Bold appeal for fresh eyewear
A new digital ad by Fastrack tries to communicate to its young audience in their own language urging them to opt for more fashionable eyewear
It isn’t new for advertisers to target a young audience with content that isn’t appropriate for family viewing. And Fastrack has been a notable youth-oriented brand that has consistently come up with risqué commercials that appeal to sensibilities of a young, urban population. In its latest campaign, Fastrack has floated a digital advertisement that tries to woo fashionable youths in the age group of 18-25 with an unabashed narrative that urges them to “get fresh”.
The ad shows a boy and a bespectacled girl with a colourful frame. The film, less than half-a-minute long, flashes a montage of shots that include the girl popping a chewing gum, two magnets getting hooked, the lovers’ embrace, drum roll, close-up of a splash and the cuckoo emerging from a clock, etc., leaving little to imagination as to what transpires between the pair.
Suparna Mitra, chief marketing officer, watches and accessories, Titan Company Limited, says that the Eyeplus division in Titan — which deals with eyewear — experimented with frames using the Fastrack brand sometime ago, and found much traction. “They felt if they could advertise and present it as one more offering from the umbrella of Fastrack and reached out to consumers as opposed to them discovering these in stores, that would be a sound idea in terms of generating more demand. That is the original idea for this campaign.”
Fastrack is known for its irreverent, edgy brand image. On the other hand, in the category of frames, there is no specific brand for youths, argues Mitra, whereas international brands are higher priced. Titan Eyeplus claims to be the largest optical chain in the country, and it is known for eye testing and optometry as well as its range of colourful frames and lenses.
The campaign was conceptualised by 22Feet Tribal Worldwide. Ramraaj Raghunathan, national lead of the agency, says, “The most challenging part of the brief was to find a way to have the Fastrack tonality showcase a category like frames, which is usually not considered sexy. We had to go back to the drawing board a few times before we finally hit the sweet spot. ‘Get Fresh’ is the kind of language the youth is comfortable with and we felt that language connect is the most important way of displaying a category like this.”
Frames, as a category, has always played it safe, he adds. This presented an opportunity for Fastrack to differentiate itself. “The stills and the video treatment were approached through a lens of bringing some raw sex appeal into the category. We ensured this was done in a manner that best connected with the youth.”
The eyewear market in India is fragmented and largely not organised. While Titan is a leading player, new companies including online firms are taking the cue to raise the chunk of the organised segment.
Shalini Gupta, marketing, design and visual merchandising head, Titan Eyeplus, says the company has 455 stores across more than 200 towns, and it is looking to saturate this market as well as penetrate newer and smaller markets. “We do have all kind of frames at very good pricing, because multiple ownership is also a trend with youths below 25, who contribute greatly in terms of volumes for us although we cater to segments from kids to senior citizens. Youths don’t want just one product.”
Fastrack is known for its irreverent, edgy brand image. On the other hand, in the category of frames, there is no specific brand for youths