Birla Sun Life engages with 'Thirsty Crow' story, urges investors to think differently

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund's new campaign for its  Recurring Savings Plan attempts to convey the message of saving smartly and regularly by investing in mutual funds. The campaign consists of a TVC created by M&C Saatchi Digital.

The film, shot in Malshej Ghat (Pune), shows a father-son duo going on a trek when the kid complains that he is tired and cannot walk anymore. To deviate his attention, the father narrates the classic 'The Thirsty Crow' fable - how a thirsty crow who can't reach the water in a pitcher, throws pebbles in it for the level of water to rise up to a certain level, and quenches his thirst.The kid keeps picturing the events of the story and the viewer gets to see the animated version of the tale on screen. In the end, the son learns that the father was trying to teach him how to think differently to find a solution to an issue. A voice over follows, stating that one can save smartly by investing in Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Recurring Savings Plan.

Ajay Kakar, chief marketing officer, Aditya Birla Group Financial Services, said, "In a country that has deep rooted belief in savings and as a result, the highest savings rate (35 per cent of GDP contribution as compared to 20 per cent for the rest of the world), the challenge and opportunity is to bring a self realisation among mass India, of the need to also save smartly, through recurring savings, through a mutual fund."

Kakar added, "The fable route and the animation approach was chosen for its ease in understanding and to build an instant connect on our core messaging. We decided to rely on a fresh and non-threatening approach, going away from what's now expected as a typical predictable financial services advertising look and feel."

Deepak Agarwal, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi Digital, said, “We have all grown up listening to fables and learnt valuable life lessons about right and wrong from their morals, but as adults we have forgotten that these morals also hold the answer to an adult dilemma - how to approach our savings. The story of the crow and pitcher reveals how doing something regularly can help one reach one’s goals. Hence the creative approach became to remind adults of this moral - in an endearing way - in order to open their minds to a relatively safe debt mutual fund."

Unplugged moments:

Since more than half of the film involved live animation, there were aplenty interesting details that went into the making of this film. The crow's look, for instance, was finalised after 12 to 13 rough sketches. For the uninitiated, the sequence where the crow spills water on the kid's face was shot using chrome screen in the background. The kid had to express imagining that an animated world was getting created all around him while he heard the story. In reality, he was looking at the greenery of the Malshej Ghat, where the live action part of the film was shot. The director from Climb Media - Kireet Khurana - was brought in based on his live animation direction experience of 'Toonpur ka Super Hero'.

Credits:

Client: Aditya Birla Group Financial Services
Agency: M&C Saatchi Digital
Agency creative director: Deepak Agarwal 
Production house: Climb Media
Director: Kireet Khurana
Director of photography: Gopal Shah
Producer: Raviraj Wade
Music: Rupert Fernandes
Associate director: Anshul Vijayvargiya
Art: Saini S. Johray
Voice: Arjun Mukerjee , Theron
Costumes: Suveera
Pre production: Prashant Shikare, Arnab Mazumdar, Raviraj Kumbhar (Climb Media)
Animation: Arnab Mazumdar, Prashant Shikare (Climb Media)