MUMBAI: The Times of India is getting aggressive in Kerala, the new state where the English newspaper is going all out to conquer. Having launched multiple editions in the state, it has come up with an ad campaign that celebrates the competitive spirit of the modern Malayalee.
The ad campaign, created by JWT, captures ‘A Day in the Life of Kerala‘. The latest film will largely be broadcast online, in cinema halls and on all the local news channels. It is targeted at every Malayalee who can read English and is a potential reader of The Times of India in Kerala.
"The film is a satire that celebrates the competitive spirit of the modern Malayalee, in the typical Times of India point of view. ‘A Day in the Life of Kerala‘ is an authentic news commentary on the state of Kerala today, where competition breeds chaos between communism and capitalism," said JWT NCD Senthil Kumar who is also the writer and creative director of this campaign.
The Times of India plans to come out with more campaigns that would stress on the traits of the state.
"The newspaper giant has rolled out only one ad film that captures ‘A Day in the Life of Kerala‘. Going forward there could be others that bring alive a completely different perspective on the state," said Kumar.
The client‘s brief was to take the high decibel ‘God‘s Own Delivery Boys‘ launch campaign forward with a film that brings to life the state of Kerala today and celebrates the competitive spirit of the modern Malayalee.
The TVC begins with a political stand-off between left party and right party on two boats that crash into each other and soon the river is blocked from bank to bank, creating a bottleneck in the backwaters.
Competition breeds chaos but triggers a bridge between the two sides, as some locals use the stranded chain of boats like a bridge over the backwaters to give the message "It happens only in Kerala."
According to Kumar, the response has been phenomenal so far with the anthemic local folk musical track by the legendary ‘Kalabhavan Mani‘ receiving a standing ovation in several cinema halls and online forums.
"We are hoping that the popularity of this campaign ensures local brand equity for The Times of India and amplifies its readership across the state. While the campaign has already made the local headlines, we would be happy if The Times of India becomes the largest read English daily in Kerala soon," Kumar concluded.
The launch campaign was largely directed towards recruiting new readers in Kerala. It was spread across outdoor, print and live events that highlighted the concept of ‘God‘s Own Delivery boys‘ across 10 different cities where the Times Kerala edition is printed. As part of the launch, hundreds of elephant delivery boys and warriors of the ancient Kalaripayattu form were engaged and a floating tea shop which is a popular apsect of Kerala culture was invented as well.
The effort was supported by a radio campaign and a music video by Malayalam Rock Band ‘Avial‘ along with several local musicians, bands and dancers who performed in the week long Times Kerala festival.
