Ad Review: Birla Sun Life Insurance - leaving nothing to chance

Remember the day when you first got a washing machine at your home – or the fridge or the geyser? The day when you got car at home was nothing less than a celebration. Memories of these first things bought by the hard earned money of your dad must be fresh in your mind. The multinational culture and the hefty pay packages have however, made these things a regular need and a usual artefact. As the pay packets have grown the dreams of today’s youth have increased multi-fold. While the aspirations are sky high and there is always a hurry to achieve those dreams, rare are those who plan for the unexpected and secure the future. It is this idea, the new Birla Sun Life insurance aims to capture. Banking on the idea of making you better prepared for tough times, a new campaign has been launched by Birla Sun Life Insurance asking people not to leave their dreams on ‘luck by chance’

Client: Birla Sun Life Insurance
Product: Protection Solution
Agency: JWT
Medium: Television

The Brief:
The youth today has big dreams for themselves and their loved ones. The financial confidence has made them believe that they are the master of their fate. Despite of reading about mishaps with young professionals every day, there are very few who take proactive actions in order to secure them. The average Indian's apathy and inertia is evident from the fact that the pure protection category merely contributes to 3% of the total industry premium. The idea of not letting people leave their dreams to fate or destiny is the brainchild behind the whole concept.

Speaking on the idea behind the campaign, Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group said, “Protection” is a primary solution that must be in the portfolio of all the people who have families or loved ones dependant on them. And still, pure protection solutions contribute to only 3% of the life insurance pie. To move our viewers from a sense of inertia or ‘it can only happen to others’, towards action, we had to make the communication credible and still, provocative. We have aimed to do this through a vivid real-to-life situation from all of our lives. That is what set the foundation for the whole campaign.

The new campaign has been developed by JWT. The advertisement breaks through the clutter of communication available today by similar financial services companies, says Nandita Chalam, Vice President & Executive Creative Director, JWT, adding “The commercial certainly breaks clutter because it is based on a very thought- provoking insight - can you leave your dreams to fate? There is a moment in the film that shakes the viewer into thinking. On a day just like any other, a young couple narrowly escapes a brush with death. Call it luck by chance, destiny or fate; it does shake up the couple in the film and the viewer. The differentiating factor of the ad is its very real and slice of life feel. There is absolutely nothing 'ad-dy' about the ad. The couple are just like any young couple with dreams, the day is just like any other, but then something happens that makes it a day very unlike any other.

Expert Opinion:
The advertisement has been successful in capturing the attention of the viewer in a common but every-day story. The visual treatment gets one immersed in the conversation before making a point through the sudden shock. The Industry practitioners also believe the communication puts its point across in a simple and straight manner making it effective, though it’s not something that hasn’t been done before.

Jaibeer Ahmad, Vice President, Saatchi & Saatchi, says “The ad is nicely executed and the light playful conversation keeps you engaged. However, there is nothing new that has not been said before; the consumer insight is generic to the category. Only Half way through the ad you realize it is for a financial category. I would give it at 3/5.”

Ritu Sharda, Senior Creative Director, Publicis India, seems to be pretty impressed by the effort. She adds “A young couple talking about their dreams and then a dramatic wake-up call is something one has seen before, however this one has some things that stand out.The performances by both the actors are really good, very natural. And it is this that makes u want to watch this ad again and again.
However I wish the dramatic end had been more dramatic. It would have helped make the point better. Simply because its the standard insurance selling formula.The ad breaks through the clutter to some extent because the performances are so fresh, however, regular conversation turning to something dramatic is a tried and tested route and mostly works. I will give it 3.5 out of 5.

Our Take:
Everything about this ad is as regular, as usual, as generic as possible, but still it succeeds in driving home the point. Natural acting by the actors, no starry faces, a sudden realization through the shock and a simple message ‘Kahin aap apne sapno ko kismet par to nahi chor rahe’ towards the end, makes it an impactful communication. The ad would emotionally appeal more to the youth from towns and villages who come to cities with big dreams and aspirations but do not think too much about insurance and their own protection. An idea well executed, I would give it a 4 out of 5.

Credits:
Creative Agency: JWT India
Director for the film: Amit Sharma
Production House: Chrome Pictures
Media Planning: Mindshare
Creative: Tista Sen, Nandita Chalam, Dipesh Kowarkar, Siddharth Joglekar, Kunjika Talpade
Servicing: Samarth Shrivastava, Swati Bobde, Vineeta Sukhija, Amita Servaia
Planning: Rajesh Mehta

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