Bharti assembles star-studded cast for DTH service launch

Bharti Airtel has rolled out a 65-second block-buster TVC to announce the launch of its DTH offering, Airtel Digital TV.

The JWT-created campaign, that broke last week with a teaser ad vetting the appetite of the viewers to know more, is part of Airtel's strategy to create the future of communication and entertainment through a convergence of three screens: mobile, computer and TV. Madison Media is handling Airtel's media planning and buying.

Targeting families, the spot titled 'Welcome Home', is built around the creative concept of 'never before magical entertainment experience comes home and features an ensemble cast of celebrities from different entertainment genres: cricket; sports; reality TV; cartoon characters, Bollywood and soaps." The magical experience of Airtel DTH is brought alive through the physical presence of stars/characters form the different entertainment genres," explained Rohit Ohri, managing partner, JWT. "However, it's not a mindless line up of celebrities. We've carefully selected celebrities/characters from each entertainment genre. Together, they help bring alive the core brand idea of magical entertainment experiences in every home."

The campaign has been directed by Abinay Deo, while Ramesh Deo Productions is the production house.

Though the commercial launch is indeed grand, Airtel's teaser campaign lost a bit of its steam as the rival, Big TV, piggybacked on its creative idea and tag-line 'See you at home' and ran a spoof promoting its own key features such as 200-plus TV channels, 32 cinema halls and digital quality audio and video.