Titan Raga again gives the perfect message, 'Being a mother is not a sacrifice it's a choice'

Ogilvy & Mather is back with a new ad film for Titan Raga 'Khud se naya rishta', taking forward the message that motherhood is a new relationship with self and, love your life as much as you love your child

Akansha Mihir Mota | Mumbai | January 23, 2017

Click on the Image to watch the TVC.

A girl has so many roles to play in her life. The most important stage of her life is when she becomes a mother. Her world changes and starts revolving around her kid. But all this should not mean that she forgets herself and her aspirations. Motherhood is something that comes naturally and should not be treated as a burden, but a responsibility.

Taking the same philosophy forward, Titan has reaffirmed the campaign message 'Khud se naya rishta', with the launch of a TVC that emphasises the fact that motherhood is a desired choice and not a sacrifice. Conceptualised by Ogilvy, the ad film has been directed by Vinil Mathew of Breathless films.

Over that last few years, Titan Raga has become synonymous with the progressive mindset of modern Indian woman. The brand has addressed pivotal topics of discussion about women and femininity like career, marriage and gender biases at workplace with its campaigns -- #KhudSeNayaRishta, #HerLifeHerChoices and #BreakTheBias.

Sirish Chandrashekar

Sirish Chandrashekar, Marketing Head, Titan Watches, said, “Titan Raga's brand films have always reflected the modern Indian woman's progressive views through contexts that are relevant to her life. In this film, we explored the evolving codes of motherhood. It is about living your life fully, without being judged and knowing that being a mother is not a sacrifice, but a choice.”

The idea and brand connect

Azazul Haque

Talking about the idea, Azazul Haque, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, said, “There are a lot of people behind the idea. The idea of talking about a pregnant woman came from the client. The target audience are women in the 27-30 years of age. They go through a lot of apprehensions that the baby might change their lives. This was the starting point. This entire thank you part is all what we did. We had a lot of conversation around it. I just put it together on a piece of paper.”

Adding to the insight, Haque said, “The insight was the apprehension and fears of any woman before she conceives and during her pregnancy that whether her life will change or not. Would she still get freedom to party or travel? There are no set norms of being a mother.”

Explaining how the film is connected to the brand philosophy, Haque said, “Titan Raga has always been about the new relationship a woman is trying to find with herself. It is about the internal conversation that she has. In this ad also, she is still thinking that she might not be a mom who would make round chapattis for her baby. By redefining motherhood, she is redefining one aspect of being a woman and that is what Titan Raga is all about.”

Haque told BestMediaInfo.com that the script was written and rewritten 20-35 times, until the final draft took shape. He added, “While we were constructing the film, everyone added to the film as we all could relate to it because we all have a modern woman around us. I have just been catching those instances, moments from their lives and have penned them down. Unlike other commercials where I as a writer sit, write and give it to someone else, this one has almost been like a journey where I have written and rewritten and again rewritten. This film has evolved as there is a very thin line between being rebellious and being right.”

It takes a lot of courage and understanding for a man to get into a woman's shoes and understand the feelings and emotions she goes through while she is pregnant. For Haque, it was a challenge to write the script. He added, “When we started working on the film, Sirish (Marketing head) said that a woman should write it and I took it as a challenge because it is not like I am not a sensitive person and don't see things around. We did have a panel of writers who were all women. But I am proud of the film as I have written a film a woman could relate to.”

The film has mostly first time actors

There are a lot of new faces in the ad film. Nobody looks like models and that brings reality to the screen. Haque is all praises for Vinil Mathew, the director of the film. He said, “Vinil Mathew (Director) should be given credit for the casting. He took a lot of time in pre-production. Most of them are not actors. They are all like Vinil's close friends. We wanted a certain body language of the strata that we are showing. They should all look like family and friends of the woman. The mother who is in the commercial has never acted before. She is the mother of a close friend of Vinil.”

The TVC is set at a beautiful baby shower and was shot in Madh Island, Mumbai. We see a young mother-to-be speak from her heart about the kind of mother she aspires to be. She starts off with the traditional things she will not follow, often defined by society as traits of a 'good mother'. Rather, she appreciates her own mother for being unconventional -- a woman who did not give up on her life, aspirations and passions. And for that very reason, her mother is her role model, teaching her to love her life as much as she will love her newborn baby.

A thumbs up from the peers

Swati Bhattacharya

Swati Bhattacharya, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Ulka, said, “The ad is lovely. So many literature, books, poems; all has been created by men. You don't have women writing about motherhood. Therefore, this is nice as it makes the mother into a real thing. This ad depicts a woman of today's day and age. To use baby shower in the ad is also such a nice thing to do.”

Simi Sabhaney

Simi Sabhaney, chief executive officer, Dentsu India, loves the ad. She said, “Yet again a beautiful message from Titan Raga. It busts the myth that a mother has to be a superwoman, always sacrificing, always there for her children. The brand legitimises the new avatar of moms who live and respect their lives and do not see motherhood as a state without blemishes. Motherhood is indeed a matter of choice. And we got nothing to be guilty of. A story told with great deal of honesty.”

Anuja Chauhan

Anuja Chauhan, Creative Consultant, JWT and writer, liked the way the ad has been kept simple. She said, “The best part about the ad was that they have not gone over the top to praise motherhood. The woman wasn't even a working woman. She was just a woman who had her own life, which is the most interesting thing of the ad. This ad is about a mother who loves to travel and loves having a good time. Mostly, people make ads where a mother is also a working woman. Clearly, she is leading a rich life and going to places. This ad is about a woman who has heard stories from her mother, instead of her grandfather. This pregnant girl in the ad is not criticising her mother. On the other hand, thanking her for living her life.”

Arun Iyer

Arun Iyer, Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas, said, “The ad is very sweet. It's in line with what Titan has been doing. It's a simple message that they are giving that it's alright if I want to prioritise my career and at the same time be a mother. It is perfectly fine. There are many women who would relate with it. It is a sweet ad, but it didn't move me as much it should have. I am not criticising, but talking about career is not totally new in today's day and age. It is one more progressive thought, which seems to be a trend in ads nowadays.”

The TVC:

https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/bmi/media/post_attachments/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Titan-Raga.jpg

Credits:

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Bangalore

National Creative Director: Rajiv Rao

Executive Creative Director: Azazul Haque and Mahesh Gharat

Creative Supervisor: Cynthia Unnikrishnan

Senior Vice President and Head of Advertising – South: Tithi Ghosh

Account Management: Sindhu Menon, Akshatha Poojari, Shivani Agarwal

Planning: Sreenesh Bhat, Abigail Dias

Agency Producer: Rajib Baruah

Production House: Breathless films

Director: Vinil Mathew

Producer: Swadha Kulkarni

Director of Photography: Ravi K Chandran

Music: Subhajit Mukerjee

Cast: Meher Mistry, Sreekanth Das, Purnima Rathore, Mayank Dwivedi

Post Production Head: Kunal Suvarna

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com