Jabong weaves a contemporary epic romance

Created by Bang in the Middle, Jabong's latest campaign reinforces its brand message – 'Be You' – and celebrates individualism breaking through societal norms

Shanta Saikia | Delhi | April 10, 2015

Click on the image to watch the TVC.

Jabong.com had rolled out a 360-degree campaign last year – Be You – encouraging people to embrace their uniqueness. This season, the online fashion destination has gone a step further to show what 'Be You' means for different individuals. The three TVCs, being aired across various channels, have been creatively scripted and shot across the length and breadth of India. There is an element of boldness in the sense that these films capture the aspirations, dreams, thoughts and personal styles for people who have chosen to break free from the norm and followed their own style and passion.

Created by Bang in the Middle, the three films weave different stories and are much grander and bolder that last year. Instead of just telling people to follow their own star and break free, the films show the stories of people who dare to be themselves. Here, Jabong celebrates each type of special, every kind of different.

One of the TVCs, titled 'Be Your Own Epic Romance', reiterates the idea of self-direction and freethinking, unescorted by the stringent norms of the society. It inspires lateral thinking and affirms fashion as a mode of unorthodox expression. The TVC shows a young couple in a live-in relationship and sets the tone for the unconventional life that they have in the first sentence itself: “Most of our neighbours don't talk to us; we're supposed to be living in sin”.

Praveen Sinha

On the launch of the second edition of the brand campaign, Praveen Sinha, Founder and Managing Director, Jabong.com, said, “Post tasting success with the launch of 'Be You' campaign last season, our team decided to take the winning streak forward and give a different dimension to it in the second season. Jabong.com is constantly innovating to churn out something new for its customers; we let out a spark of individualism last season and we plan to sustain it with this TVC in its second inning. The TVC is very simple in terms of the message it plans to send out – chase yourself, not the world.”

Prathap Suthan

Prathap Suthan, CCO, Bang in the Middle, elaborated, “Last year around, when we launched the philosophy of 'Be You', we were pretty much convinced that it gave enough and more encouragement to young India to be proud of themselves and to go ahead and be what they wanted to be. Jabong being the one brand that would support and inspire them in their self discovery and conviction with the widest range of fashion. Ready with ideas to help express themselves across the days and nights of their journeys. The campaign was a balanced act of liberation, and pushed people to go beyond the shallow definition of fashion, and gave them the freedom to stand up and be themselves: be leaders instead of followers. This time around, instead of a common philosophy, we are bringing to life stories of individuals, how they choose to live their lives and how they use their minds to create a niche for themselves. More importantly, these ads also surf the top of emerging social trends and try to present the changing faces of the country. Young India is a more confident, globally conscious, and an empowered lot of people. And all you have to do is look around to find youngsters living life the way they want and successfully at that. Jabong is at the cusp of being the one positive pat on the back for these millions of dreamers and thinkers and doers who will do India prouder than ever.”

Naresh Gupta

Naresh Gupta, CSO, Bang in the Middle, added, “Today, fashion is just not an external style statement, it is how you live, the choices you make, the statement you want to make. It is not about rebelling, or being different for sake of being different, it is about living by your own conviction. We started the journey with the previous campaign; we are making an even stronger statement with this season's campaign. We have tried to capture the new ethos of the young trendy Indians to make the brand the real fashion choice for them.”

This campaign is a mouthpiece for the youth that has risen above the herd and retained its true identity. The TVC includes a 30-second couplet narrating the tale of a young couple in a live-in relationship, defying the societal customs and avowing to stay true to their individual beliefs. An additional 60-second film is shot for digital promotion, encapsulating the dreams of young India and how they are pursuing their unique entities, away from the social orders. Two more commercials chronicling journeys of the protagonist follow as well this season.

“A contemporary epic”

KV Sridhar

Applauding the client and the creative team, KV Sridhar, Chief Creative Officer India at SapientNitro, said that the TVC really showed the idea of what being yourself means. “Nowhere have they crossed the line. Some time ago, Fastrack, too, had urged the youth to be individualistic in its 'Move On' campaign. They were ahead of time, but somewhere along the way they crossed the line and lost the plot,” he said.

Sridhar further said, “What works for Jabong is that there isn't much of negativity shown. 'Be You' on its own may sound clichéd; however, when you take up a specific attitude or issue, it takes it to a different level. Moreover, the idea of live-in relationship has been explored by Bollywood. Hence, it doesn't seem forced.”

Sridhar found the campaign very urban and niche, but also aspirational for a young India to do well and express their individuality. “I like anything progressive,” Sridhar continued, asking, “Why can't a boy and girl be friends and discover love before they are married?” “When portrayed in the right way, it becomes a positive, aspirational thing. Without knowing, advertising has far more influence than films, because ads are viewed several times a day, be it on TV, print or outdoor media,” he said.

Saurabh Dasgupta

Saurabh Dasgupta, Executive Creative Director, Innocean Worldwide, said, “I found it pretty nice. It gives 'epic' a whole new meaning. It makes the word romance more aspirational and takes it to a whole new level. Romance is undergoing a definition change; what today's generation thinks is quite different from the traditional concept of romance.”

He further said, “The execution captures this brilliantly and the casting is done well. There are layers in the film that you see in second and subsequent viewing, which are beautiful.”

Delving further, Dasgupta remarked, “It is a forward-looking campaign. Epic is usually associated with traditional, but this is contemporary epic. See it through the filter of an 18-20 year-old. The TVC is very symbiotic in its approach in that it shows the progression of relationships from platonic to symbiotic.”

The TVC:

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

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