'Jhatka Mana Hai', says Bajaj Platina Comfortec

Ogilvy & Mather has created an out-of-the-box quirky campaign for Bajaj's bike brand that claims to give 20 per cent less jerks than leading competitors

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | August 24, 2016

Click on the Image to watch the TVC.

There is hardly any campaign for mass market motorcycles that doesn't focus on the mileage factor. Every motorcycle brand claims to better the competition by a few kilometres.

But Bajaj Platina, a brand traditionally known for its mileage, has a completely new story to tell this time -- a campaign that centres on commuters who ride for long hours on bad roads and suffer from back pain. The new Platina Comfortec has been differentiated by its superior riding comfort since it gives 20 per cent less jerks compared to leading competitors. The campaign also positions it as 'the most comfortable bike in the category'.

Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai and production house Keroscene took a month time to come out with the quirky ad film to showcase the shock-resistant quality of Bajaj's new Platina Comfortec bike.

Communication-wise, the challenge was to tell this simple yet powerful product without being clinical or boring. The dancing 'Tanjore' dolls 'Paaro and Gulabo', used as a metaphor for 'jhatkas', became the unequivocal choice for Bajaj Auto and Ogilvy Mumbai.

Sumeet Narang

Sumeet Narang, Vice-President, Marketing, Bajaj Auto, said, “Once we step out of the big cities, our roads are not exactly ideal. While we can't change the roads, we asked ourselves whether there was something we could do to make the ride more comfortable for the daily motorcycle commuter. Platina Comfortec is differentiated on the benefit of lesser jerks and superior back protection. With this we have addressed an unmet need, which is a huge pain point for heavy users.”

The company has taken this demonstration on-ground as well as to the dealers across the country using chest mounted cameras. Customers will actually be able to experience the benefit communicated in the TV ad, which would add to the credibility of the message.

Sukesh Kumar Nayak

Sukesh Kumar Nayak, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, said, “A departure from the usual mileage conversation in this category needed an approach that was just not insightful but also sticky. I think the film does just that. We will be extending this thought of 'Jhatka Mana Hai' across mediums. People use bikes for their daily commute and the roads are really bad. So, Bajaj has made this bike which gives 20 per cent less jerks compared to a regular bike in the same category and that was also the brief. From there we came to the idea of 'Jhatka Mana Hai' and the shaking of dolls on the two bikes.”

Talking about the production work, Nayak said, “The production crew did a commendable job and a lot of homework was done. It is not as simple as it seems. We actually rode on bad roads. A lot of R&D was done in this regard. We could not have gone and shot the film with just two dolls. A lot of research was done in terms of how we place and fix the dolls on the bikes. It was Rajesh's (Director) and Sameeruddin's (Music Director) joint effort to come out with such a brilliant background score. Earlier we had some different plans for the music. We sat together and thought we could do something else and the background score is the result of that. The credit for the music goes to Sameeruddin and he is just outstanding. The track just took the idea to some other level.”

Elaborating on how they were able to get the company on board with the idea, Nayak said, “No matter how brilliant an idea is, but at the end of the day the client has to agree. Of course, a lot of discussion happened on this because it is not easy to buy an idea of this sort in the category. The Bajaj team agreed to do something like this. From the brief point of view, the client moved out of his comfort zone and wanted to do something different. It is a communication that is very functional and our job to do something creative on the communication piece that sticks to the viewer's' mind.”

Nayak added, “If you ask why it is different in the category then I would say that it is a great team effort put in by the agency, client, director and the music director who worked for this ad.”

The ad film starts with a scientist who is shown walking on a bumpy road towards two bikes. One is Bajaj Platina Comfortec and the other one is from a different brand. He tells the viewers that Platina Confortec gives 20 per cent more jerk protection than any normal bike. He places two shaking Tanjore dolls 'Paaro and Gulabo' on top of the bikes and they begin their ride on the road. The film moves on with the humorous and catchy background score 'Paaro and Gulabo' with the two dolls shaking their heads due to the bumpy road. Towards the end, the one on the normal bike breaks and the other doll on the Bajaj bike is still uptight shaking her head.

The creative scoreboard

BestMediaInfo caught up with a few creative people to know their views.

Varun Duggirala

Varun Duggirala, Left Brain and Co-Founder, The Glitch, said, “I think this is such a fun way to bring out the functionality of the bike. It's one of those films which are so innately Indian yet universally funny and extra points for the soundtrack. I watched it twice just to laugh again.”

Amit Damani

Amit Damani, Head, Pixel Fox Studios, praised the ad, “The ad is spot on! I really loved the ad. It's a brilliant visual representation of the feature that is being highlighted: the better riding experience one can have. Who could have thought of using bobble-heads to portray ill-effects caused by Indian roads? Hats off to the team! One thing which I feel could have been done was if this could have been executed in the city as most roads have gone to the dogs.”

Manoj Deb

Manoj Deb, Executive Creative Director, Bang In The Middle, had a slightly different point of view. “Over all I really like the film. Though, it's an interesting way to demonstrate the feature or new launch, I won't say this is the best way to communicate this kind of message. Why do we always have this guy with a lab coat to explain/demonstrate? Even in automobile ad? A new approach would have given 20 per cent more 'Jhatka'. I like the music quite catchy that way, good use of Indian sounds.”

Pranav Harihar Sharma

Pranav Harihar Sharma, ECD, North West, Rediffusion Y&R, had an important point to make. He said, “The ad starts off well (especially because the actor has an interesting screen presence).Using the clay doll puppet on the back seat is interesting but I doubt if it is effective. It definitely doesn't convince us on the bike's shock absorbing capabilities and ends up looking like a gimmick. Also there is a logical flaw in the way the puppets are balanced on the bikes. Of course they could have been glued to the seats but there is no information (showed in the film) supporting it. The silver lining in the film is the music. 'Paro-Gulabo' track is pretty interesting and the beats are whacky. It has a sticky feeling to it. It's an interesting film to watch but I doubt if it can do anything for the brand in terms of bottom lines.”

Vipin Dhyani

Vipin Dhyani, Founder and Chief Creative Director, Thoughtshop Advertising, said, “It simply shows that the brief must have been a tactical ad to compare the suspension between Bajaj Platina and its close competitor. As 20 per cent lesser shocks than the competitor brand is not a noticeable thing, it's a challenging thing to showcase. That way, in a tactical ad, there has to be a creative hook. They have it in the form of wobbly heads. The evergreen topicality of having potholes is easily identifiable. The only factor it lacks is music. It could have been better as they already had this 'Paaro…Gulabo' thing going on to accentuate. For consumers, yes there is a novelty of using the wobbly dolls for highlighting the benefit of good suspension but for the advertising fraternity it is a familiar device as it had been used in an old Audi ad.”

The TVC: 

https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/bmi/media/post_attachments/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Bajaj-Platina-Comfortec.jpg

Credits:

Client: Bajaj Auto

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai

Creative: Sukesh Kumar Nayak, Hemal Jhaveri, Ashish Pathak, Prasanna Bhave, Prasad Gurav

Account Management: Joydip Niyogi, Abheek Chatterji, Umang Khandelwal

Planning: Prem Narayan

Production House: Keroscene

Films Director: Rajesh Sath

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com