Vodafone takes animation route for 2012 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix campaign

Vodafone has rolled out a 35 seconder to invite its customers and racing enthusiasts to become a part of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team during the 2012 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix.

The campaign, created by Ogilvy & Mather, has taken the animation route to catch the attention of viewers.

The film features two caterpillars (animated) who crawl onto a racing car and are all set to compete in their own race, at their slow pace. But the car starts off, leaving them breathless and astounded. In the end, the two are seen enjoying the ride. The super at the end asks, "Love racing?" and urges viewers to log on to Vodafone's microsite and get a chance to join their team at the 2012 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix.

Rajiv Rao, national creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, said, "The idea was to simply show someone who is a slow mover by nature, like a caterpillar, but would want to enjoy the ride of his life."

Kapil Arora, country head - team Vodafone, Ogilvy & Mather, added, "Vodafone is giving its customers and race fans a money-can't-buy opportunity to become part of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. The lucky winners get to stay with the team, travel with them, share pit space with drivers, attend events with them - basically they won't only be close to the action, they'll be part of it through the race weekend in Delhi. Our brief was to help bring that alive for fans, involve them in the action and get them excited enough to participate in the contest."

Why the animation route? Arora explained,"We wanted to highlight speed and decided to present it in the context of two speed-loving caterpillars who hitch a ride on the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car. Animation was then the only way to do justice to these protagonists and their ensuing experience. Of course it helps that the treatment breaks stereotypes associated with Formula One advertising and helps the Vodafone offering stand out." Animation in the storyline also helps in drawing people who aren't religious followers of the game yet appreciate the sport, he added.

TV and digital will be the two lead mediums for this campaign apart from print, radio and outdoor.

Unplugged moments:

Rao shared that the character design wasn't complicated at all. "After we settled on the idea and the script, we had a lot of fun at the animation studio. In fact, I'd give full credit to the animation artist, Vaibhav, for creating the look of the characters," he said. This was largely a one-line script which took 3-4 weeks of post-production for completion. Rao gave a few touches to the film at the animation studio like rendering the slow-motion shot when the wind hits the faces of the two caterpillars.

Credits:

Client: Vodafone
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
National creative director: Rajiv Rao
Country head - team Vodafone: Kapil Arora
Senior creative director: Kiran Anthony, Shahrukh Irani
Creative team: Jigar Fernandes, Makarand Berde, Rakesh Jha, Aishik Sengupta, Parth Gadhia
Account management: Sarang Wahal, Chatak Vakharia and Vishal Kaul
Account planning: Anoop Menon
Production house: Vaibhav Studios
Director: Vaibhav Kumaresh
Media agency: Maxus