New McCann India campaign for MasterCard features the Mumbai Indians

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Mastercard1.jpgMcCann Erickson New Delhi has developed a new MasterCard communication initiative leveraging mass media, complimented by print, OOH, cinema, digital and in-flight activation across all key markets.

Based on the priceless platform, the ‘Escape’ theme reinforces the opportunity MasterCard provides to its cardholders: travel internationally cashless – anytime, anywhere. With MasterCard being the founding sponsor of the Mumbai Indians, celebrity players Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan feature in the commercial.

mastercard2.jpgWith affluent Indians travelling more than ever before, the stated reason for travel is to break free from the drudgery of life. Cross-border travel is seen as an escape in the true sense, where we are unfamiliar with places and cultures, and seen and treated as individuals − not as members of a particular social class.

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Speaking about the initiative, Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman of India and Regional Creative Director, Asia Pacific, McCann Worldgroup said, “The idea behind this latest campaign for MasterCard was to promote cross-border travel and tell people how MasterCard can be a very useful brand when travelling abroad. We had a great opportunity due to the tie-up with the Mumbai Indians and we thought, why not use cricketers for it? Not only celebrities but all of us feel ‘I want to go to a place where nobody knows me and I don’t want to interact with any everyday survival things. I want to get away from that’. This psyche is not only a celebrity’s psyche; it’s a common man’s psyche. When I’m travelling I often hear my friends saying they don’t want to meet the same set of people again because that takes away the joy of going on holiday. You don’t want to talk about the things you talk about everyday.”

“So, there are cricketers – Sachin, Harbhajan and Zaheer. They are sort of looking for an escape and in this case, they are planning to go to Kenya. Right from the beginning of the commercial we establish that they are overwhelmed by the fans around them and how they even reach them in Kenya at the airport. They are still not feeling that they have gotten away from the fans and people they know. And finally, they escape into a beautiful Masai Mara jungle. They are having fun and feeling free. Suddenly, they see this Masai Mara tribal man standing there. It is the classic image of a man with a spear. They go there quietly and want to take pictures. We see that the man has a child and to their surprise, the child recognizes them, even in such a remote place. At times you feel great connecting with people from a different world”, he added.

Raja Balasubramanian, vice-president, Marketing, India MasterCard Worldwide said, “We are very excited about our new Premium campaign, ‘Escape’. As a brand, MasterCard has always tried to reflect the needs and aspirations of the Indian consumer. With growing affluence and awareness, an increasing number of Indians are travelling abroad each year. This campaign reinforces the benefits that MasterCard provides to all cardholders while travelling; convenience, ease and security – anytime, anywhere. For this campaign we have used the star power of cricketers from the Mumbai Indians to bring to life the concept of ‘Escape’ – something that we all desire when travelling. This is a campaign that will definitely resonate with all travellers and affluent cardholders”.

Credits – CCO: Prasoon Joshi. ECD: Ashish Chakravarty. CD: Rajesh Bhardwaj. Art Director: Rohit Devgun. Production Company: Ravi Udyawar Films.