MUMBAI: United Colors of Benetton, with a strong legacy of creating impactful campaigns over the years and taking bold stands on causes impacting the society, recently introduced its new campaign in India for the National Elections titled UnitedByVote. The new campaign and initiative is another significant step in the direction of celebrating democracy and the power of vote that every citizen of India holds.
The formal campaign launch was held in Mumbai at Jai Hind College witnessing a strong panel discussion with speakers including Benetton India CEO, MD Sundeep Kumar Chugh and Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan, Bhumi Pednekar, and Siddhanth Chaturvedi.
Benetton India launched #UnitedByVote with an inspiring video film that bursts the popular notion of all the promises made by dominant voices, who believe that power lies with them to decide and condition the minds of the citizens of the country on what they need. The ad film conceptualised by Taproot Dentsu, in keeping with Benetton’s bold stand on causes that affect society, urges people to unite in order to keep alive the values enshrined in the Constitution.
Speaking about #UnitedByVote, Chugh said, “Benetton Group has always been taking strong stands and supporting social causes with no diplomacy; it has been a part of our DNA. In recent years, political discourse the world over is tilting towards narratives that instill a fear of diversity, fear of the ‘other’, fear of what’s different and fear of what doesn’t conform to goad people into choosing elected representatives. The younger generation is not afraid to take a stand and voice their opinion on larger social issues and that is what they have come to expect from the brands that they endorse as well. #UnitedByVote is Benetton’s effort to rise above a simple transactional relationship and create a more meaningful voice - a voice that identifies and brings together all the diverse pillars of our society- to create something bigger, more powerful and all encompassing – a united nation exercising their power to vote rightfully.”
The manifesto of this campaign emphasises on how the real power does not lie with the political parties but with the public and asks them to show the power by exercising their right to vote. This is encapsulated in the video wherein the film shows references from political parties speeches making promises to the public at large until a finger with an ink mark comes into frame and shuts them up. The film ends with a title ‘show them who has the power’ followed by #UnitedByVote.
Commenting on the narrative of the film, Taproot Dentsu Gurgaon creative head Titus Upputuru said, “We were really excited because we wanted to bust the myth about power. The typical farce that happens during elections is politicians claiming that they can do this or that for the public; in saying so they seem to portray that they have the power to give us what we need and decide what we should eat, wear and believe. We wanted to tell the truth, that the power actually lies in the hands of the voter, because he or she decides who should govern and serve the country.”
