Mirinda says release the pressure

Mirinda says release the pressure

Mirinda

MUMBAI: In 2017, Mirinda, the orange flavoured sparkling drink from PepsiCo gave the country’s youth a voice and told the story of exam pressure they go through because of parents. This year, with the second edition of its ‘Release The Pressure’ campaign, the brand is making this voice louder and bringing to the forefront the issue of constant comparison by parents.

Mirinda ignites conversations around the issue through a moving short film, created by award-winning director Shoojit Sircar. Inspired by focused group discussions conducted across the country with students, the film hopes to be a mirror for society and aims to bring attention to students’ distress. It features real teenagers and focuses on the issues of parental pressure, and what happens when parents constantly compare their kids to peers, neighbours and siblings. Shoojit Sircar also directed the digital film for the first edition of the brand’s international award-winning campaign.

PepsiCo India senior vice president, beverage category Vipul Prakash believes that the latest campaign stems from an insight that homes turn into pressure zones as exam season approaches. Parents have good intentions at heart but sometimes their motivation methods end up being stressful for their kids. “Continuing the momentum of the first edition of the campaign, our goal this year is to help people understand and acknowledge that constant comparison is detrimental to a student’s performance,” he says.

The powerful film, conceptualised by creative agency BBDO, aims to make parents realise how situations of constant comparison can lead to lower self-esteem amongst teenagers.

As a popular national brand, Mirinda stands committed to its teenage audience and their interests. In the latest campaign, the agency has built on last year’s brand idea ‘Release The Pressure’ by decoding the actions that add pressure in the teenager's life. BBDO India chairman and chief creative officer Josy Paul mentions that one big action or pressure point is the constant comparison that parents use to push their children. The campaign focuses on this unhealthy behaviour of constant comparison — that is known to lead to depression in children. The campaign encourages parents to discuss constructive ways to support their children, especially during exam time.

Director of the film, Shoojit Sircar says, “Stress, pressure, tension are unfortunately words which have become a part of the daily vocabulary of teenagers across India. There is undue pressure on students and as a society, we need to wake up and take responsibility. The next generation of world leaders will emerge only when we are able to give them space to grow, learn well and flourish without putting any undue pressure on them.”

Mirinda will also roll out a 360-degree plan starting with the ‘Release the Pressure’ digital film, followed by on-ground activations and a robust radio and print campaign. Over the next few months, the brand will invite people to pledge to ‘Release the Pressure’ through a series of online and offline partnerships.