initial years, when Mirchi played on the "It's hot" tagline, pushing the gossip and hot and spicy angle.

The marketing tactics have paid rich dividends. Panday points out that Mirchi rules the airwaves in all seven cities where it operates. And independent data for Delhi and Mumbai confirms the No. 1 status: according to the fourth wave of the Indian Listenership Track, Mirchi accounts for 56.1 lakh listeners in the two metros, compared with nearest rival Radio City's 41.43 lakh.

Of course, a consistency in communication has helped. McCann Erickson has been Mirchi's agency from before the beginning. Panday points out that advertising wunderkind Joshi is an "evangelist for radio" "" that passion translates into effective advertising.

And Joshi explains that he dropped the Bollywood angle because it was "becoming me-too. We needed a larger base."

The way to do that was by tapping emotions. "Happiness is a proposition for any brand that wants to own it," accepts Joshi, adding "How that proposition is fleshed out, the way of saying it, the colours... that makes all the difference."

Among the alternatives Joshi worked out for the channel this time was "Sunaye hot, banaye cool". But Mirchi decided to go with "always khush" because it was perceived to have wider appeal.

"The beauty of this campaign is its expandability," Chandra says. Accordingly, brand campaigns will be rolled out over the next six months, promoting various programmes and RJs.

Already, the current campaign is playing at multiplex theatres in Delhi and Mumbai, apart from cable channels like Sony and Zoom (like Mirchi, also owned by Bennett, Coleman); hoardings, streetlight displays and print ads complete the media spread.

None of which comes cheap. Mirchi earmarks about 25 per cent of its budget for marketing efforts; "disproportionately high," admits Chandra, adding that the company considers it an investment that will help increase the topline. The sound of cash registers ringing will be music to Radio Mirchi's ears.