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It's extremely rare in advertising to come up with a campaign where everything from conception to execution falls perfectly in place. It happened with our Kaun Banega Crorapati 4 campaign Koi bhi sawal chhota nahi hota. We came up with what we believed was a good idea, the client believed in it too, a good director got so passionate about it that he willingly let go of his profits. Despite the duration of the commercials exceeding client requirements, they ran the full versions, and the outcome was the terrific opening of the show. Needless to say, this is my most favourite campaign till date.
Clients brief to the agency
The biggest task set for us was to make it sound fresh, interesting and relevant, and at the same time, appeal to the youth of the nation, which usually remains uninterested in quiz-based reality shows.
Challenges faced
The campaign was quite challenging, primarily because this was KBCs fourth innings on television. And its not easy to refresh a game show about which everyone knows everything. Besides, we had been quite nervous to begin with. After all, it is not every day that you get to create campaign for an iconic show like KBC with an anchor like Amitabh Bachchan.
Routes considered
We spent the initial days trying to come up with as many ideas as possible because we wanted to be sure that we had explored every possible direction. It wouldnt be fair to mention routes that werent opted for as, after all, koi bhi route chhota nahi hota (no route is too insignificant). The ideas varied from being dead serious to outrageously funny. But in the end, when we got Koi bhi sawaal chhota nahi hota (no question is too insignificant), we knew this was it.
Route chosen and why
It was an idea that had the potential to provide a perfect balance between relevance and entertainment. It stemmed from an adage that we Indians believe in: gyaan kabhi vyarth nahi jaata (knowledge never goes to waste). But we twisted it a bit and made it relevant to KBC. We urged people not to underestimate any piece of knowledge, or it might come back to haunt them at the worst possible moment. Like, in the KBC hot seat.
We also kept in mind Bachchans personality while creating the campaign. He has an aura about him and there are certain liberties only he can take with the utmost ease. This campaign also suited his personality because he is someone who believes in the importance of knowledge and at the same time has the stature to tease someone for underestimating a question without appearing rude. The first half of the commercials showed people ridiculing certain historical facts but being stumped for answers when Bachchan throws a question at them about those facts. The ads end with Bachchan, who seems to know the background of these guys, pulling their legs for their lack of preparation much like a teacher who smiles knowingly at you during an exam for not studying when it mattered.
Outcome
It was an idea that had the legs to run in every possible medium. And we soon realised how fertile the idea was when we got down to doing the creatives. We wrote many entertaining TV spots and then finally made Akbar ka baap, Khoon Aazadi and Samvidhan. In Akbar ka baap a father makes light of a simple question asked by his son. He doesnt make an effort to find the answer to his sons query who was Akbar the Greats father? and finds himself stuck on the same question in KBC. Similarly in Khoon Aazadi, a man pays the price for mocking Netajis Tum mujhe khoon do main tumhe aazadi doonga speech and in Samvidhan an irresponsible babu ends up suffering for not bothering to know who wrote the Constitution of India. We consciously kept the tone of the commercials light-hearted to appeal to a wider set of audience, because the message by itself was very powerful.
A lot of credit goes to our client for believing in the idea and breaking all the barriers that could have stopped us from taking the executions to greater heights. The campaign generated tremendous buzz and KBC 4 opened with a TRP of 5 and the rest is history.
Will it work today
What makes this campaign extra special is the fact that it gave us a platform to build KBC as a brand and not just as a show. I believe Koi bhi sawaal chhota nahi hota was instrumental in giving birth to Koi bhi insaan chhota nahi hota (all men are equal) for KBC 5 and Sirf gyan hee aapko aapka haq dilaata hai (only knowledge earns you your rights) for KBC 6, respectively. Koi bhi insaan chhota nahi hota basically communicated the fact that we end up judging people based on our perceptions about them but on the KBC hot seat all are equal. Similarly Sirf gyaan hee aapko aapka haq dilaata hai spoke about the various biases that exist in our country. But where knowledge matters the most, none of these biases hold true.
