Celeb endorsements don’t move the needle in health insurance anymore: Niva Bupa CMO

New Delhi: Niva Bupa is steering clear of celebrity endorsements in its advertising, choosing influencers, regional advertising and pop culture storytelling.

“There was a time when celebrity endorsements were very persuasive. Today, consumers are well-read and street-smart. Paying for celebrity influence is no longer effective in health insurance. We believe the product and insight themselves are our trump cards. That’s why we have not used any celebrity for over four years, and we have no intention of changing that approach now,” said Nimish Agrawal, Director, CMO & Head – Digital SBU, Niva Bupa Health Insurance.

Backed by this philosophy, the insurer has rolled out a Rs 10-crore campaign “Yeh Hua Na Health Insurance” to support the launch of its flagship product ReAssure 3.0.

Watch the film here:

The multi-screen campaign spans mobile, connected TV, and linear TV, with a sharp focus on influencers, regional content, and pop culture storytelling to connect with tier 2 and tier 3 audiences where health insurance penetration remains low.

“The media landscape is highly fragmented today. Our plan covers platforms like Amazon and Hotstar, Google persona-based campaigns, CTV advertising, including YouTube, and high-reach Hindi news and movie channels. This ensures precision targeting while maintaining wide visibility,” Agrawal told BestMediaInfo.com.

Beyond the initial burst, the company will extend the campaign into long-form YouTube content and influencer collaborations. “YouTube has 1.3 times more health insurance searches than Google. Consumers are looking for detailed explanations, so this is where we will extend the conversation and educate them,” he added. Print and OOH are not part of the plan, signalling a clear focus on digital-first and screen-led engagement.

Regional activations will play a key role, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 markets. “A large part of our business pivots on tier 2 and tier 3 markets. Health insurance penetration there is low, so regional content is critical. The influencers help bridge that knowledge gap,” Agrawal said.

Agrawal also shed light on the thinking behind “Yeh Hua Na Health Insurance” and the positioning of ReAssure 3.0, which offers unlimited sum insured. He stressed that Niva Bupa has consciously stayed away from fear-based messaging, instead using humour and relatable insights to connect with consumers.

“One of the biggest problems in the health insurance journey is that a customer is asked to choose a sum insured without understanding the kind of medical exigency they or their family may face in the future. With ReAssure 3.0, we have ensured that customers never have to worry about the adequacy of their sum insured again,” he explained.

“We have married the product’s fundamental innovation, unlimited sum insured, with a pop culture insight that everyone can relate to: the feeling of always being told to ‘stay in the limit’. From childhood to adulthood, this is a recurring tension. The campaign aims to show that with ReAssure 3.0, there’s a way to live beyond these constraints,” Agrawal added.

The campaign film has been created by Leo, with Saarthak Dutta as Executive Creative Director, produced by Prodigious, and directed by Harsh Maheshwari, a former ECD at Leo India.

Explaining the creative idea, Dutta said, “For generations, especially among middle-class Indians, the mantra has been to ‘stay within limits’. From curbing desires in childhood to managing finances in adulthood, limits have always been there. We wanted to bring to life the feeling of breaking free from those constraints with Niva Bupa Health Insurance. The old Indian adage goes, ‘Chaadar ke baahar pair nahi failaane chahiye’ so we wanted to show what it would feel like if someone told you that there is no ‘chaadar’ at all. That freedom, that emotional liberation, is the heart of the campaign.”