'Tata Sky campaign attempted to create a new language (literally)'

Why is it my best campaign?
Let me, at the outset, say that all campaigns are special. Some campaigns are good, some are fantastic. But very few campaigns have that ‘longevity’ factor. Very few manage to create an impact and cut across sections of consumers. I think Tata Sky was the sort of campaign that made people get up and take notice of the direct-to-home (DTH) segment, which, till then, was considered premium and exclusive.

So, even though the market for DTH was always there, its reach was limited. The Tata Sky campaign attempted to create a new language (literally) and with jingalala, we got something that was quirky, we found something that allowed us to reach out to our consumers.

Brief to the agency
The brief given by the agency, which included showing us several global research studies, was to simplify the DTH category and allow people to understand the several benefits of having a Tata Sky connection at home. The focus was to be on the value-added services, not just the channels offered through the set-top box.

Essentially, the client was keen that the campaign should be one, which resonated with the people and showed them just how the products and other features of Tata Sky were irresistible too. How a Tata Sky set-top box in a household allowed more fun than just treating television as passive consumption — that was our brief.

Various routes considered
When we first started the campaign, we thought of concentrating on the ‘enhanced picture quality’. So whether it was a cookery show, a film, a television serial, our focus, we thought, will be on the picture quality. But that wasn’t cutting it. Then, we thought of playing up the whole idea of watching your cricket match from different angles.

It was working but still we knew there was something missing and that our requirement was to bring everything together through a phrase, a language that would be easy for people to understand, allow them to communicate effectively and understand the brand, making it a part of their lives, their conversations.

The route we chose and why
We decided to add a ‘fun’ element to things. We decided to have an aggressive advertising strategy that would receive attention, serve its purpose, generate curiosity. More importantly, the term jingalala allowed us to to create quite a strong foundation for some of the brand’s future advertisements.

We developed a strong tagline ‘isko laga dala toh life jingalala’, which resonated with the audiences and somehow caught the imagination of almost everyone. ‘Isko laga dala toh life jingalala’ cut through sections of consumers, everyone connected with it, everyone was using it and so, one knew that we were on the right track.

Outcome
Within weeks of launching the campaign, we knew we had a winner on our hands. The campaign was successful, the term jingalala gained currency as a term and over time, we found quite often that people were using the term in their day-to-day lives. So, it had connected and permeated within sections of the society. Given that our brief at a much earlier stage from the client was that Tata Sky should not be perceived as merely a ‘premium’ product, the fact that people were using it in their day-to-day lives made us confident that we had hit the right spot with our campaign. In fact, a couple of times, some other creative heads came to me and admitted how their clients (other DTH players) also briefed them to give the brands, ‘a jingalala-like creative’.

Will it work today?
What was relevant then may not be relevant now. Some of the features, which were new then won’t really be the USP for the brand today. Given that the brand is constantly innovating, simply focusing an ad campaign based on features, value-add services will not be enough. Yes, what continues being relevant is the quirky tagline, which still resonates in the minds of people.