Market my emotions. Review on Bharat Petroleum 'Energizing Lives' commercial

What is it about the thirty-second media slot that does so much that it can make such a difference to the sales and fortunes of a company? Most of my MS buddies wonder how can I keep going on and on talking about an ad, which ends before it starts. One I feel is the perception and impressions I bring into play when I talk about and ad and second because this is one area, which is close to my heart. I know this is not quite the ideal start to an essay on the topic which I have today but I thought why not bring in more personal touch to this one and see how it goes.

Having said that let me talk about a misconception which lots of us have. We have always bandied the PSU’s and government owned bodies for their lack of media savvy and market friendly image. But if you probe a bit you will find that some of the most well run and effective media campaigns have actually been sponsored by the government sector bodies. Can one forget the timeless mascots like maharaja for Air India or the Amul girl for the Anand based milk co-op society or for that matter the khana roz ande ad for promoting egg eating or the incredible India campaigns? So here I am today talking about an ad, which is also done for a PSU and has been one of the best ads that I have seen in a long time. The ad in question is the Energizing lives campaign for Bharat Petroleum.

Madhu Noorani and Shriram Iyer from Lowe conceived this 50-second main corporate film. and Marco Kalantri from Mad Films shot the ad and gave a contemporary feel to the whole campaign.

The ad is woven around the theme of how BP touches each and every aspect of an average consumer’s lives. The ad revolves around two kids who are strolling around and having a nice time, on their way they see things and they try to repeat the same stuff. They see a plane flying high in the skies, the kids make their own paper plane and watch it flying high along with the original, energizing skies. Next they watch a chef twirling around an uncooked roti, the young boy again emulates the chef with not much success though, energizing kitchens. Next they come across a graduation party with elated students throwing their cap in the air, as expected again the kid follows suit, energizing minds, next they spot two people ride off on a bike, they emulate that as well energizing travel. Finally on their journey, Running along a sea coast, they spot a car and the boy, looking awestruck takes off a Bharat Petroleum sticker from the windshield, coming up with a naughty idea, he sticks it on his friend's forehead and the two burst out laughing, Bharat Petroleum, Energizing Lives

Feedback from the structured market research conducted by BPCL earlier had revealed the need for an image-consolidating exercise and a need for the corporate brand collecting residual equity from the growing product brands. “The brief given to the agency was to create an ad campaign which instills an impression of Bharat Petroleum as a young, dynamic and progressive company in the minds of the audience,” says S. K. Mathur, DGM (Brands), BPCL. This `energizing life' campaign was aimed at building a favorable disposition for Bharat Petroleum and increasing top-of-the-mind recall for the company, Mathur added.

“We wanted to show how children innocently show us the presence of Bharat Petroleum in our lives every day,” said Krishna Iyer, Associate Vice-President, Lowe. “The strategy in this campaign is to encompass the equity of all our product brands into a single entity called Bharat Petroleum. It aimed at creating a positive disposition towards Bharat Petroleum and is certainly not targeting promotion of any of the products from the BPCL stable specifically.” Going further on what Iyer said, “Children are nothing but bundles of endless energy who energize every facet of our lives. The use of children in this campaign was a part of the creative idea developed by the agency and approved by us,” says Mathur.

The concept and presentation of the ad is spot on and the use of kids to highlight the message is very subtle and classy. The ad seems to be inspired from the famed Argentine Airlines ad featuring a child catching a plane and stocking it in a tin box, which took the Cannes Lions festival by storm. Capturing the kid's point of view in their communication has helped many companies outlive its obvious selling propositions and the same is true for this ad also. It also shattered many a myths and conceptions related to the way petroleum products have been marketed over the years. Petrol ads have always focused on the technical aspects and how it enhances performance and speed and stuff like that. But none of the ads have talked about the connection the products share with our daily lives.

The jingle and background music for this ad is one of the best I have heard in a long time, the audio heightens the visual sensory and together it combines to give the ad a wonderful feel good factor. The concept is well and truly driven home; it helps the product in establishing an emotional connect with its prospective buyers. I have said this so many times; an ad that sells to the heart will always outdo another, which sells to the mind. The expressions and innocence of the kids gives the brand a young and friendly image, the latter is very important for any brand, which wants to have a top of the line recall, and preferred brand of choice for its costumers.

Food for thought

Which other PSU ad is close to your heart? Why do you think more often then not PSU ads are high on emotional content?

How much does a nice advert influence your buying decisions? Would you rather buy a product endorsed by a sultry siren or a macho hunk or you would go the innocent kid selling ads more?

As always suggestions are welcome for the ads that you want me to write on.