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Google tugs at heart strings with unique 'Reunion' video

On the face of it, the campaign created by O&M showcases Google as the best search engine along with its various other uses. But the strength of the ad film is the evocative storyline based on the Partition

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Google tugs at heart strings with unique 'Reunion' video

Google tugs at heart strings with unique 'Reunion' video

On the face of it, the campaign created by O&M showcases Google as the best search engine along with its various other uses. But the strength of the ad film is the evocative storyline based on the Partition

Sohini Sen | Mumbai | November 15, 2013

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Google is probably the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about the internet. The search engine is one of the most loved brands of the present-day generation. To make a campaign to portray the benefits of such a brand required something out of the ordinary. Ogilvy & Mather has ostensibly succeeded in doing this with the new campaign, judging by the number of times the video has been shared on social networking sites in the last 24 hours.

"Google is a huge brand. Everyone knows about it. A plain old vanilla advertisement wouldn't do justice to something like Google. It would not lead to conversations. The brief we had received was to bring Google Search closer to people in India. People have been using Google for some time, but we needed to inform them about its various uses. Because come what may, in whatever form, Google actually leads us to what we are looking for," said Abhijit Avasthi, National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather.

Along with showcasing the different uses of Google, the campaign had to include various generations as well. While the younger generation is computer savvy, the older generation may sometimes find it difficult to understand the nitty-gritty of technology.

The campaign revolves around the India-Pakistan Partition – the historical event which separated not just two nations but millions of families and friends. The older generation's yearning is only balanced by the younger generation's hope.

Named Google Search Reunion Anthem, we see a young lady listening to her grandfather's stories about his childhood in an undivided India. He, with his friend Yusuf, would fly kites and eat sweets from the neighbourhood sweetmeat shop. On seeing her grandfather feeling nostalgic, the lady decides to search on Google for the sweetshop and trace the old friend who now lives in Pakistan. The grandchildren plan a surprise for his birthday as two old friends separated by a political partition are reunited by their families – and Google.

While the main three-minute campaign has already gone viral on social media, there are four sharper product focus films set within the same context and characters which continue the conversation with the user and show magical use cases within Google Search. Such is powerful storyline that many viewers admit to being deeply touched by it.

The shorter 40-second TVCs feature the same two friends and grandkids. While the one called 'Cricket' has them both arguing about a particular cricketer's status in a match, the granddaughter checks Google on her phone to let them know that he has been given 'not out'. Another one called 'Fennel' shows one of the friends placing an order for Biryani ingredients on the phone. He cannot find the term to explain what fennel is and his friend's grandson then checks Google on his iPad to find the Hindi translation of the term. A third video called 'Anarkali' shows how Google search helps in shopping and no one has to go out of their homes now to see what is being sold in the market. The fourth video is called 'Sugar-free' and starts with one friend being caught stealing rasgullas from the fridge. The granddaughter encourages him saying it is sugar-free so he can indulge his cravings and she will make sugar-free halwa for him next time. She quickly checks Google for the recipe after this.

The four shorter videos then show how Google not just shows places and people but also gives recipes, helps in shopping, keeps you updated on news of sports and entertainment as well as be used for daily things like translations and spell checks.

The touching video will also be extended to other mediums though it is being led by the online campaign as of now.

The TVC:

Credits:

Creative Agency: Ogilvy & Mather

National Creative Director: Abhijit Avasthi

Group Creative Director: Sukesh Nayak

President - Geography Head, Mumbai & Kolkata: Navin Talreja

Business Head: Namrata Keswani

Production House: Chrome Pictures

Director: Amit Sharma

Sohini.Sen@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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