Campaign name: Dear Dad

Brand: HDFC Debt Fund For Cancer Cure 2014

Company: HDFC Mutual Fund

Agency: Publicis

The Campaign

The film opens in a middle-class home where a 20-year-old boy and his mom are hosting a small, modest party for a few close relatives and friends to celebrate his graduation. Friends start calling for a graduation speech. The boy?s face softens and he looks a little emotional, as he starts his speech thanking his mom, for being there always for him. He then says, ?And I would also like to thank dad? and we see a photograph of his father hanging on the wall. The boy continues, ?This public display of emotions would have really got him embarrassed. He wasn?t what you would call a touchy feely guy. I don?t remember him hugging me, ever. When dad got cancer, he just became softer.? The boy almost breaks down as he remembers a time when his father was standing behind him and massaging his shoulders when he was studying. He talks about how his father would look at the family pictures and cry when he thought nobody was watching. Tears well up in the mother?s eyes even as everyone listens quietly. The boy then remembers that he had once asked his father why he had refused treatment and his father had said he had to make a choice ? it was either his treatment or his son?s future. The boy then poignantly says, ?But you know what, dad; I would give back my degree just to have a few more days back with you. You had no right to take my dad from me, dad, no right.? On the screen now comes the message: If you choose to help, Cancer patients won?t face a tough choice. The next shot is that of the HDFC Debt Fund for Cancer Cure 2014 banner.

Our Take

It isn?t easy to sell the idea of donating the returns on your investment to people you don?t know. Neither is it easy to talk about a disease like cancer. You want to touch the hearts and pockets of your viewers, but you don?t want to turn it into another sob story, or sound like you want handouts. This ad walks the tightrope with aplomb, retaining the self-respect and dignity of the victim and his family. The campaign highlights the tough decisions made in cancer families with limited means. Cancer treatment is very expensive and for families with limited means it boils down to choosing between an expensive treatment that may not be successful finally and the family?s future. The take out from the ad is that this fund is an easy step for people to act against the cruel reality faced by many cancer stricken families.

Executed well, the film is able to get the viewer?s attention without turning out to be dark or morbid. The boy?s character has been etched well ? a boy on the threshold of becoming a man who looks back at the years gone by. The boy?s acting is good ? the tremble in his voice as he talks about his dad, his attempts to remain strong and resolute as he recounts perhaps his last conversation with his father, and finally as he lapses into a little boy who still misses his father. Emotions-wise, the ad passes all tests with flying colours.

But when it is about hard cash, and that too in recessionary times, cold calculations come into play, and it isn?t easy to be generous. Perhaps keeping this in mind, the ad has been released only in cinemas and the digital media. Three years ago, to commemorate its 10th anniversary, HDFC Mutual Fund launched?HDFC?Debt?Fund?for?Cancer?Cure in association with Indian?Cancer Society (ICS). Altogether R10.87 crore by way of dividend income from investments in this fund was utilised by ICS for the treatment of 517 needy cancer patients. The donation of dividend is eligible for tax deduction. For those still unconvinced, that should act as the trigger.

?Banasree Purkayastha