History channel unveils campaign with Salman Khan

Crafted by McCann Erickson, the campaign will go on-air from next week; watch the 3 TVCs here

Neha Saraiya | New Delhi | September 30, 2011

A+E Networks | TV18, a joint venture between A+E Networks and TV 18, has launched three TVCs for their soon-to-be-launched factual entertainment channel 'History' in India. The brand has unveiled the new campaign online first, to be followed by TV. The ad features Bollywood actor Salman Khan challenging people's perception of 'achievement' and 'newness'.

The idea for the campaign, concept-alised by McCann Erickson, came from the insight that history, an otherwise mundane topic, needed to be put in the most interesting and engrossing manner. Thus, the campaign plays with the copy reading 'Watch History being made',  'Kuch Naya Dekho' and 'History Bante Dekho'.

Speaking about the launch campaign strategy, Sangeetha Aiyer, General manager, Marketing, AETN-18, said, “The factual entertainment genre as a whole is witnessing a growth of 30 per cent year-on-year basis. And our whole reason to enter the genre is to grow and expand the genre rather than cannibalise within it. Thus, we have entered the market with a different approach, with an intention to broad base the genre and make it a relatively mainstream option for viewers. All our initiatives such as the launch in 6 languages as well as  to have Salman Khan as the face of the channel  is an endeavor in this direction. The genre has been a rather inert and quite one and we want to change that with the launch of HISTORY.”

The TVC has been released in three versions -- 'Mountains', 'Swamp' and 'Samurai' -- all shot in southern France. Directed by Prashant Issar of Tubelight Films, the TVCs urge people to push the envelope, go beyond the regular, and watch something new.

Angshumani Khanna, Creative Director, McCann Erickson, said, “The idea was to communicate 'kuch naya dekho'. Basically we believed that the channel has a fantastic content line-up.”

The agency has planned a 360-degree marketing campaign spanning outdoor in metros, activation in key shows, PR and Radio, with key emphasis on innovation on all platforms.

The channel that will go on air from October 9 will be supported by marketing initiatives worth Rs. 15-18 crore across all platforms.

Neha@BestMediaInfo.com

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