JBL gets AR Rahman to say 'Hear the truth'

Harman (India), the parent company of JBL, released its first major advertising campaign in India. The TVC featuring brand ambassador A R Rahman went on air on 26 October and is created by Stirred Creative.

The ad is an extension of JBL’s global ‘Hear the Truth’ campaign, which features an assortment of musical icons revered across the world ranging from popular US rock band Maroon 5, China’s ‘King of Pop’ Liu Huan and multiple Grammy award winner Paul McCartney.

The TVC features a nomadic musician carrying his drums across the valley in Ladakh. The location then shifts to the jungles of Thailand, where bamboos are being cut to make flutes. Finally, the film shows Rahman sitting in his living room, playing his guitar and surrounded with JBL products. The voice over says, “An instrument of music may be made of wood, of steel, of leather. Some others of flesh and blood. One instrument makes alive the music they play.” In the end Rahman says, “JBL - hear the truth.”

On the concept behind the ad, Sameer Shah, marketing director, Harman (India), said, “The message we wanted to give out through the ad was that the soul of the music, regardless of the instrument, is brought to the listener in the purest form by JBL. An artist pours his heart and soul into a composition and JBL helps carry that untainted sound to the ears of the listener so that they hear every note the way the artist intended.”

Edward Anthony, creative director, Stirred Creative, said, “The creative brief given was to create something memorable and reinforce the notion that JBL is the purveyor of audio excellence. The rationale behind the TVC is that music is eternal. This is the first time that JBL was coming out with a mass media campaign; it is the first major exposure. We felt that A R Rahman suits the brand wonderfully, and it is the connect between him and the product (JBL) that we wanted to highlight."

The shoot was a 20-day affair shot across three different locations: Ladakh, Mumbai and Thailand.

The TVC will run in two bursts: from 26 October to 15 November and from 20 to 31 December. The 360-degree campaign will have a digital (YouTube and Facebook), print (HT, DNA and Deccan Herald) and cinema (PVR and Cinemax covering eight major releases) run.

Credit List:

Client: Harman (India)
Managing director: Sameer Shah
Creative agency: Stirred Creative
Creative Director: Edward Anthon
Production house: Frog Unlimited
Director and Founder (Frog Unlimitted): Kabir Sadanand
Photographer: Daboo Ratnani