Mumbai: The new campaign by Volkswagen India explores the chaotic fun of last-minute Diwali preparations.
‘Whatever Diwali Brings You, We Got You’ is a series of four digital films that capture the imperfect yet memorable moments when plans don’t’ turn out the way they are supposed to, during last-minute Diwali preparations and Volkswagen steps in to save the day. Through humorous storytelling, the films highlight how fixing problems is a seamless and enjoyable experience when you are in a Volkswagen, thanks to the brand’s emphasis on safety and fun-to-drive.
The first film, titled ‘A Decoration Situation,’ humorously portrays a family’s attempt to put up Diwali lights, only to realize they’ve picked the wrong size. A last-minute dash to rectify the situation becomes a memorable part of their celebration.
‘Same Pinch,’ the second film, takes us to a party where a girl finds herself in an unexpected outfit clash and goes back to change, only to later find out that someone else brings the same gift as hers.
In ‘Forget-me-nots,’ the third film, a family is on their way to celebrate Diwali, when the couple suddenly recalls that the husband left behind the festive gifts. A swift U-turn in their Volkswagen becomes the solution to this forgetful moment.
The fourth film, ‘Tight Spots,’ starts with a young boy entering the room with ill-fitting pants, leading to a spontaneous trip to buy a new pair.
Each of these scenarios showcase Volkswagen as the solution to the unexpected festive challenges. Departing from traditional product-centric approaches in the auto industry codes of advertising, the new Volkswagen campaign focuses on warm, human-centric stories, emphasizing togetherness during the festive season. The campaign aligns with the new brand positioning of ‘You’re in a Volkswagen’ which built robust emotional equity in the market, underscoring the joy of owning a Volkswagen and how it made owners feel when they drove it.
DDB Mudra Group CCO Rahul Mathew shared, “With ‘You’re in a Volkswagen,’ we aimed to capture the various emotions that we unlock in the lives of our customers. So for Diwali, we decided to look beyond the typical festivities and embrace the significance of little moments.”
Mumbai: McDonald’s India North and East’s new heart-warming video captures the essence of Diwali with a twist. Titled “Celebrating #ForyourotherDiwali” the film showcases the joy of celebrating the festival of lights in a unique way, with the all-new special Wraps, the perfect on-the-go snacking option.
Talking about the launch of the campaign and the special Wraps, McDonald’s India – North and East managing director Rajeev Ranjan said, “Our festivals are a time of togetherness, laughter & bonding. At McDonald’s India North & East we understand the importance of Feel-good delicious memorable moments created during these occasions. Apart from usual grandeur of lights and Rangolis, the peacefulness of a traditional puja, intimate gathering with family and friends, there are many other unique ways, our customers create times of togetherness and celebrate those moments during Diwali. Our new film built on this insight featuring the launch of value wraps, Available for a limited time only, is calling everyone to embrace their own unique way of celebrating Diwali. We are hopeful of this resonating well with our customers”
Conceptualised by DDB Mudra Group, North, the film opens in a Delhi neighbourhood colony on Diwali night. Two teenage friends arrive on the scene, a McDonald’s bag in their hands, clearly looking for someone. They are being guided by a third friend over the phone towards a basket hanging by a rope. They load the bag in the basket, and it rises towards the building’s roof, being pulled up by their friend. We now see that he is on a special meeting with a girl on terrace. As the couple enjoys their McDonald’s wraps, a tender moment unfolds between them under the velvet sky, punctuated by sparkling fireworks. The perfect setting for an Other Diwali moment celebrated with McDonald’s Value Wraps.
Introduced for a limited period, the special wraps consisting of three different variants, make an excellent selection for anyone seeking a flavoursome snack or meal during the festival season. These festive period wraps would be offered ala-carte and in meals in select McDonald’s outlets in the North and East regions, as well as through Delivery partners, takeout, and drive-thru. The wraps would be Available in three options McAloo Wrap, McEgg Wrap, and Tandoori Chicken Wrap are priced at an attractive price point of Rs 79 & above
Mumbai: Omnicom chairman and CEO John Wren has named Aditya Kanthy as CEO of the newly formed Omnicom Advertising Services group in India. Kanthy will oversee Omnicom’s creative agencies in the region, focusing on talent, cross-agency collaboration, and innovation to drive growth in one of the company’s fastest-growing markets. The respective creative agencies within the group – DDB, BBDO and TBWA – will maintain their current branding in the Indian market.
Omnicom Advertising Services will bring together the power of Omnicom to provide exceptional integrated solutions to meet the needs of clients in India. The group will capitalize on the top talent housed within its leading networks and work in partnership with other Omnicom agencies, such as Omnicom Media Group, to further strengthen Omnicom’s comprehensive offering in India. Omnicom recently announced the creation of large global capability centers with four campuses out of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Gurgaon.
“This year India will become the most populous nation on the planet. It is an important growth engine for Omnicom. By centralizing the leadership of three creative powerhouses under Aditya, we will continue to build on our agencies’ strong foundations to deliver a wider breadth of capability and scale for our clients,” said Omnicom chairman and CEO John Wren. “Aditya brings deep experience to the newly created Omnicom Advertising Services, and our India operations is primed to thrive under his leadership.”
Kanthy, currently CEO of DDB Mudra Group, began his career in Mudra in 2003 as a strategic planner, taking on various responsibilities over the years including Chief Strategy Officer, a role in which he helped shape India’s most successful independent advertising agency into an Omnicom-owned integrated marketing communications group. As the new leader of Omnicom Advertising Services India, he will further strengthen Omnicom’s presence and ensure all of our capabilities are extended to our top clients.
Speaking about this development, Aditya Kanthy said, “Omnicom is the most creative global network in the world. Our agencies represent the enduring power of creativity to build brands and businesses. I look forward to bringing the might of the Omnicom network to clients in India and continue to attract the best creative talent in one of the most exciting markets in the world.”
Mumbai: Volkswagen India has rolled out its new brand communication ‘You’re in a Volkswagen’ on 23 August 2023, that captures the true emotion of owning a car.
The new brand communication captures a 360° perspective emphasising what it means to drive a Volkswagen. Conceptualised by the DDB Mudra Group, the new consumer-friendly campaign takes a brand-first approach to build a robust emotional equity in the automobile market.
The brand has a strong portfolio of German-engineered cars: Virtus, Taigun & Tiguan. In tandem with the India 2.0 strategy, Volkswagen cars are bigger, bolder & better. Taigun and Virtus have owned the safety narrative on Indian roads – with both scoring the five stars for adult and child occupant safety on the GNCAP safety tests. Armed with this strong portfolio, Volkswagen India is creating a larger network and bringing the Volkswagen experience closer to customers.
In a belief to deliver on the promise constantly, Indiantelevision.com caught up with Volkswagen India’s marketing head Abbey Thomas, who elaborated the campaign in detail and shared interesting insights on their current market share and much more…
Edited excerpts
On the brief overview of this brand campaign
This campaign story that we put together is our overall journey, from the year 2009 and until now, as to what has changed, or the markets have changed, how our communication has changed, how we have reached out to the market, as compared to the earlier years. So if I look at the story from today, it’s about a new journey ahead. So in 2020, we introduced India 2.0 which had the new introduction ‘driving under waters’. There is also a time when we actually change the the brand design, so it went into an India 2.0 brand design. The 2.0 brand design basically gets a lot of vibrancy back and brand. If you look at the touch points across the country, we are network sales touchpoints. As such points are communication, we were much more vibrant, much more younger, much more youthful, with a lot of attitude back into the brand, it is not just an engineering product, it’s not just an engineered product, it’s purely in terms of also getting the lifestyle back into the brand, which was very important for us to establish. What we have done today, from the year 2023 onwards is now take it to the next level, we would retain the vibrancy, we would retain the attitude, but we will make it much more real, you know, we will make our campaigns our communication and messaging much more real, touching the heart lines and the cords of people across the country. And that can be done by building a story around real India. The story is about you and me. It’s not just about celebrities or influencers or anybody else. It’s about us that we bind to our cause and that is what our new journey is all about. When we say you are in the Volkswagen, we are selling you and we are communicating to you what we stand for. We want you to know that when you buy into us, you would be really buying into the values of what we have set ourselves for in the last 15 years or 13 years in this country. These values are pretty strong values that we’ve held on to for many, many years. Be it built quality, be it safety, these elements that we’re very, very proud of. So our engines performed beautifully. Well our engines are resized engines, no longer the huge big engines, but we have nice frugal engines, which really delivers great efficiency.
On the current market share of Volkswagen in India and the increase in car sales post COVID
Overall the industry is doing very well. We have gone back into pre COVID levels, the industry has bounced back, everybody is selling more cars. We are a very small player in this market. We were approximately one per cent of the market share, today we are inching towards a two per cent market share. Hopefully in the coming years, we should be looking at at least three per cent market share to increase the base in our country. So we are not really going there to sell 40 per cent market share or 10 per cent. That’s not the kind of thought that we have. We want to inch closer because we play in a segment that is slightly more on the premium side. It’s slightly about the mass segment and we call us on top of what the mass segment is called as a volume segment and we are slightly placed about the top of volume. That means we built our cars, not to reduce cost, but to ensure highest levels of safety, highest levels of product quality and durability onto your cars, so that you can retain your cars not less than three years, you can retain it for five years and to eight years more and this car will do absolutely well. So it’s also the total cost of ownership of this car over a longer period of time.
On ensuring customer and vehicle safety owing to the tough conditions the monsoon season brings
Our cars are fantastic in terms of safety. Yes, there are brands which has achieved the same, but on the safety ratings as far as the crash test is concerned the GNCAP rating, (which stands for global NCAP rating), we are a five star rated product, both in terms of front occupants and also the rear occupants. So once you have a seatbelt on, you are as safe as you can be ever in an automobile, anywhere in the world. So I think that’s something we are very, very proud about. And we have stories we don’t want to send out sad stories, but we want to send out stories of people who’ve got a second lease of life and put them into our cars. And even if they had an accident, they walked out without a scratch. I think that’s something that we are very proud about.
On consumers excited in buying sedans or small cars
The there was a time when small hatchbacks used to be the story, but yes, today people have graduated more and they have gone into buying bigger cars so A-0 SUV segment and the A-0 sedan segment are really popular and extremely powerful in that space and therefore I believe that these are the two growth segments in this country.
Mumbai: Volkswagen India rolls out its new brand communication ‘You’re in a Volkswagen’ that captures the true emotion of owning a car: ‘For those who are in love with driving, in love with motion’. A Volkswagen isn’t just a car, it’s a people’s car. Our customers vouch for it. “I cannot wait to grab my keys and go for a drive in my Volkswagen. It’s such a no-nonsense car,” said one of the Volkswagen consumers.
Filled with stories that become memories, it absorbs the emotions of all its occupants while being driven and covering a million kilometres across the cities of India. A true driver’s choice that receives an unparalleled experience of uncompromised safety, superior build quality, comfort and a fun-to-drive journey.
The new brand communication captures a 360° perspective emphasizing what it means to drive a Volkswagen. A brand promise that prioritizes a holistic customer experience, right from the offerings to must-have essential product features that service initiatives, make us transparent and valuable. A Volkswagen stands for accessible and premium mobility solutions, a value-for-money proposition to its customers.
Conceptualized by the DDB Mudra Group with media planning by PHD, the new consumer-friendly campaign takes a brand-first approach to build robust emotional equity in the automobile market. You’re in a Volkswagen is inclusive: It’s about people & their families, the human moments that make Volkswagen, a Volkswagen. One must experience it, to understand the beauty of it.
In a belief to deliver on the promise constantly, this is a stride to become more accessible to Indians & celebrate the rich diversity that India entails.
Volkswagen Passenger Cars India brand director Ashish Gupta said, “Our new brand campaign is centred around a simple yet powerful idea – ‘the quintessential moments experienced by our customers in a Volkswagen’. It is a celebration of the passion, exhilaration, freedom and joy that’s experienced from being behind the wheel. The unforgettable journeys and memories that make every drive extraordinary in a Volkswagen. It’s a promise that we as Volkswagen offer our customers, German-engineering, safety and a fun-to-drive experience.”
Volkswagen India Head of Marketing & PR Abbey Thomas said, “The core theme of the campaign revolves around the concept that a Volkswagen is not just a machine to own, but a vehicle designed to be driven and experienced. This includes its commitment to safety, innovation and German engineering, its superior build quality, a suite of world-class services and above all the fun-to-drive experience that is such a characteristic of all Volkswagen-engineered cars. It will urge customers to get behind the wheel of a Volkswagen because when it comes to a Volkswagen, the true experience is when you sit behind the wheels and enjoy the comfort & driving dynamics that’s when you’ll know – You’re in a Volkswagen.”
DDB Mudra Group chief creative officer Rahul Mathew said, “When you make cars for the love of driving and for those in the cars, then you become more than just a car – you become a feeling. And Volkswagen has always embodied this. It was now time for us to come out and say it – You’re in a Volkswagen.”
The hallmark of this campaign lies in its availability in eight local languages which stands as a testament to the brand’s commitment to fostering stronger connections with its customers. This multilingual endeavour ensures that the brand message is not just understood, but also felt on a personal and emotional level, making the campaign a truly immersive experience.
The brand has a strong portfolio of German-engineered cars: Virtus, Taigun & Tiguan. In tandem with the India 2.0 strategy, Volkswagen cars are bigger, bolder & better. Taigun and Virtus have owned the safety narrative on Indian roads – with both scoring five stars for adult and child occupant safety on the GNCAP safety tests. Armed with this strong portfolio, Volkswagen India is creating a larger network and bringing the Volkswagen experience closer to customers.
Mumbai: In partnership with DDB Mudra Group, Raymond Ltd. has launched an exclusive campaign for Ethnix, showcasing the latest collection to celebrate the joy of shopping together with family and friends. This campaign celebrates the grandeur and glamour of Indian festive fashion.
With the wedding season upon us, Ethnix by Raymond is set to offer the best ethnic wear fashion, such as sherwanis, kurtas, bundis, and jackets, to shoppers. Raymond is in the process of launching more than 90+ ethnicwear stores across India for families to shop together, coordinate outfits, and complement each other’s looks.
The brand has adopted an integrated approach to bring alive an idea, integrating fashion with togetherness and inclusivity. The campaign comprises a megafilm for theatre release, print, outdoor, and digital advertising.
Elaborating on the campaign, Raymond CMO Himanshu Khanna says, “Weddings and festivities have always been occasions to unite families. The preparations start well in advance, usually with extensive and intensive shopping trips. The vibe of these festivities can only be cherished when families shop together. The idea of this campaign is to reinforce the fact that Indians are all about celebrating every happy occasion with family, be it a festival, wedding, or shopping spree.”
DDB Mudra Group’s national integration head Gaurav Magotra said, “Shopping online is a convenience. But shopping at an exclusive store is an experience. We wanted to celebrate the magic of getting ready for a big occasion on a bigger map. The baaraat could, in fact, begin at an Ethnix by Raymond store!”
The Ethnix by Raymond advertisement will be screened across movie halls in cities where the brand has a physical presence through stores. The campaign will also have a significant digital presence. Shot entirely in an Ethnix by Raymond store, the film invites families to participate, feel the emotions, and have fun while shopping.
Mumbai: MTV India has joined hands with the country’s foremost creative powerhouse, DDB Mudra Group, to launch ‘BotHard‘—an AI-powered rapper and a state-of-the-art creative bot.
The partnership combines artificial intelligence with the rhyming sensibilities of hip-hop music. The revolutionary campaign offers a unique tech innovation and consumer engagement experience for fans of the genre and India’s first-ever hip-hop reality show.
Conceptualised by DDB Mudra Group for the iconic MTV show, BotHard breaks new ground across music, entertainment, and technology.
The name ‘BotHard‘ stems from the colloquially used Indian phrase “Bohot Hard,” which refers to a rap song or rhyme that is acknowledged as exceptional in the rap community.
The inception of BotHard underscores how real human talent in the musical genre of rapping remains unrivalled—with skill, practice, and finer nuances of musicality, technique, and performance.
The stage of Realme MTV Hustle 2.0, co-powered by Wild Stone’s new classic range and produced by Fremantle Media, has been grooming raw talent into industry-ready professionals since its premiere.
Speaking on the initiative, Viacom 18 head of youth, music, and English entertainment cluster Anshul Ailawadi said, “MTV has always been about bold visions and big moves. ‘BotHard’ is an example of disruptive, transmedia storytelling that complements the raison d’être for Realme MTV Hustle 2.0. With this initiative, we hope to redefine the consumer experience for our gen-z and millennial fans.”
Viacom18 marketing head for youth, music, and English entertainment Utsav Chaudhuri, said, “At MTV, we focus on strategic and innovative experiences across multiple youth touch-points. We are at the cusp of exciting possibilities with AI to drive narratives, recall value, and immersive consumer engagement. With the confluence of avant-garde technology and a multi-platform approach, we developed ‘BotHard’, a first-of-its-kind AI-powered rapper, to further put the spotlight on real, unmatched talent curated by Realme MTV Hustle 2.0.”
Speaking from the creative perspective, DDB Mudra Group chief creative officer Rahul Mathew said, “While this idea is built on cutting-edge technology, the most exciting part for us was how true it had to stay to hip-hop culture for it to be accepted by the audience. It lives at the right intersection of culture, creativity, and technology.”
The AI-powered rapper challenged some of the biggest names in the industry, across the globe. The bot also made an appearance on the show, battling the talent on Realme MTV Hustle 2.0. BotHard has piqued the curiosity of fans and audiences alike, who can challenge the bot to bust a rhyme (pun intended) on any word!
Mumbai: Volkswagen has launched a new campaign, titled ‘Hello Goosebumps’, for its sedan Virtus. Conceptualised by DDB Mudra Group, the film aims to plug in excitement and energy into the premium mid-size sedan segment by highlighting the thrill and joy of driving the new Volkswagen Virtus.
The striking, exhilarating and German-engineered new Volkswagen Virtus aims to reignite the premium midsize sedan with its ‘Big by’ design, performance, safety, connectivity, convenience and comfort. The Virtus is a true Volkswagen developed on the core DNA of the brand of build quality, safety and fun-to-drive experience and each element has been captured through the new TVC campaign.
Volkswagen’s media agency, PHD India, further elevated the launch campaign via its 360-degree incisive approach, covering all vital media channels, and crafting an effective marketing strategy. PHD was tasked with building enthusiasm and maximising outreach amongst its target audience to amplify the launch experience of Volkswagen Virtus.
The campaign kick-started on a high note with the ‘French Window Innovation’ in India’s top-read newspaper, The Times of India. Garnering scores of impressions across the country, this large-canvas innovation delivered high-visibility engagement that today’s audiences desire and was augmented by high-impact roadblocks on leading business and news digital publications to maximise reach and frequency.
The integrated campaign was further strengthened with an influencer marketing strategy featuring India’s leading mega influencers like Tamanaah Bhatia, Yami Gautam, Mrunal Thakur, and more, perfectly encapsulating the essence of Virtus’ tagline – ‘Hello Goosebumps!’ through their own personal and professional journeys.
Speaking on the campaign launch, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India head of marketing & PR Abbey Thomas commented, “With the launch of the new Volkswagen Virtus, our intention was to showcase the potential of the premium midsize sedan segment. The Virtus boasts of a striking design, exhilarating performance and German-engineered built and safety that has the ability to reignite the segment. Our communication positioning for the Virtus’ ‘Hello Goosebumps’ has been rightly captured by our partner DDB Mudra Group and amplified by PHD media in reaching out to our intended consumers. The combined efforts have elevated the excitement and thrill of driving sedans paving the way for an introduction truly befitting of the Virtus.”
DDB Mudra creative head – west Pallavi Chakravarti said, “This sedan looks like a dream and drives like one too. ‘Hello Goosebumps’ captures the essence of the Volkswagen Virtus in a simple, visceral campaign that every passionate driver will undoubtedly relate to.”
PHD Media India CEO Monaz Todywalla said, “Our partnership with Volkswagen gave us the opportunity to steer another big launch campaign to its true potential while staying true to PHD’s tradition of helping its clients make significant leaps in the marketing space. Utilising key strategies across all touchpoints to maximise reach, an outcome like this always gives us the impetus to continue building impactful experiences for brands like Volkswagen and elevate their marketing strategies to be a cut above the rest”.
Mumbai: Dentsu Webchutney, the digital creative agency from dentsu creative group India has once again demonstrated creative excellence with its outstanding performance at ‘The One Show 2022’. The agency converted 21 shortlists into 18 pencils, three merits and a best of discipline across multiple categories for its one-of-a-kind campaign, ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’.
Dentsu Webchutney was also named ‘The Most Awarded Agency across APAC’, with ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ bringing home seven gold, nine silver and two bronze for India. In March this year, Dentsu Webchutney emerged as the most awarded Indian agency at the Spikes Asia Awards with four grand prix, five gold, four silver & six bronze. In addition to this, the agency’s ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ campaign has also clinched nine shortlists at D&AD 2022.
FCB India was the sole other recipient of silver pencil from the country at The One Show 2022. The agency’s ‘The Mirror – See Me As I Am’ for UNAIDS won it the honour. Ogilvy India took home two bronze pencils for Mondelez India’s ‘Shah Rukh Khan – My Ad’. Byju’s (Masterji), DDB Mudra Group (EatQual – McDonald’s) and VMLY&R Commerce (Hackwashing – Lifebuoy) one a bronze each.
On dentsu Webchutney’s big win, dentsu international global chief creative officer Fred Levron said, “This piece shows what we want dentsu to be known for. Building brands through the power of modern creative. Combining cultural insights, technology and experience. There is a new creative ambition at dentsu and India is leading the way.”
Dentsu Creative group India chief executive officer Amit Wadhwa added, “These wins demonstrate to me, our clients and our industry that we are doing something very right and, most importantly, we are surrounded by the right people. Kudos to the entire team!”
dentsu Creative group India group chief creative officer Ajay Gahlaut commented, “Winning 18 One Show Pencils for a single piece of work is unprecedented and just goes to show the breakthrough quality of the work we do at dentsu. Congratulations to the army of people involved in conceiving and delivering this campaign, particularly during a worldwide pandemic.”
“What makes me proud is that this campaign is making a real impact in the world. These pencils are a testament to how new-age creativity of activating digital content at a physical location is blurring boundaries – be it platforms or geographical,” said Dentsu Webchutney and dentsuMB CCO Arjuna Gaur.
Mumbai: DDB Mudra Group has appointed Aniruddha Deb as executive vice president and head of business – North.
In his new role, Aniruddha will lead the integrated business between DDB Mudra and 22feet Tribal Worldwide in the North office. He will report to DDB Mudra Group managing partner – North Ashutosh Sawhney.
In his 19+ years of brand stewardship experience in advertising and marketing, Aniruddha has worked with global businesses like Unilever, Nestle, Wipro, Samsung, LG, HSBC, Vodafone, KFC, and Subway. He began his career with MullenLowe Lintas Group, where he rose through the ranks to lead Unilever’s detergents, oral care and deodorants business in SE Asia, operating out of Thailand.
After working with agencies such as Ogilvy, Publicis Groupe and Cheil Worldwide, he took on a marketing role and served as head of marketing at Mobiistar. Here, he launched the Vietnamese smartphone brand in India, both online and retail. His last stint was with Wunderman Thompson as senior vice president & executive business director, where a major part of his role was as the branch head, ADK Fortune, Bangalore.
“The last two years have accelerated clients’ needs for ‘Through the Line’ consumer-focused marketing,” said Ashutosh Sawhney. “The leaders for this hybrid discipline in our business are rare as they ought to have one foot planted in brand, human insights and strategy and the other in digital, platform-out thinking. Aniruddha’s appointment is in sync with this growing need as he complements both these skill sets with aplomb and has a keen appreciation of what is effective, creative work. We’re excited to see what the future of this hybrid model at the group holds with him on board.”
“With the changing landscape of creative agencies and an ongoing digital transformation, only a few networks have truly been able to shape themselves as a truly integrated agency in India and DDB Mudra Group is clearly one of them,” said Aniruddha Deb. “What attracts me is the company’s constant endeavour to grow and build great brands through recognisable and effective creative work and the ability and eagerness to provide integrated solutions irrespective of the kind of business they hold. It really excites me to come on board and lead client partnerships across mainline and digital. I hope to play a significant part in the group’s ongoing growth journey.”
