Ola rides nation's mood, says 'Cashless chalega India'

Ola went live with a campaign on 18 November, that promotes its 'cashless travel' feature. The campaign, which includes a film, follows the cash notes crunch following demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes from 9 November. The work has been conceptualised by Happy mcgarrybowen.

 

The film seeks to establish that you do not need cash to hail a cab, with Ola. An Ola cab pulls up near a lady waiting outside an electronics store. She opens her wallet to realise she has no cash. A voice over asks, 'Note nahi toh kya, kuch nahi? (Does lack of [cash] notes mean you don't have anything?) A lady in a car is on a video call with a her partner, as the voice over explains that lack of proximity does not mean there is no love. A man watches a cookery show on TV, deeply engrossed and salivating, while the voice over asks: if you can't smell the food, does it mean you can't be hungry?" Another instance shows a lady watching a movie, getting teary as emotions rise. If it isn't real life, doesn't mean there aren't feelings, is the message. The film ends with the first character boarding the cab, using Ola Money to make the payment. The voice over explains that not having currency notes doesn't mean one doesn't travel, while features of card, cash and Ola Money payments are outlined. 

 

Raghuvesh Sarup, CMO and head of categories, Ola, said, “Ola‘s vision is to build mobility for a billion Indians, and this requires a deep understanding of the market. One such insight is that today’s young India rapidly embraces new technologies, perhaps faster and more enthusiastically than anywhere in the world, and keeps moving ahead. Further, the campaign comes at a time when a seamless payment option is the need of the hour for citizens. To make payments hassle-free, Ola is offering a range of payment options from cash to credit cards, debit cards and Ola Money, so that India can keep moving. The campaign also marks Ola’s support to the new demonetisation drive launched to eradicate black money and uphold the nation’s security.”

 

Kartik Iyer, CEO, Happy mcgarrybowen, said “Brands have always been a mirror to society. Given the trying times, we wanted to make sure we send out a positive message to Ola's customers. Ola has always believed in delivering progressive change to society. With this opportunity we wanted everyone to know Ola is there as a trusted partner through every journey we embark on as a nation.”

                                                                

Besides TV, the campaign will have print and social media legs, in Hindi and regional languages. 

 

Credits

 

Client: Ola

Agency: Happy mcgarrybowen

CEO: Kartik Iyer

MD: Praveen Das

COO: Siddhartha Roy

Head – strategic planning: Phalgun Tiruvasu

Director – strategy: Ravi Bhat

Client services director: Ameya Lokhande

Group account manager: Siddharth Sharma

Creative director – art: Kanick Samuel

Associate creative director: Vijay Joy

Creative controller: Pranav Karnad

 

Production house: Likeminded People

Director (film): Piyush Raghani

Executive producer: Ruchi Mehta

Producer: Kedhhar Barrve