Zindagi connects, through commonality of emotions across borders

ZEEL’s upcoming ‘mass premium’ Hindi entertainment channel Zindagi has started its promotions. The campaign conceptualised by FCB Ulka Advertising attempt to drive home the channel’s proposition of ‘Jodey dilon ko’ (Connecting hearts).

The TV leg of the campaign comprises two films. Both follow a similar theme, and feature two people, one each from India and Pakistan.

One of them (above) features two newly married women. In alternating frames, the woman from India and the lady from Pakistan narrate the story of their apprehensions, when they cooked a meal for their respective husbands the first time. They reveal with joy the experience of their husbands appreciating the love with which the meal was made, despite them having bungled the meal. The two stories are indeed the same, and fuse as one. The film ends with the voice over: ‘Lahore ki galiyon se Lucknow ke baramandon tak, hamare vesh-parivesh bhale hi alag hon, hamari kahaniyan ek hi hain’ (From Lahore to Lucknow, even if our appearance and surroundings are different, our stories are the same), before introducing the channel.

Another film features two girls on college campuses, again one each from Lucknow and Lahore. While their fathers want them to get married, they share similar aspirations of studying in a foreign university. Much to their joy, their fathers relent.

KS Chakravarthy, NCD, FCB Ulka, said, “The insight behind the whole campaign is as simple as it is powerful - we may come from different countries, different cultures, but our emotions, our joys, our triumphs are all surprisingly similar. And it is this simple human truth that the two launch television commercials capture in a simple, believable manner. The device of literally cutting mid-sentence from one protagonist to the other brings this alive in a vivid manner – and leads beautifully into the summing up thought for the channel, Jodey dilon ko.”

Akash Chawla, marketing head, national channels, ZEEL, said, “Zindagi’s brand proposition ‘Jodey dilon ko’ has been the key thought around every medium of communication. The storytelling possesses an ability to convey beauty and emotion in a way that no other medium can. The films also use language that is heartwarming with a story that is rich in human elements such that it inspires empathy, makes us think differently, appreciate something more, and understand something more thoroughly.”

He added, “The narrative approach adopted in the storytelling begins with a ‘universal truth’ or situation that transcends culture or language. Also, the use of emotion conveyed in every situation portrayed in the brand films plays an important role as it captures the real emotion that we can trust. Viewers want to connect with their innate human nature. We believe that with Zindagi, we have something universally relatable, emotional and powerful to showcase and that is reflected in the films.”

The TV campaign is on air currently, and supported by print, OOH and digital legs. The channel launches on 23 June.

Credits

Client: ZEEL (Zindagi)

Creative agency: FCB Ulka Advertising

NCD: KS Chakravarthy

Director (film): Abhishek Kapoor