Ranbir Kapoor strikes up a bromance with Oppo AI

Smartphone maker Oppo India has launched its Reno12 Series, featuring Oppo AI capabilities. Bollywood actor and Oppo India's Reno brand ambassador, Ranbir Kapoor, stars in series of ads crafted by Famous Innovations, which highlight the range’s AI package through an engaging narrative. This includes features like AI Eraser 2.0, AI Best Face, AI recording summary and AI connectivity booster with BeaconLink.

The campaign is aimed at creating a buzz for the Oppo Reno12 series, before it is officially available from 18^th July.

Karan Dua, head of product marketing for Oppo India, said, "We are thrilled to launch the Reno12 series in India, pushing innovation boundaries through Oppo AI with exquisite design. Famous Innovations' creative expertise has vividly brought together the Oppo Reno12’s features and actor Ranbir Kapoor's presence. Partnering with Kapoor, who is a symbol of versatility and is always giving his best works really well for us as his persona is in line with the Reno series."

To humanise and bring alive the Oppo AI package for the ads, a bespoke computer-generated imaging (CGI) avatar was crafted to look and be futuristic. At the same time, the team was mindful to keep it friendly, bearing in mind brand colours and visual cues to ensure that the Oppo AI Avatar is unquestionably Oppo.

In the first two ad films, Kapoor turns to his trusted Oppo AI to help improve his pictures—whether it's to un-photobomb his perfect beach selfie or correct his facial expression. In the third and fourth films, the AI assists him in shopping for his family on a vacation and find his friends on a remote island.

Sumit Chaurasia, founding partner and creative head—Delhi at Famous Innovations, added, "Behind the ad film was our aim to blend Oppo’s AI-technology seamlessly with Kapoor's presence. Positioning Reno12’s AI as users’ best friend, we created a life-sized CGI avatar to showcase its intelligence and user friendliness.”

Campaign's take: When one thinks about AI, the image conjured up is that of a faceless, soulless entity, doggedly fuelling one’s information needs. In its latest campaign for promoting Reno12 smartphones, Oppo has managed to give that impersonal persona a humanised makeover.

The smartphone maker flagged off the campaign by releasing a teaser about actor Kapoor's life-sized AI companion, and hinting that more exciting things are about to unfold, almost a fortnight ago. It followed this up by releasing the four-ad series to show all the cool things that Oppo AI could do.

These crisp and snackable content pieces present a friendly avatar for Oppo AI, dressed as a humanoid robot, who banters with Kapoor. It is a clever way to insinuate that it wants the technology to be more of a companion to its users than a feature in the smartphone. It is akin to having a buddy at hand, who is happy to oblige them with image correction, transcribing audio conversations and removing niggling elements in the background that could spoilt a perfect pic. Through their friendly and witty conversations, Kapoor and Oppo AI bring alive how the technology can tackle challenges during outdoor travel photography.