'New Generation Scorpio' ups the ante on adventure, makes a dramatic entry

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rolled out the New Generation Scorpio on 25 September. A teaser campaign comprised of five-second films were rolled out then before the full length TVC. The campaign has been conceptualised by Interface Communications.

 

The film opens showing a horse shown tied to a car, in an attempt to rescue it from a mud pit. The man at the wheel prevails, and frees the horse. In the process, the car is covered with muck, making it unrecognisable. At that point, a small aircraft flies over the forest area. The driver gets back into the car and attempts to keep pace with the aircraft. As he catches up, the lady flying the plane says ‘I see you’. As she flies over the car, she uses the plane to spray water over it, cleaning the car to reveal a white New Generation Scorpio. The car is parked outside a house; the plane follows. The film ends with the lady walking towards the man and telling him, ‘Looks like you need a wash too.’

 

Vivek Nayer, CMO, automotive division, M&M, said, "It is about the launch of the New Generation Scorpio. We've named it that because a lot has changed in the car. The platform itself is new and the car has got a new chassis. The reason for this is that while it has been a very successful SUV, there have been some people who asked for an improvement in ride and handling. So, we decided to change the chassis and improve the handling and ride of the car. In addition to this, we've also introduced a new gearbox. There are other exterior and interior changes too. Because the amount of changes in the car we've decided to call it the 'New Generation Scorpio'. The agency itself came up with that term."

 

"Additionally, the brief was also to do a very dramatic product reveal. In the past too, whenever we've launched a new variant of the Scorpio we've done a dramatic launch campaign. We wanted to do a dramatic clutter-breaking reveal as that's very important for a new vehicle. So, they came up with the idea of the water sprinkling out of the plane to reveal the Next Generation Scorpio. The other secondary brief was around some of the feedback we've got from our consumer research; the hero is not about how he looks, but it's about what he does. So, if you see in this film, the Scorpio hero pulls a horse to safety. So along with the product reveal, we wanted to show the hero doing good, as a true hero would do."

 

He added, “The print ad too is a very in-your-face ad. We coined the terms ‘cushion suspension’ and ‘anti roll technology’ to make sure consumers understand there’s a new level of ride and suspension.”

 

Prior to the launch, a social media campaign was also rolled out which encouraged people to guess how the car would be revealed in the final TVC. The winner of the contest was awarded a Scorpio. For the launch of the car a live webcast was run, which saw about 1,00,000 people tune in, informed Nayer. 

 

Credits

 

Client: Mahindra & Mahindra

Creative agency: Interface Communications

National creative director : Robby Mathew

Creative director: Rakesh Menon

Production house: 100 Frames

Servicing team: Shireen Cama, Dhara Naik, Goutham Ram