There was absolutely no other campaign I would rather start this series with.
Lifebuoy Gondappa is not only a brilliantly executed campaign but is also one of my personal favourites.
This was released around the same time I first stepped into the advertising world and there was so much to look forward to because I was working at the same ad agency which created this masterpiece.
Let’s look at the ad first and then talk about it
Advertising Background:
Even before this campaign, Lifebuoy was associated with supporting causes and bringing about changes in the society.
‘Gondappa’ is one of the campaigns under this initiative of ‘Help a child reach 5’ by Lifebuoy.
Advertising Objective:
The film aims to bring to light the issue of diarrhea- related deaths in Indian villages, these are numbers that run into millions.
This particular film talks about the village Thesgora, in Madhya Pradesh, which encounters one of the highest rates of diarrhea patients.
The disease is preventable with the simple act of washing hands and hence the brand connect was established.
The objective was to engage and educate audience about the cause and help in the change.
Advertising Execution:
The campaign was released both through the television medium and digitally as well. There is always more creative liberty possible when its released online because then you don’t need to work around cutting it short to fit that 30 sec duration.
The film was released on YouTube and towards the end of the video you could see an option to pledge, redirecting you to their Facebook page, to support the cause.
Advertising Learnings:
It’s not often that a brand strikes that emotional chord instead of just talking about the benefits and screaming Sales!
Lifebuoy did that, and with such ease.
I love the way the entire film comes together, right from the start where you see the hand-print on the soil, you are hooked, you want to see whats next.
Each of the scenes are shot so well, that at some point during this 3 minute film you might actually feel the pain the man might be experiencing.
It triggers your emotional side so well.
What’s noteworthy is that there was no brand mention till the end screen and its important to point this out, because we are assuming that the viewer will be so hooked onto the content that they will watch it till the end to know the brand.
It also shows that the aim of the brand is the ‘cause’ and not directly ‘sales’.
The film presents you with actual facts of the number of people dying every year by a preventable disease, it adds the layer of authenticity and makes you want to get up and help support the cause.
Very few brands have been able to establish this space of Brand Love and Lifebuoy has done this beautifully.