<b>Campaign logic:</b> Plea to parents to stop piling pressure

A new ad by Mirinda presents a sober reflection on the issue of teenagers faced with exam woes

Brand: Mirinda

Budget: Rs 10-12 crore*

Agency: BBDO India

*Industry estimate

Mirinda, the soft drink brand of PepsiCo, has often mounted advertising campaigns in India around the idea of “pagalpanti” or craziness typically directed at youngsters so that they value it as a fun product. But its new campaign has taken a tactical turn to present a sober reflection on a serious issue concerning a core audience for the brand — teenagers faced with the plight of exam pressures.

The advertisement, which was conceptualised by BBDO India and directed by Bollywood film-maker Shoojit Sircar, shows children in the age group of 14 to 16 reading out open letters to their parents. They voice their sense of anxiety and suffocation as they are weighed down by parental expectations and pressure to notch up high marks in exams. They also plead with and request the parents to stop discouraging or demotivating them by comparing them to peers who are academically brighter or keeping tabs on them round the clock. The respective parents are shown reading the letters and being moved to tears, as the film closes citing the National Crime Records Bureau to stress how “exam pressure and pressure to perform is one of the leading causes of depression and suicidal tendencies among teenagers”.

Ritu Sharda, senior executive creative director, BBDO India, says, “When we looked into the life of a teen, our core target group, we came upon parental pressure to score for exams as a massive part of their lives. It was bubbling under the surface. We got teens from all over India to write about the pressure in the form of letters to their parents. We were really amazed at the outpouring of emotions. These letters became the basis of the digital film and every other thing we’ve done or are doing on this issue.”

She adds, “What we want parents to realise is that breaks and moments of fun are very important to release the pressure and actually help teenagers study well.” 

The Rs 14,000-crore domestic beverages market in India is dominated by market leaders Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The Mirinda campaign, timed during the time of school exams, will include digital, on-ground activations, radio and print and will be aired on television soon. It will be followed by second phase where celebrities will be roped to drive awareness.

Gaurav Verma, associate director, flavours marketing, PepsiCo India, says pressure during exams was the common theme when the company heard from 15-18-year-olds. “Our brief to agency was — how do we bring this issue to light and drive a change in attitude towards expectations from students during exam time?” He adds, “The ‘No More Pressurepanti, Only Pagalpanti’ campaign is an extremely strategic one for Mirinda. At the core, Mirinda is a fun brand that drives sociability, and at PepsiCo, our aim is to drive purpose and positive behavioural change through our brands.”