Brands which cut the clutter this Friendship Day

On Sunday, 2nd August one opened the newspaper expecting to see it loaded with friendship day ads trying to connect with youth. Television too, was expected to have many such ads, but nothing much. Shows too, barring youth channels were routine Sunday fare. Made one wonder if Friendship Day was losing its sheen as far as the impulse purchase marketers are concerned?

Not so. Most brands used digital to the optimal. Though a few like Cadbury Dairy Milk had substantial presence on television, and Café Coffee Day chose to announce its offer by taking the false cover of Bombay Times (and perhaps other city specific publications) a day in advance, it was supplemented by social media presence. As for many others, they chose a fleeting presence on traditional media supported by online presence in a big way.

While most of these campaigns were about interesting offers – the ones that went beyond a simple sales pitch are   Nivea Lip Balm, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Olx and Himalaya Herbals.

OLX

The ad, though a part of the second edition of ‘Keemat Bhi, Kuch Keemti Bhi’ campaign can be seen as a Friendship Day ad as it has been launched close to Friendship Day. The ad film titled ‘A Phone. A Picture. And a lifetime of friendship in Kashmir’ depicts the story of a local shopkeeper and an army officer, and the beautiful friendship shared between the two.

The emotionally charged ad, though with a theme tapped often by cellular operators, touches a chord. The difference here is that it does not only show the lump in the throat feeling a new father has, but also connect between two friends. Additional layers are, one of the friends being an army man, and secondly, both the friends being from different social backgrounds.

5709 likes that the ad had received on Facebook till Friendship Day afternoon, 606 shares and 130 comments are proof enough that it has connected.

Ad agency behind the ad is Lowe Lintas and the production house is Crazyfew Films.

Cadbury Dairy Milk

Perhaps the first Friendship Day campaign to be rolled this year, the ad has a dream like quality – be it ambiance or lighting. The brand that always comes up with interesting advertising on every special occasion has done a great job this Friendship Day too. To celebrate Friendship Day with the young, the marketer has launched two limited edition flavours: Cadbury Dairy Milk Black Forest and Cadbury Dairy Milk Coffee Almond. The campaign is being supported by PoS promotions as well.

The friends in campaign are different from each other but still bond well. A nice concept and a beautiful execution.

The ad has 16, 309 likes on Facebook, 946 shares and 171 comments.

The agency behind this campaign is Ogilvy.

Himalaya Herbal

A beautiful campaign this – completely driven by social media, with Facebook leading the way. No sales pitch at all. The three minute slice of life video would definitely connect with youngsters. Young college students featured in the video talk about different kinds of friends they have. Language is simple and faces cheerful and honest. One is sure to relate to at least a few of the ‘friend types’ discussed in the video, or it would remind them of a friend they have. The face book post had 4000 + likes and about 130 people had commented on it till we checked last. One just wishes that they had given a ‘happier cover’ to the video. It would have attracted many more youngsters to check it out!

The most interesting part about the film is that it is a true-blue three minute film ‘Who Dost’ with no mention of the brand at all.
In case you have missed it, you can watch it here https://video-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xft1/v/t42.1790-2/11747858_1013787511979290_1679105091_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjQxNSwicmxhIjo4ODh9&rl=415&vabr=231&oh=26ef92803f49b6878cd7d62c32e0ffac&oe=55BE5C28

Nivea Lip Balm:

The ad has a celebrity- Parineeti Chopra, and is perhaps more about a call to action than friendship. Parineeti Chopra introduces her close friends to Nivea Lip Balm:  ‘Just like me and you, lips need BFF too’. Winner in this ad is the catchy song that weaves the ad together – and shows the strength of the bond between friends. The campaign ‘Relive your best BFF memories’ is very well supported on Facebook – and the posts on the same cumulatively had more than 15000 likes, hundreds of shares and comments. It has the audiences on Facebook completely engaged by asking them to share their BFF moments and creating sketches based on memories people have shared. In a few cases people are even tagged or have a mention on the picture itself!

Great use of social media.

The ad has been conceived by Interface Communications. Production house behind the beautiful film is The Bakery films.

A quick mention of other friendship day related brand activity:

• Voonik: The fashion shopping app for women has come up with a referral programme this friendship day. If a person refers the app to a friend who downloads it, both friends get Rs 300 off on their Voonik purchase. The offer is valid only till 15th August, 2015, exclusively on the Voonik app

• Dosti Reality: Dosti Reality has launched a friendship month campaign which would run for the entire month. The new campaign talks of everlasting friendship and bonding.

• Zivame: The online lingerie store has announced a contest titled #Chaddibuddy Contest on social media. It has launched a series of posters creatively designed using lingerie puns, depicting different personalities. Facebook and Twitter users can tag their #chaddibuddies according to their unique personality type in the comments section of each post and stand to win exciting prizes every day.

• eBay: eBay, though not really coming up with any special offers, has put up a guide to gifts you can give your friends. It is multilingual campaign and the gift ideas are interesting.

• Voylla.com: The accessory store is seeking to promote its Friendship Bracelets/bands and Love Pendants this friendship day.

• Paytm: Paytm, meanwhile, has come up with an interesting offer, As part of the week-long campaign, Paytm customers will get full talk time   on any recharge between Rs 100 and Rs 250. The promo code to avail of the offer is FULLVALUE.  Another special offer it has come up with is Rs 250 cashback on DTH recharge of Rs 2000 or more. Promo code for this offer is DTHTV250.

• Café Coffee Day: A coffee shop favoured by youth, it comes up interesting offers on Friendship Day year after year. CCD’s Friendship Day celebration aptly called ‘The Really Real Friendship’ involves getting the youth to do fun things with their friends at the café and win special prizes. It has also introduced a special side menu card. A Friendship Day Wall has also been put up at cafes for people to write messages to their friends on this special day.

• Metro Shoes: The ad states ‘friendship is when two ends meet and turn into a strong bond’. The two ends as shown in the ad are two shoe laces coming together when tied.