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JSW showcases 'Will of Steel' through the real 'woman of steel'

The ad conceptualised by O&M captures Geeta Phogat's real life journey of how she overcame societal norms, busted several myths and wrestled her way to success

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JSW showcases 'Will of Steel' through the real 'woman of steel'

JSW showcases 'Will of Steel' through the real 'woman of steel'

The ad conceptualised by O&M captures Geeta Phogat's real life journey of how she overcame societal norms, busted several myths and wrestled her way to success

Sarmistha Neogy | Mumbai | February 6, 2015

Click on the image to watch the TVC. Click on the image to watch the TVC.

JSW Group has launched a new campaign titled 'Will of Steel' featuring real life sportsperson Geeta Phogat, who is the first Indian woman to win a Gold medal in wrestling at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010. The ad, conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, shows how Phogat overcame societal norms, busted several myths, fought severe resistance and wrestled her way to success, all because she had inner strength and the will of steel to achieve her dreams. It thus, salutes her inner strength.

Piyush Pandey Piyush Pandey

Commenting on the campaign, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, South Asia, Ogilvy &Mather, said, “I am proud that Ogilvy & Mather is associated with this campaign of JSW Group, which captures the spirit and power of the Indian woman. It is a great step in unleashing Indian women from the grip of our male chauvinistic society. This is only the beginning, watch out for more in this campaign.”

The TVC shows how Phogat fought against patriarchy and societal pressure and still managed to emerge as the winner because she had the inner strength to do so. It is a contrast between the narrative that is the voice of an angry tau (a village senior), who speaks about what girls are traditionally expected to do, and visuals of Phogat training, exercising and eventually going on to win the Commonwealth Gold medal. The film has been shot in Phogat's village, Balali, and in Delhi.

Navin Talreja Navin Talreja

Speaking of the brief, Navin Talreja, President, Mumbai & Kolkata, Ogilvy& Mather, said, “We had to create a sort of salience for JSW Steel that even though 'steel' is invisible to the naked eye, it imparts the real strength of the house. Similarly, we decided to bring this salient feature of steel in the corporate JSW film and play it in a philosophical way by highlighting the 'inner strength' of the individual. We are very excited about 'Will of Steel' because it clearly is not a one-off campaign idea, but a big brand platform that will help us create new age modern dynamic content enabling higher degree of consumer engagement and involvement in a category that is often ignored.”

The script was in place by August and the ad was also done by mid-December, which also had to depend on Phogat's availability. Talreja explained, “The reason behind the Haryanvi accent as the voiceover is to highlight the male chauvinistic framework and their view of women in the society.”

Sukesh Nayak Sukesh Nayak

Adding to this, Sukesh Nayak, Executive Creative Director, O&M Advertising, Mumbai, said, “For JSW Group's brand campaign, we wanted a human story. A story that would humanise the strength of steel and what it means in real life. Geeta's story was a perfect match. Her steely resolve drove her to succeed in spite of all the opposition. She is the perfect person to launch our brand thought of 'Will of Steel'.”

Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing Director & Group CFO, JSW Group, commented, “Geeta Phogat displayed a rare will of steel and her efforts and life-story are the inspiration for this campaign. By showcasing Geeta's 'Will of Steel' via a mass media campaign, we hope to inspire and encourage more and more people to overcome challenges in life.”

The campaign was launched on January 26 and is expected to run up to March. It will be supported with 360 surround elements such as digital, PR and activation.

Creative honchos applaud the fabulous idea

Saurabh Dasgupta Saurabh Dasgupta

Saurabh Dasgupta, Executive Creative Director, Innocean, remarked, “It is a fabulous ad and I have really liked the juxtaposition of the voiceover against the visuals. The Haryanvi accent actually stood for the voice of the society, Khap Panchayat or any other governing body that tries to restrict the freedom of any girl. The counter juxtaposition when the voiceover talks about how, when everytime a girl crosses her boundary, she ends up bringing shame to the entire society and it was then, that the visual of Geeta winning the Gold at the Commonwealth Games was shown. Filming this story wouldn't have been difficult because it is a real story, but sticking to reality is also difficult at the same time.”

KV Sridhar KV Sridhar

Echoing the same positive spirit, KV Sridhar, Chief Creative Officer, Sapient Nitro, said, “I like anything where women are being celebrated. The brand's message, 'Will of Steel', comes out so well through the inspiring tale of Geeta Phogat, who herself is a 'woman of steel'. Problem with our country is that women are not encouraged to take up sports and more pressure comes from the rural areas, where people don't value them. Hats off to these women who make it to the top, battling all obstacles, and they not only make their family proud, but the entire nation looks up to them.”

Swapan-Seth Swapan Seth

Swapan Seth, National Creative Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Equus Red Cell, said that the new campaign was absolutely fantastic and added that it married the brand promise with consumer aspirations. “What could be better than that?” he asked.

Prathap Suthan Prathap Suthan

Prathap Suthan, Chief Creative Officer, Bang in the Middle, commented, “It is a fantastic ad, and the fact that they have taken an actual person, adds a lot of value and realness to it. The timing is right, more because of the unfortunate incidents which have been taking place against women every day. This ad breaks stereotypes in several ways, as it shows wrestling, which is a male dominated sport and also towards the end, Geeta had to go through different traditional filters to tell the world that she is the 'real woman of steel'.”

The TVC:

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

Credits:

Agency: Ogilvy &Mather

National Creative Director: Rajiv Rao

President, Mumbai & Kolkata: Navin Talreja

Executive Creative Director: Sukesh Nayak

Senior Creative Director: Talha Nazim

Planning: Ganapathy Balagopalan

Account Management: Tresa Paul, Shivali Nair, Drashti Buch, Amar Kondekar, Prachi Tater, Naman Shrivastava

Production House: Curious Productions

Director: Vivek Kakkad

Producer: Shahzad Bhagwagar

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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