Airtel gives emotional 'touch' to internet

Conceptualised by Taproot India, the campaign promotes Airtel's new 'one touch internet' offering

Sarmistha Neogy | Mumbai | November 12, 2014

Click on the image to watch the TVC.

Airtel has launched a campaign titled 'It's Our Turn' where it takes viewers down the memory lane to introduce its new product 'One Touch Internet'. The campaign, helmed by Agnello Dias of Taproot India, talks about how we've had our finger held through the years and have been taught various things in life by elders. With time, things have changed and now 'it's our turn' to handhold them and help them discover the joys of internet.

Agnello Dias

Commenting on the brief, Dias, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Taproot India, said, “It was a very simple; we were asked to showcase how Airtel 'One Touch Internet' will make the lives of people across all age groups and socio-economic backgrounds easy. The brief was, in fact, to democratise the use of mobile internet among those who may feel alienated by the fast changing world of digital connectivity.”

“We thought that the human observation of being guided through the many wonders of our growing years, by the encouraging, reassuring touch of a single finger would be a nice emotional space to give back and complete the circle of life. The insight for the TVC comes from the brand's core territory of enabling relationships,” he added.

The TVC depicts moments from our childhood when we had a finger guiding and protecting us at every step – whether while learning to swim, writing on glass windows, wearing bindi for the first time or learning how to walk or hold the paint brush. It wouldn't have been the same, if there was no hand to hold us and teach us then. The voice-over says - 'At one point of time, they held our fingers and showed us the world, now it's our turn'. The TVC then shows instances of younger people helping their fathers and grandfathers to use the internet with just a touch.

The ad was shot in Mumbai and Bucharest by Shashank 'Bob' Chaturvedi of Good Morning Films. The TVC which went on air on November 7 has clocked around five lakh views on YouTube. Other than the TVC, the product is being promoted across outdoor, activations and digital media.

Ad Folks React

Manish Bhatt

Manish Bhatt, Founder, Director, Scarecrow Communications, gives full marks to the production, craft and vignettes shown. However, he believes that there is a huge disconnect with the setting and casting of the ad. “The commercial is about 'One Touch Internet' and the product is basically for first-time internet users. But, the cast doesn't look like first-time internet users from any angle. Probably a rural setting would have been more relevant for this ad,” he stated.

Siddharth Roy

Siddharth Roy, Chief Operating Officer, Happy Creative Services, said, “It is a nice and sweet ad, but there is nothing new in the concept. It didn't touch me because the idea of the younger generation teaching elders about the new ways of life has already been done before. Yes, the metaphor of 'one touch of our parents' with 'one touch internet' has been drawn, but I couldn't find how it will benefit the consumers. Therefore, I found the freshness missing from the execution and the story line.”

Sankhya Acharya

Sankhya Acharya, Co-Dreamer, Fame Per Second, was all praises for the campaign. He said, “Emotional storytelling is always a difficult mountain to climb. And then, when you put a brand in the middle of it, the journey becomes a tough one. The new Airtel ad is brilliant and intriguing. The initial montages are so intense and versatile that it keeps you glued till the end. The emotional connect is powerful, and it echoes the rationale of the 'One Touch Internet'. Thus, we see another brilliant execution by Taproot which has touched the hearts of all its viewers.”

The 'One Touch Internet' proposition

'One Touch Internet' is a first-of-its-kind initiative which is aimed at simplifying internet services for millions of first-time users in India. According to Airtel, “Market research proves that there are millions of customers across the country who own internet-ready mobile devices and are keen on getting online, but are apprehensive due to reasons like lack of proper knowledge and fear of incurring heavy data charges. Thus, Airtel's 'One Touch Internet' will address these very customer challenges and play the crucial role of hand-holding first-time mobile users as they discover the internet.”

'One Touch Internet' is a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) portal designed with a simple, secure and intuitive interface that will allow first-time users to discover the internet easily and help them overcome common perception barriers around the mobile data experience. The initiative is a one-stop-shop with free trial packs as well as tutorial videos for customers to see, try and buy a host of popular internet services like social networking, videos, online shopping, travel bookings etc. The intuitive interface claims to be the simplest way to go online, thus encouraging millions of uninitiated users to discover the power of the internet.

The TVC:

https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/

Credits:

Client: Bharti Airtel

Agency: Taproot India

Executive Creative Directors: Agnello Dias, Santosh Padhi

CEO: Umesh Shrikhande

Copy Writer: Agnello Dias

Client Servicing: Gargi Vegiraju, Naved Punjabi

Production House: Good Morning Films

Director: Shashanka Chaturvedi

Producer: Robin D'Cruz

Executive Producer: Vikram Kalra

Music: Kayvan Jahanshahi

Cinematographer: Jason West

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