A twist on iconic Sholay song for new Renault Scala campaign

The new TV ads for Renault Scala feature a school-going kid who finds himself three fast friends who're willing to do anything for him, once they see him getting out of a Renault Scala one morning. Playing in the background is a refreshed take on the song 'Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin Todenge' from the film Sholay.

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Charles Victor, national creative director, Law & Kenneth, the agency behind the campaign, explained, "Renault Scala is the fifth launch for Renault in India in 18 months. Scala is an entry level sedan, a category that's pretty packed and competitive. Given this, Renault wanted to do something that's far more iconic and memorable."

He added, "The Scala communication is unique for few reasons. Firstly, it's perhaps the only one in the category that does not feature the TG in any way at all. It was a bold move and one that we believe truly needed a client bold enough to support. Secondly, the communication uses what is perhaps the most memorable song in India – 'Yeh Dosti'. This iconic song was given a complete new twist both in its rendition and in its role in the commercial, used in a way that it wasn't used in the original film. The original had two buddies pledging their eternal friendship to each other. This avatar is about a pledge of friendship but a pledge that's only being made because of the Renault Scala." According to the agency, the song has never been used in a commercial before. On the possible reason, Victor said, "The rights were purchased from Universal Music, the music company that holds rights to the OST of Sholay. It's more expensive than what other song rights cost so I guess the cost is possibly one deterrent. Also with an iconic film like this, I'm sure they're pretty picky about who uses the OST and how it's used."

Victor said, "We have quite a few things lined up in the rest of the communication for Scala centred around the theme of the film and the usage of this song. So there's going to be quite a bit more of it coming your way soon."

Credits:

Client: Renault
Creative agency: Law & Kenneth
National creative director: Charles Victor
Creative director: Amit Acharekar
Associate creative director: Divakar Shetty
Chief operating officer: Rana Barua
Associate vice president (account management): Vivek Duggal
Brand services manager: Ganesh Hegde
Senior account executive: Raj Shah
Production house: Storytellers
Director: Arun Gopalan
Producer: Ranadeep Oberoi
Music director: Abhishek Arora
Singer: Abhishek