Brand anthems – fading in relevance or can rise to greater to glory?

(Edited and additional inputs by Shanta Saikia.)

Anthems have been a part of brand communications for decades. They probably start where jingles end. While peppy jingles keep the brand alive in consumers’ minds in a fun, light hearted way, anthems have always conveyed a larger purpose and lent some gravitas to a brand’s message.

The pandemic period saw several brands come out with their own anthems to convey the message of resilience, fighting through challenging times and march towards recovery with firm resolve. Almost all the anthems released in the last one year had a deep social and corporate responsibility attached to them – be it about hygiene, being positive, saluting the COVID warriors, celebrating the never-say-die spirit and more.

Brand anthems during the pandemic times

Amid the COVID-19 second wave in May 2021, Dettol came out with an anthem to spread the message of positivity and hope during these tough times, as well as reiterating the criticality of good habits like hand hygiene, wearing masks, maintaining social distance and vaccination to take on the menace of COVID-19.

Watch the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeF_m7ULwDA

Commenting on the anthem launch, Dilen Gandhi, Regional Marketing Director, South Asia – Health & Nutrition, Reckitt, in a release issued, had said, “Dettol has been driving mass behavioral change and has played an important part in creating a healthier and more hygienic environment. Children have played a crucial role in helping us spread awareness on the importance of health and hygiene. Today, our children have been massively impacted and facing extreme duress due to the virus. This campaign is our way of saluting the future of our country and spreading the message through them of hope, positivity and protection.”

Speaking about the concept, Ashish Chakravarty, Executive Director and India Head of Creative at McCann, said, “This anthem is a message of positivity and hope. And who better to bring such a message than those in whom the hopes of a better tomorrow lie; the children of the nation. We hope that this simple message finds a voice in every home of India.”

Last year, Hyundai Motor India had released ‘Haq Hai Humara’, a brand anthem that aimed to bring together the people of India and salute their resolve to stand united and stay strong in this unprecedented adverse situation. Featuring brand ambassador Shahs Rukh Khan, the brand film expressed gratitude to all frontline workers and the citizens of the country who have risen up to the challenge of COVID-19 with their steadfast spirit.

Watch the brand film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e1rc3Hi4BE

Mountain Dew, too, saluted India’s resilient spirit with an anthem by singer Sukhwinder Singh ahead of Independence Day in August 2020. The anthem was composed by music producer/ composer Ram Sampath and reiterated the brand philosophy of ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’.

Talking about the new anthem, Naseeb Puri, Director, Mountain Dew & Energy, PepsiCo India, had said, “India’s collective resilience has enabled our nation to achieve victory in the face of fear time and again. This Independence Day, we salute this very spirit of being courageous and overcoming fear, a philosophy that Mountain Dew has always stood for. The ‘Darr ke Aage Jeet Hai’ anthem is our ode to the spirit of 1.38 billion Indians and we are delighted to have partners such as Saregama, Sukhwinder Singh, Ram Sampath, Wunderman Thompson and Swanand Kirkire on board to help us take our message across the country. The lyrics of the anthem aim to inspire the nation and ignite the self-belief that we will emerge victorious from these trying times.”

Watch the brand film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGqfUuFH0CQ

In July 2020, motivating the citizens of the country to rise against the current tide of the ongoing pandemic, Mankind Pharma launched an anthem, which captured the true essence of the nation. Voiced by Padma Shri awardees Kailash Kher and Shankar Mahadevan, the anthem reinforced the vast spectrum of nation-building and instilled a feeling of patriotism.

Rajeev Juneja, CEO, Mankind Pharma, commented, “It is a moment of immense pride in launching the anthem as it magnifies the civilisation of our nation and what our country has given to the world since ages. As a home-grown company, we stand strong for ‘Make in India’. The newly launched anthem ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is the vision of our Prime Minister and we completely support it. We would like to urge the people to stay united in this hardship and work towards putting Indian economy on the world map and make our nation ‘Atmanirbhar’ by being vocal for local.”

Watch the brand film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6WzTtnHUK0

In October 2020, Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd launched a unique campaign of ‘One India One Bank’ through a musical anthem. The music campaign was a composition of 12 leading musicians in 7 languages, including Harcharan, Jonita Gandhi, Sweta Mohan, Saindhavi I, Vinaya, Benny Dayal, Ranjit Govind, Naresh Iyer, Ujjaynee Roy, Blaze and Drums Sivamani.

Watch the musical tribute:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwGKkjZ6XPtxPf4zbUzEkHrkJXYCdwP7D

In June 2020, Karan Gilhotra, Chairman Punjab State, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, initiated the #BeStrong anthem to #LetsUnlockIndiaTogether along with his friends from the industry. Leading Bollywood actors and cricket celebs performed in the song, including Manoj Bajpai, Virendra Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Sonu Sood, Jimmy Shergill, Richa Chadda, Varun Sharma, Sunil Grover, Pulkit Samrat, Angad Bedi and Amy Virk,, Binnu Dhillon, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Vatsal Sheth, Ishita Sheth and Jasbir Jassi. The song was all about giving strength to people who have lost hope living amid the lockdown to unlock the country together with ease and going safe.

Watch the musical tribute:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCpJ3sL62KQ

In May 2020, Arvog, a leading Indian NBFC, came out with a motivating anthem – ‘Daudega India’. The motivating anthem assured Indians that we are not alone in this fight, and there is sunshine beyond these dark clouds.

Priyank Kothari, Director, Arvog, elaborated, “We stand with our Indian brothers and sisters, and our global friends in these unprecedented times. We realise that while today is uncertain, there is much to look forward to in the near future. We can see a better world once this pandemic is behind us. But to get there, we need to see the value and sense in the principles of social distancing, working from home and staying safe with all prescribed precautions. We are in this together, and we will sail through together!”

Reckitt Benckiser, as part of its Harpic Mission Paani initiative, had released the Water anthem in 2019, co-created with legendary AR Rahman and rendered by an all-children’s choir, urging India on the need for using water responsibly.

Over the years, the various Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise teams have also been coming out with their own anthems to whip up fan frenzy and excitement during the tournament. The catchy beats and words help the teams create consumer engagement like no other initiative.

Purpose, Emotions & Gravitas

Commenting on the role of anthems and why they continue to make deep sense for brands, Ramanuj Shastry, Co-founder & Director, Infectious, pointed out, “Anthems are serious older cousins of childish and flippant jingles. They are all about purpose, emotions and gravitas. Anthems – because of their liturgical beginnings – are usually lofty, grand and uplifting. ‘Hamara Bajaj’ (Sorry, millennials!) is an example of a successful anthem – it celebrated and resonated with the Indian middle class (of the time). A successful anthem is notoriously difficult to pull off. Unless the anthem is about ‘shared pride’ and connects to the zeitgeist of the audience, it can just fall flat. Reason why, in spite of the abundance of anthems, you can count the successful ones with the fingers of your left hand!”

Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, who has been a part of some of the most memorable anthems that the agency had created, was of the opinion that, when it comes to anthem, it’s a genre in itself. “The significant aspect of an anthem is that different people use it differently. It combines emotions around an entity and is musically expressed. And most importantly, it is used to bring people together on a unified thought. The use of anthem is quite popular in large entities, where they use for their internal communication as it brings in a sense of belonging. The anthem is a musically expressed philosophy, which does not follow any rule as it is. Even many IPL teams today create and compose their own anthem and leverage it as a unifier and bring in a sense of belonging and drive to energise the players, IPL franchisee and its followers.”

Giving her views on how anthems are being leveraged by brands, Nisha Sampath, Managing Partner, Bright Angles Consulting LLP, said, “Any anthem (including a brand anthem) has two distinct differences from a regular song. Firstly, it has to be rooted in the culture of a community and in a cultural fuel that brings the community together (like patriotism, sport, or youthful rebelliousness). Secondly, it has to be owned by the community and become part of pop culture. This is tough to do.”

She further said, “Try and count, you won’t come up with many anthems. For brand anthems, I think of ‘Hamara Bajaj’, VIP’s ‘Kal Bhi, Aaj Bhi’. It’s a courageous step for brands to attempt to create anthems. They may not work, they may not increase sales, and increasingly, in today’s clutter, they will have a shorter shelf life. I also wonder – maybe anthems are less relevant today, when there are so many other creative ways of expression rooted in culture, and anyone with talent can be the creator.”

Come to think of it, popular music, too, has stopped giving us music that could be enduring anthems – when was the last time we enthusiastically roared – “We don’t need no education” a la Pink Floyd or “We will, we will rock you” Queen-style.

Enduring brand anthems lend that intangible X-factor to brands that time cannot erase. It’s time, brands and creative agencies came together to leverage it in a stronger way.