‘Don’t you have something to do?’ – Tanishq asks Keralan men in a spot by Lowe Lintas Bangalore

Onam is a festival celebrated by every household in Kerala. It is celebrated with much fanfare at the end of monsoon to mark the harvest season every year. ‘God’s Own Country’ becomes resplendent with festivities and colours in celebration of this auspicious day. And, of course, brands see sales spike during Onam and, therefore, aggressively market to the people of Kerala.

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As is the case during most festivals in India, marketers typically either give freebies, launch promotional schemes, or bundle offers. However, Tanishq has taken a different route by attempting a change in behaviour amongst Malayalis. In its latest campaign by Lowe Lintas Bangalore, Tanishq attempts to make itself a thread into the social fabric of Malayali culture by becoming integral to the celebrations.

Deepika Tewari, General Manager (Marketing), Tanishq, said, “At Tanishq, we’re all about celebrating the vibrant festival of Onam with Malayalis. Through this TVC, we are announcing the launch of our Sampoorna collection to complete the festivities this year. And while our jewel pieces are rooted in the traditional, they are also infused with a modern interpretation. The TVC captures the essence of Onam through a cheeky, yet endearing take on the relationship between a husband and his wife. It weaves in nuances of the culture that will appeal to every single Malayali, just as this special range of jewellery does. We invite everyone from Kerala to pick up gorgeous jewel pieces from Tanishq and make us a part of their Onam.”

The campaign leans on the fact that men sit around and never contribute to preparations for Onam, while women do all the work – for which the film takes light-hearted digs at the men of the house. In tune with the song composed by a popular regional band of Kerala – Thaikkudam Bridge, every verse of the song ends with a question asking the husbands, ‘What are you doing for Onam? Don’t you have something to do?’ The song reaches a conducive resolution when the men are prompted to gift their wives a piece of jewellery from Tanishq’s Sampoorna collection.

Rather than asking women to buy jewellery for themselves, the film talks to the men of the house, encouraging them to gift jewellery to their wives. Taking this into the territory of ‘gifting’ is a wise move, considering that the buyer behaviour is driven by emotions rather than rationality.

Arun Iyer, Chairman and CCO, Lowe Lintas, said, “We created a concept that is quite different from any other Onam festival communication. In that, while most of the brands directed their communication towards the women and invite them to buy jewellery, we spoke to the men. So the song composed by a leading band from Kerala talks about the ordeals that the women go through to prepare for the festival; and how the husbands are going to repay or gratify their effort. This is where Tanishq comes in.”

Hari Krishnan, President, Lowe Lintas, said, “Yes, while it is a story for Tanishq that revolves around Onam, we wanted to make this film more than just a celebration of the festival itself. We picked local nuances, expressions and elements to put a song together in collaboration with Thaikkudam Bridge. The gifting of the Jewellery, in the end, becoming the symbolic high point of Onam.”

Credits –

This is That Films (Shihab)

Client:

Sandeep Kulhalli, Deepika Tewari, Gaurav Midha and Ru Chatterji