Electrical goods maker Havells has created a campaign to renew its proposition of providing a ‘shock proof’ life. The campaign created by Lowe Lintas and Partners uses quirky humour, a staple of the brand’s advertising.
The film is set in a medical facility where the doctors take one of the patients for shock therapy. They lay him down and strap him up, before one of the doctors goes to switch on the equipment to administer the shock. As soon as he does, he receives an electric shock himself. Each doctor who touches him, and eventually the patient who frees himself from his confines, also get the shock. The film ends with the doctors now held captive while the patient dons a doctor’s garb. The film ends with the voice over saying, “Shock lagega agar Havells MCB aur RCCB nahi lagaya toh (You will get a shock if you do not use Havells MCBs and RCCBs.)” The super reinforces the message - ‘Havells RCCB / MCB for a totally shock proof life.’
On the campaign, Vijay Narayanan, head - marketing, Havells, said, “We have been creating the ‘Shock laga’ themed commercials since 2007 to create awareness about the safety devices that we manufacture. The film is the fifth version of the campaign and we have continued with the same theme. The message has been consistent in a category that is relatively unknown in the market and also has a low consumer connect. The campaign has had a positive impact- the business is growing and people are asking for the brand in the product category.”
On the brief, Amer Jaleel, national creative director, Lowe Lintas and Partners, said, “The Havells campaigns are iconic ones in a category that is a low involvement one as people do not normally get involved with it. The creative brief given to us was to maintain the iconic feel of the campaigns. The brief was that the ‘Shock laga’ should come from an unexpected territory retaining the mad spunk. We went through around 20 scripts before narrowing down on this one.”
“So, in this campaign we feature an unreal, exaggerated, over the top scenario at a mental institution. The irony of the film is that the shock giver instead of giving a shock is receiving it,” he added.
Credits
Client: Havells
Creative agency: Lowe Lintas and Partners
Creative team: Amer Jaleel, Shriram Iyer, Udayashankar Rao, Arko Bose
Business: Syed Amjad Ali, Sonia Upadhyaya, Aayushi Agarwal
Planning: Anurag Prasad
Producer: Lintas Productions
Director (film): Anurag Basu
