Himalaya Pure Hands launches campaign #ThePurestGreeting

82.5 Communications and professionals from around the world collaborate from their homes, to create a film on #ThePurestGreeting.

At a time when conversations around hand hygiene are of paramount importance, one of India’s best-known herbal healthcare brands, Himalaya, has spoken about their range of hand wash and sanitizer - Himalaya Pure Hands.

With extended lockdowns and social distancing, when conventional advertising seems difficult, Himalaya and 82.5 Communications have created a digital film that introduces the product to the world. And it does so, using #ThePurestGreeting – the ancient-Indian tradition of the Namaste, as a form of greeting.

The film is an ode to the Namaste, the traditional Indian greeting which has both spiritual and scientific dimensions to it. A soulful narrative runs through this unique film that has been shot, directed and edited remotely, spanning across several countries. Over 15 Indian and international DoPs collaborated on this film. With the Namaste, the film introduces us to the Pure Hands hand wash and sanitizer at the end with a reminder for everyone to ‘keep the distance but stay social.’

Speaking about the film, Philipe Haydon, CEO, The Himalaya Drug Company, said, “This film captures the beauty, essence, and great wisdom of our Indian greeting, Namaste. Today, as we practice social distancing, the phenomenal knowledge and wisdom of this greeting holds great value in our lives. At Himalaya, we have always been inspired by our rich heritage. We hope that this film spreads love and happiness as well as keeps you all safe. Stay safe, stay healthy. Namaste from our hearts at Himalaya to yours.”

Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Business Director-Consumer Products Division, The Himalaya Drug Company, added, “Himalaya is a well-known trusted and Wellness brand, and we have always been at the forefront of ensuring the well-being of our consumers. With our Himalaya Pure Hands portfolio of Hand Wash and Hand Sanitizer, we ensure total hand hygiene, the first step to prevent infections. At a time when it's crucial to practice social distancing in addition to hand hygiene, Namaste is the warmest and best way to greet one another. With this brand film, we wish to highlight Namaste, the beautiful Indian custom of greeting, that has become more relevant today!”

Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Chairman and CCO, at 82.5 Communications said, “The Namaste is such a beautiful yet practical gesture with so many layers of meaning. It is wonderful to make this film for Pure Hands as a vehicle to spread the message of the Namaste—a message that is all the more meaningful during the pandemic."

Mayur Varma, ECD, at 82.5 Communications said: “While we are all trying our best to stop the virus from spreading, we should keep spreading love. And a simple namaste helps us to do that.”

Naveen Raman, Sr. Vice President & Branch Head - South, at 82.5 communications said: "The objective was to build this brand through a purpose and just not a promise. While doing that we had to ensure that we abide by the rules set by the government and be sensitive towards people.”

The director of the film, Shashank Chaturvedi, was clear he didn’t want to make another montage of user generated home-videos: “This idea deserved a film which was not a ‘usual lockdown film’. Didn’t want it to get lost in the sea of sameness. It had to have some finesse. The challenge was how to do it? We collaborated with many cinematographers and photographers across the world and asked them to take two shots in their environment with the people they were quarantined with. They were given a mood board so that the shots didn’t lose synergy with each other during the editing stage.”

CREDITS

Client: The Himalaya Drug Company

Agency: 82. 5 Communications

Chairman and CCO: Sumanto Chattopadhyay

CEO and Co Chairman: Kapil Arora

Head of Strategic Planning: Rishabha Nayyar

Executive Creative Director and Creative Head: Mayur Varma

Creative Directors: Rwitayan Mukherjee, Durga Bangde

Sr Vice President & Branch Head - South: Naveen Raman

Production House:

Good Morning Films

Director: Shashank Chaturvedi (Bob)

Directors of Photography:

Tassaduq Hussain

Jason West

Kartik Vijay

Satchith Paulose

Lukas Linder

Maciej Puczynski

Mart Ratassepp

Sahil Kotwani

Linesh Desai

Modhura Palit

Vatsala Chopra

Odpal George

Sai Sanil

Archana Ghangrekar

Tushar Mehra

Arjun Mitra - Jakarta

Harsimran Kaur

Varun Vij