Campaign: Come home to Diwali
Brand: Coca-Cola
Company: Coca-Cola
Agency: McCann Erickson
The Campaign
With just ten days left for Diwali, many of us are taking out our travelling bags and buying tickets to reach home and spend time with loved ones. If you have noticed, there?s usually a few hiccups before you finally reach home. One of you may have missed your flight, bus or train. A traffic jam may have stopped you from reaching the airport on time and by the time you reach the airport, your flight that cost you a fortune has reached wherever it had to. Again, a delayed train may have taken you home only after all the fireworks were over and if you are in a bus, a break-down at a remote place ruins your chances of getting home in time.
Now, Coca-Cola?s new commercial is a tribute to all those who have missed their flight, train or bus. The television ad begins with a young man stranded in a desolated place. He calls up his dad and informs him that he is not able to find a bus. Assuming that he will not be able to reach home on time, he wishes ?Happy Diwali? over the phone but the mobile stops working midway. He then finds an old bus and asks a family standing nearby whether the bus is in good shape. To this, they give him weird looks and don?t respond. He asks them for a bus that will take him to Delhi, only to realise that the family is scared to respond. Unable to find a solution, he buys Coca-Cola from the only shop that exists in the desolated place. He takes a sip and wishes Diwali to the bottle of Coke. To his surprise, a firework shoots out of the bottle. Once again he says ?Happy Diwali? and the Warli art work is displayed and the animated stick figures start dancing to the tune of ?Jaata kaha hai deewane, sab kuch yaha hai sanam…? To his amazement, the characters jump out of the bottle and create a Diwali-like environment and light up the ramshackle bus. And when the bus driver gets into the bus, he shouts, ?Delhi?. Unable to hide his happiness, the young man shouts ?I am going home? and runs towards the bus. Then the tagline goes: ?Khule toh baat chale, open happiness? (Uncork to communicate, open happiness)
Our Take
Coca-Cola has been taking inspiration from Indian customs and traditions to connect with the Indian customer. The new Coca-Cola campaign celebrates the spirit of Diwali, and all that we associate with it, and to top it, the 400-year-old Warli art form. All of this is complemented by good music which only adds to the celebrations. Along with capturing the spirit of youth by depicting the eagerness of the young man to reach home, the campaign uses the local art form to bring the brand closer to the customer. The Warlis are a scheduled tribe living in Thane, Nashik and Dhule districts of Maharashtra, Valsad district of Gujarat, and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and are relatively unknown. By highlighting the 400-year-old Warli art form, the ad not only lightens up the brand and the festive season, but also salutes the forgotten artists.
Ratings
*****