Quikr spins a satirical story, with a twist

Online classifieds site Quikr.com has released a TVC to highlight the brand’s proposition of being a mass market platform accessible to people from all walks of life. The new commercial created by Scarecrow Communications went on air on 9 February.

The brand had earlier launched a campaign in November featuring the character ‘Bob Biswas’ to highlight the missed call innovation where customers could transact through a missed call.

Pranay Chulet, founder and chief executive officer, Quikr, said, “We are continuing with the same strategy. There has been no change in the direction. With the new campaign, we wish to further emphasise that people from all walks of life can access Quikr.com.”

“The objective is to get people to use Quikr to buy and sell through any medium. The medium may vary; it could be mobile, internet or through the missed call innovation where they get to speak to our representative. We intend to deliver satisfaction to our customers through whatever medium they desire. We do not want to make Quikr a platform only for people who belong to the higher strata and have access to internet. We intend to make Quikr a mass market platform that can be used by anybody in the country,” he added.

The TVC titled ‘Riot’ starts on a tense note and features a procession of angry people holding banners against corruption. They angrily walk past the police and journalists shouting slogans and damage a taxi enroute. Meanwhile, the police along with other security personnel watch nervously. The situation is covered by journalists and is shown live on television. The protestors throw bottles set on fire and cause more destruction. Finally the inspector, after issuing a warning, which the protestors do not heed, fires a shot in the air. Immediately, the crowd goes silent. And the film takes off on another tangent. The inspector then tells the crowd about his imminent transfer - and how he seeks to dispose his old belongings such as TV, computer and so on. He informs them that if anyone is interested, they can contact him post the protest at the police station. One of the protestors tells him to give a missed call to Quikr.com instead. In the end, the inspector is shown making the missed call to Quikr and he is able to sell his belongings.

On the campaign, Raghu Bhat, founder director, Scarecrow Communications, "Our last campaign generated a huge buzz and an avalanche of business enquiries. With this film, we are seeking to once again reaffirm Quikr's image as a quirky, current brand. Everything from the casting, to the lyrics, to the scale is designed to create maximum top-of-mind recall. But I must make special mention of the direction and the sound design, both of which are outstanding. And kudos to a client who is brave, plays by the gut and whose faith in creativity is immense."

Arunava Sengupta, founder director, Scarecrow Communications, added, "This film is the result of a close collaboration between client and agency. The client encouraged us to push the envelope. We shot with live ammunition. We smashed taxi windscreens. Quikr is a refreshing brand to work on as it knows the pulse of its audience."

On the execution of the film, Naren Multani, director, said,"It starts like a Prakash Jha movie and ends like a David Dhawan film. It's more than an ad. It's a satire on the times we live in."

Credits
Client: Quikr.com
Client team: Pranay Chulet, Aparna Mahesh
Creative agency: Scarecrow Communications
Creative team: Raghu Bhat, Manish Bhatt, Sarvesh Raikar
Account management: Arunava Sengupta, Sukhvinder Wilkhoo
Production house: Equinox
Director (film): Naren Multani
Music: Bobo
Producers: Manoj Shroff, Sia Bhuyan