MUMBAI: The Himalaya Drug Company has brought forth the importance of practicing hand hygiene and sanitation with Himalaya Pure Hands - their latest offering in the germ-protection space.
With extended lockdowns and social distancing, when conventional advertising seems difficult, Himalaya and 82.5 Communications together have created a film that introduces the product to the world. And, it does so, using #ThePurestGreeting – the ancient Indian tradition of Namaste as a form of greeting.
The film is an ode to Namaste, the traditional Indian greeting, which has both spiritual and scientific dimensions to it. A soulful narrative runs through this unique film that has been shot, directed, and edited remotely, spanning across several countries. Over 15 Indian and international DoPs collaborated on this film. With Namaste, the film introduces the exciting range of Pure Hands Hand Wash and PureHands Hand Sanitizer to the world, with a reminder for everyone to ’keep distance but stay social’.
Speaking about the film, The Himalaya Drug Company CEO Philipe Haydon said, “This film captures the beauty, essence, and great wisdom of our Indian greeting, Namaste. Today, as we practice social distancing, the phenomenal knowledge and wisdom of this greeting holds great value in our lives. At Himalaya, we have always been inspired by our rich heritage. We hope that this film spreads love and happiness as well as keeps you all safe. Stay safe, stay healthy. Namaste from our hearts at Himalaya to yours.”
The Himalaya Drug Company business director-consumer products division Rajesh Krishnamurthy added, “Himalaya is a well-known and trusted Wellness brand, and we have always been at the forefront of ensuring the well-being of our consumers. With our Himalaya Pure Hands portfolio of Hand Wash and Hand Sanitizer, we ensure total hand hygiene, the first step to prevent infections. At a time when it's crucial to practice social distancing in addition to hand hygiene, Namaste is the warmest and best way to greet one another. With this brand film, we wish to highlight Namaste, the beautiful Indian custom of greeting, that has become more relevant today!”
82.5 Communications chairman and CCO Sumanto Chattopadhyay said, “The Namaste is such a beautiful yet practical gesture with so many layers of meaning. It is wonderful to make this film for Pure Hands as a vehicle to spread the message of the Namaste-a message that is all the more meaningful during the pandemic."
82.5 Communications ECD Mayuer Varma said, “While we are all trying our best to prevent the virus from spreading, we should keep spreading love. And a simple namaste helps us do that.”
The director, Shashank Chaturvedi, was clear he didn’t want to make another montage of user-generated home videos. “This idea deserved a film which was not a ‘usual lockdown film’. Didn’t want it to get lost in the sea of sameness. It had to have some finesse. The challenge was, how to do it? We collaborated with many cinematographers and photographers across the world and asked them to take two shots in their environment with the people they were quarantined with. They were given a mood board so that the shots didn’t lose synergy with each other during the editing stage.”
