Brand biradari beyond borders
Violence and pangs of Partition and war as themes are taking a backseat and are forming a back drop against which stories of love, sportsmanship, selfcontrol and winning over uncontrolled emotions are being played
The World Cup cricket has come to an end but the story of rivalry it generated will go on. That’s what sports is all about. The zeal to dominate, defeat, win — which are embedded in human being — when let loose and are uncontrolled create violence, conflict, and finally war. Sports takes the sting out of violence, transform hate, anger into a healthy rivalry and bring back sanity through a catharsis of emotion. It resolves conflict in a spirit of camaraderie and laughter. The narrative of India and Pakistan rivalry is very close to our hearts and has been a pet theme in the popular culture latching on to sports, documentaries, movies and serials. But if we look closely there is a progressive diminishing of jingoism in it in spite of continuing unrest at the border, and serious differences on both the sides on the political front.
A Haquiqath, Tamosh , Border have made their rounds but the progressive failures of Indo- Pak war movies like LOC Kargil, Lakshya, Zameen et all are proved less and less takers for the high dose of violence and war.
The violence and pangs of partition and war as themes are more and more taking a backseat and are forming a back drop against which stories of love, sportsmanship, self- control and winning over uncontrolled emotions are being played. In Veer Zaara Anupam Kher, playing a veteran Pakistani lawyer, finally decided not to see everything through the narrative of revenge. A new generation led by a global youth brings in a new sense of co- existence. Over the years in the entertainment world pure villains have started leaving the stage; fair and foul have started co existing in the protagonist giving birth to a new hero- villain amalgamation bringing a new richness to the character . What connects in the story of Milkha Singh is not the rivalry of two countries but the victory of Milkha over his childhood trauma of family massacre and his zeal to win in the race of life; not to forget the appreciation of a rival country Premier who coined the term “Flying Sikh”. Sports is establishing its final victory over war.
As consumerism and globalisation are breaking borders brands are taking charge to connect people. For a marketer there is only one homogenous mass- consumer. Brands found in the theme of India Pakistan rivalry a storehouse of interesting stories for consumer communication. Consumers of one country culture may have their own sense of friend and foe, win and loss, but at the end of the day they are human beings and therefore when brands picked up these stories they become subject matter of interest to a huge mass of subcontinent. Take the sting out of these sagas they become palatable and memorable communication pieces. Everyday the drama of patriotism is being played out at Wagah border. In a 30 second commercial Fevikwik transforms the intense drama of beating retreat into a warm human drama of two friendly neighbouring solders in two different country outfits. The Indian soldier applies Fevikwik to mend the shoes of his Pakistani counterpart to save him from public embarrassment. “Toro nahi joro “— the Fevikwik sermon at the end of the commercial goes much beyond the bonding of a gaping shoe sole. Brand Google tells the story how two childhood friends of pre partition days got united in their old age by their tech savvy grandchildren using Google search apps. The Mauka series ads released by Star Sports during World Cup cricket were based on the built- up tension and angst of a Pakistani cricket fan and has been gleefully shared quoted and adapted both by Indians and Pakistani fans from across the border in social networking sites.
A Coca Cola film shows that what unites us is stronger than what sets us apart. Coke installed high- tech vending machines in two popular shopping malls in Lahore, Pakistan and Saket, New Delhi, — two cities separated by only 325 miles, but seemingly worlds apart due to decades of political tension . Coke invited consumers to put their differences aside and share a simple moment over a Coke. People from both countries and various walks of life were encouraged to complete a friendly task together — wave, touch hands, draw a peace sign or dance before sharing a Coca- Cola. Cultural and social tensions exist around the world, and they exist for selfish reasons. But deep down — as this film shows — humanity is about togetherness and happiness.”
Civilisation has always wanted to tame war by introducing the codes of Dharma; war is not an end in itself, it is an engagement to attain and achieve a bigger cause/ purpose. Flout them at your own peril.
Heroes have lost their greatness by breaking those codes and earned black spots in their shining heroic career. A Yudhisthir, Vishma, Drona none could escape the consequences of their transgression.
Myths of today are being created by brands and technology. Across nations, castes, creeds brands are homogenising people into one entity of consumer and binding them through experiential communication of friendship joy and togetherness. There was a time when the sole purpose of creating a brand was to create a difference in value perception in the quality of the product it represents. Brands today have broken the barrier of the physicality of the products and are associating themselves with ideas which appeal to the new generation consumers. Coke talks about happiness, Surf about saving more water, Fiat is about responsible anti polluting drive and a simple gum Fevikwik is about connecting. Not a bad story of brand evolution.
The writer is VP, consumer insight & human
futures development, McCann Erickson India. You can contact him on kishore. chakraborti@ mc
cann. com