The campaign, conceptualised by M&C Saatchi New Delhi, has been following an episodic format to unfold a modern day love story of two strangers who come together because of music
The campaign, conceptualised by M&C Saatchi New Delhi, has been following an episodic format to unfold a modern day love story of two strangers who come together because of music
Shanta Saikia | Delhi | September 30, 2015
Click on the image to watch the TVC.
Gaana.com continues with the love story between its two key characters – Rhea and Ayaan – which has been unfolding over multiple episodes. The latest episode shows the two protagonists settling into a comfortable live-in relationship even as the teasing and flirting continues.
Gaana.com managed to create curiosity and intrigue with the first episode itself of the musical episodic series that captures a modern day love story of two strangers coming together because of music.
Set in Delhi, the campaign has been conceptualised by M&C Saatchi New Delhi. The story started with Rhea and Ayaan meeting each other while travelling on Delhi Metro, where Ayaan irked a lady sitting next to him by singing along to the music he was listening, much to Rhea's amusement. The next time the two meet, Ayaan invites Rhea to share his music as they listen through the headphone. The story then progresses to see the youngsters going on a date, first while cycling in the woods and then spending a day at the beach, even as music continues as the common bond. In the latest TVC currently on air, Rhea teases Ayaan by saying that she prefers shoes to him.
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Anjali Nayar
Commenting on the campaign, Anjali Nayar, President, M&C Saatchi New Delhi, said, “This is a simple love story that is rooted in insights based on millennials, the first generation that can claim to be true digital natives. Remember when it was 'boy meets girl'? It was reliant on basic chemistry and charm to attract each other. In today's generation, the first thing one does when you meet someone you are attracted to is to check out their online profile, see if your interests match. Almost an investigation into each other's minds rather than the thunderbolt moment when eyes meet. And music plays a huge role as a measure of compatibility in this. In the story of Rhea and Ayaan, it happens all at once. Music is an integral part of their lives. And the time-honoured thunderbolt moment and the 'matching of interests' happens almost simultaneously. Music has that power. It is what brought them together. And it is present throughout the story. They are romantic as well as adventurous. The story follows organically. Revealing the entire storyline will defeat the purpose of creating an episodic story. Rest assured though that the story ends on a satisfying note.”
Nayar further said that there would be a marked shift in story development in the following weeks and added that there were no plans to introduce new characters in the story. “When we conceptualised this film, we were pretty clear from the outset that we will focus all plot points around three principle characters – Rhea, Ayaan and music (which is the invisible third character). The story has been conceptualised in its entirety. It has been created in advance. It is only being released episodically,” in informed.
Speaking on the episodic nature of the campaign, Nirmal Pulickal, Managing Director and Creative Head, M&C Saatchi, explained, “When we decided to release these ads episodically, we wrote the story as a series of chapters.
And each chapter is written to closely mirror conventional attitudes and lifestyles. So, instead of creating contrived situations that we often see in masala romantic movies, we went for a more realistic approach. The way they meet could happen to anyone in an urban setting. They spend a lot of time together. They gradually fall in love. But it isn't a case of 'Chalo, abhi shaadi karte hai'. Millennial courtship rituals, as we observed, reflect a huge shift in the outlook towards love and romance. What begins as a 'hooking up' can progress to being 'friends with benefits' and ultimately to a deeper commitment. Rhea and Ayaan believe in marriage and lifelong commitment, but are also more relaxed about sex, dating, and living together. It is truly one of the first long format advertising commercials reflecting current pop culture.”
How the key characters evolve
Throwing more light on the two key protagonists, he said that Rhea was a bold, independent girl who was assertive and expressive. “If she likes what she sees, she goes after it. She works at a fashion magazine as a sub-editor. She is hip, she is also rooted to her Indian values. She is financially independent. She also has a mushy, girly side which she reveals slowly,” he added.
As for Ayaan, he plays a perfect foil to Rhea's boldness. He is a more laidback, shy lad at first. “His boyish looks are disarmingly frank and innocent,” said Pulickal, adding that Rishi Kapoor's character in the film 'Bobby' was one of the inspirations for Ayaan. He further said, “Ayaan also knows the effect his boyband good looks have on women. So he doesn't really try to be that guy who tries too hard. He draws them to him like a flame draws a moth. He is languid and has a wry sense of humour. All the witty one-liners in the story are made by his character. He comes from a rather privileged background. His father owns an architect firm and he interns there. In summary, they complement each other and bring out a roundness to the characters. We also see a subtle evolution of the characters, with Rhea becoming softer and Ayaan becoming bolder over the course of the story.”
While speaking on how the story develops over the coming episodes, Pulickal said, “Like any romance, it's not always sunshine and roses. Rhea and Ayaan are going to come to a crossroads soon. This will test their resolve. I can't reveal too many more details at this point because it will spoil the story. Best to wait and see!”
Adding further, he said, “In terms of dramatic construct, we followed the classic 'Three Act' structure. The first act is where the protagonists are introduced. The trick here is to keep it interesting and I think we have succeeded in that. We start at the most interesting point, where there is conflict and excitement (the meeting in the train) and help the audience sort it out. In Act Two, the stakes escalate. There is a complication, which leads to a moment of crisis in which all hope seems lost. We are currently in the processing of unveiling Act Two. Act Three, which comes at a later stage, is the resolution of the crisis and completes the story arc. The ups and downs and the audience interest in the characters is what we believe will keep the story going.”
The response
While speaking on the response to the campaign so far, Pratik Mazumder, Vice-President and Marketing Head, Times Internet, said, “The response has been quite encouraging o far. The app, in fact, saw the highest number of downloads in the month of the launch and has continued to maintain the spot of No. 1 music app on Google Playstore since the launch of the campaign.”
Commenting on the idea behind the episodic format of campaign, Mazumdar added, “Music plays an important role in displaying each emotion that people experience and with an episodic format, we thought we would be able to showcase each emotion that the couple experiences in their journey beautifully. Of course, an episodic format gives a stickiness to the brand and helps you connect and engage with the audiences for a longer duration.”
While saying that no new characters would be introduced in the current campaign as it was about the chemistry between Rhea and Ayaan, Mazumdar added, “You never know what's in store for the next campaign. We are still in the nascent stages of developing the next act.”
The Gaana.com TVC is supported by a multi-media campaign spread across print, outdoor, digital and an interactive engagement on social media and radio, where Rhea and Ayaan are seen engaging with the outside world as real people.
The TVCs:
TVC 1: Rhea and Ayaan meet at a metro station for the first time
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