First a confession. I have been an avid quizzer having participated successfully in Bournvita Quiz Contest on Vividh Bharti in the seventies (yes, I am vintage quality) and later on in the Brand Equity Quiz in the mid nineties. So when KBC started I was first excited and then disappointed. Disappointed, as the show in the first few years had ridiculously easy questions for a quizzer (it still has those questions but the spread of questions and the width of coverage has made the content more interesting ) and the charm of AB could not sustain my interest in the show for long. Then I left the shores of the country, AB left the show and it meandered on for a few seasons before dying out completely.
But in its new avatar the show has caught my attention. The width and the depth of the contestants geographically plus making the participants come alive with their own stories of life and death, poverty and struggle, handicaps and bravery have made the series into a mini soap opera. And of course the fairy tale rags to riches story, that happens once in a while is what the show is all about.
Yet there is another important aspect of the show which has played a huge role in the success of the show. And that has ben its advertising. Each year the show comes up with a theme. These are pretty insightful and have always hit a raw nerve. Something similar happened when I watched the advertising campaign of the show this year.
The first film which hit the media around 2-3 weeks back is already a winner on social media. It handles the subject of North East India origin citizens and the discrimination they face in a very sensitive manner. The line "jante sabhi hain par mante kitne hain" is a soul searching line in the class of "Mubarak ho ladki hui hai"
The addressing of such social issues through the KBC promos has made it the darling of the masses. Its a very courageous step and the brand has successfully done this over the last few years. this in my mind really begs a question. Why don't more such brands do the same?
There have been stray cases of brands taking up social causes, consistently. The closest that comes to mind is Tata Tea. But there are not many more. Instead of depending upon Government propaganda films which exhort people not to smoke or not to drink or not to do drugs or drive safely the KBC films make you introspect. And they do it within the brand framework, the story of KBC is woven firmly around the social issue messages. It is neither a disconnect nor pontification. The catch is that they make the viewer pause, take notice and think. In fact they do not allow the popularity or personality of even AB to dominate the commercial. The temptation of using AB to hammer home the message a la the Polio ads must have been there but it has been avoided.
Of course not all ads are in the same class. The New one which I watched today about the Hindu Muslim divide is not in the same class but it again tackles a sensitive yet burning social issue in an interesting way, without either deviating from KBC as a brand or letting AB take over the communication.
If only some more brands take up social causes in a similar way. Communication if handled properly can go a long way in influencing the society. It has the power to create trends. So why not trends which affect us as a society? KBC has shown how it can be done.
This is one clear case when advertising ahs added to the popularity of the programme. So next time if you think that the concept of quizzing and AB coming together have resulted in the success of KBC, think again. For once the much maligned business of advertising has got its act right, consistently. Take a bow Leo Burnett.
But in its new avatar the show has caught my attention. The width and the depth of the contestants geographically plus making the participants come alive with their own stories of life and death, poverty and struggle, handicaps and bravery have made the series into a mini soap opera. And of course the fairy tale rags to riches story, that happens once in a while is what the show is all about.
Yet there is another important aspect of the show which has played a huge role in the success of the show. And that has ben its advertising. Each year the show comes up with a theme. These are pretty insightful and have always hit a raw nerve. Something similar happened when I watched the advertising campaign of the show this year.
The first film which hit the media around 2-3 weeks back is already a winner on social media. It handles the subject of North East India origin citizens and the discrimination they face in a very sensitive manner. The line "jante sabhi hain par mante kitne hain" is a soul searching line in the class of "Mubarak ho ladki hui hai"
The addressing of such social issues through the KBC promos has made it the darling of the masses. Its a very courageous step and the brand has successfully done this over the last few years. this in my mind really begs a question. Why don't more such brands do the same?
There have been stray cases of brands taking up social causes, consistently. The closest that comes to mind is Tata Tea. But there are not many more. Instead of depending upon Government propaganda films which exhort people not to smoke or not to drink or not to do drugs or drive safely the KBC films make you introspect. And they do it within the brand framework, the story of KBC is woven firmly around the social issue messages. It is neither a disconnect nor pontification. The catch is that they make the viewer pause, take notice and think. In fact they do not allow the popularity or personality of even AB to dominate the commercial. The temptation of using AB to hammer home the message a la the Polio ads must have been there but it has been avoided.
Of course not all ads are in the same class. The New one which I watched today about the Hindu Muslim divide is not in the same class but it again tackles a sensitive yet burning social issue in an interesting way, without either deviating from KBC as a brand or letting AB take over the communication.
If only some more brands take up social causes in a similar way. Communication if handled properly can go a long way in influencing the society. It has the power to create trends. So why not trends which affect us as a society? KBC has shown how it can be done.
This is one clear case when advertising ahs added to the popularity of the programme. So next time if you think that the concept of quizzing and AB coming together have resulted in the success of KBC, think again. For once the much maligned business of advertising has got its act right, consistently. Take a bow Leo Burnett.
