Lowe Lintas Chennai unveils an inspirational film for MRF Tyres

As one of the India’s largest selling tyre company and as a brand that has supported Indian cricket for the last 23 years, becoming global partner of the ICC Cricket World Cup is part of the natural progression for MRF. In the back drop of this mega sporting event, MRF has unveiled a new TVC that has been conceptualised by Lowe Lintas Chennai.

‘Expectation’ is the singular emotion that connects fans in a big way to the game of cricket, something that the TVC captures and amplifies. Expectation is heightened by the fact that team India are the defending champions. While this sentiment echoes on every street and across the land, it is brought alive through the sound track of the film, where different street sounds converge to raise an enduring and inspiring patriotic anthem to the Indian cricket team – Saare Jahan Se Achha.

Commenting on their association with the World Cup event, Koshy K Varghese, Executive Vice President-Marketing MRF, Limited said: “We at MRF have passionately supported cricket for decades. From our association with legendary cricketers to grooming the nation’s finest talent though the MRF Pace foundation and now, being a proud Global Partner of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 – we have actively supported the sport for a long time. The objective of this TVC was to showcase MRF’s and the nation’s undying support to our cricket team. Expectations are high from the Indian team and there is a lot riding on them, just as there is a lot, literally, riding on us at MRF.”

The film begins with the Indian cricket team making their way to the airport. During their journey they are met with a rousing response from certain sections of the crowd who are engaged in their mundane day-to-day activity. From a young enthusiastic mother to an ardent senior team supporter to a large number of fans that have assembled at the airport, the Indian cricket team gets greeted all along with an inspirational message through the song – Saare Jahan Se Achha, Hindustan Hamara. The film ends with the message– ‘There’s a lot riding on us’ that is symbolic of the hopes of millions of Indian fans who want their team to return with the World Cup just like MRF Tyres that undertook the journey of making the players reach safely to their destination.  

Sharing his views on the creative approach taken for the TVC, Rajesh Ramaswamy, Executive Creator Director, Lowe Lintas said, “The beauty of this idea was the line ‘There's a lot riding on us’ which was written for MRF the brand. And when they tied up as one of the main sponsors of the World Cup, this thought extended naturally to the Indian cricket team too. We picked ‘Saare Jahaan Se Achha’ and decided to render it in different ways as the bus travels through the city. The sound had to dictate the visuals. Mikey did an absolutely fantastic track that evoked the kind of feeling we needed. And Santosh Sivan captured this in a beautiful way. This one is made with the same passion that MRF as a brand has for cricket which they have displayed for so many years. The logo in the end contributes a lot of credibility.”

The campaign is on air and will be splashed across traditional media and online channels.

Credits:
Client: MRF Limited
Agency: Lowe Lintas, Chennai
Creative Team: Rajesh Ramaswamy, Sachit Sadanandan, Gowthaman Kandavelu, Dennis Daniel
Account Management: GV Krishnan, GS Sridhar, Raj Ayyappan, Joel Miranda, Ramesh NJ, Ramya Murthy
Planning: Phalgun Tiruvasu
Music: Mikey McCleary
Director: Santosh Sivan
Production: Lintas Productions, Mumbai