Women’s Day is meant to celebrate women, thank them, congratulate them and empower them. But why should it end there? Why celebrate Women’s Day on just one day? Everyday can and should be Women’s Day. This was the general theme for Britannia this year.
Messages and campaigns from well-known brands have been making the rounds this time. Several campaigns centred on Women’s Day this year and although they were impactful, it was difficult to distinguish them due to their homogenous storylines.
One campaign, however, stood out for its rather unique approach towards Women’s Day. Britannia launched a simple ad for its Marie Gold range of biscuits that steers clear of the usual hype and hoopla of Women’s Day.
Britannia and Marie Gold have always been associated with providing women with the spotlight and empowering them to make a mark of their own. Britannia launched an initiative called the Britannia Marie Gold – My Startup Contest, which is now in its fourth instalment. This initiative helps women in India kickstart their businesses and start their entrepreneurial journeys. The best startups every year are awarded with seed funding of Rs 10 lakh.
Beyond the Day
For Women’s Day this year, Britannia Marie Gold wanted to highlight another important topic. It launched a campaign about Women’s Day but it wasn’t about the day itself. Confused? Unlike most campaigns this year, Britannia Marie Gold did not show celebrations or activities that normally take place on Women’s Day. Their ad was about what happens the day after, when people generally forget about everything and get back to business as usual.
We see a cleaning lady in an office talking to a female employee while clearing the decorations that had been put up the day before for Women’s Day. The cleaning lady asks the employee why the decorations were put up. The employee explains the concept of Women’s Day to the lady who had never heard about it before.
The employee says Women’s Day is a day when all women are respected and rewarded. A day where their rights such as equality are focused on. The cleaning lady is amazed. She goes back to her work and then asks if Women’s Day is celebrated only on one day. The employee thinks and says, “Maybe not.”
Asked about the ideation process behind the ad campaign, Amit Doshi, the chief marketing officer at Britannia, speaking exclusively with Storyboard18, said, “There is always a lot of excitement and ideation that happens within the team about how we should approach the occasion. Honestly speaking, while we were thinking of potential ideas, we had the Script Room team share this idea with us. The credit for this idea goes completely to the Script Room. The concept fits beautifully with the Britannia Marie Gold brand. We absolutely loved it.”
He said firstly, Britannia wanted to handle the subject with respect and humility and all the sensitivity required. Secondly, it was important that the brand comes through with sincerity and authenticity.
“Thus, it was less about the content of the storyline, the plot or how it was imagined. It had more to do with the tone and tenor of the film and that we were going to be honest to the job,” Doshi added.
The casting for the ad was peculiar and unique. It’s an all-woman cast – right from the two main characters to those in the background and there aren’t any famous personalities and high-profile people.
The ad manages to have an impact without the need for star power. This is an example of how a good script and storyline can have a great influence while saving a lot of marketing money.
“It was never a question in our heads about whether the ad needed a celebrity or not. Britannia Marie Gold is an extremely authentic brand. It was very clear from the start for us that the ad had to represent someone that every woman in India could identify with,” Doshi said.
A different take
This was the first time that Britannia specifically created an individual piece of content around Women’s Day. The ad has a different take, it’s edgy.
There is a lot of clutter this time round, especially on March 8. The idea of talking about Women’s Day a day later is unique and stands out. It conveys that while the celebrations have ended, the emotions and essence should continue.
Even though the ad is about Women’s Day, it is expected to be watched by men and women. The simple and humble storyline is expected to generate a very positive response.
“We are expecting a similar response as in the ad – to look beyond just one day in a year where we celebrate womanhood and talk about the support system, the encouragement and the environment that we need to create that promotes both equality and progress. It should be something that we must all be conscious about every single day,” Doshi said. “If you are propagating a certain philosophy, it is important for a brand to walk the talk and do something about it.
Asked about the likely impact of this ad on Britannia, Doshi said, “The job of communication is to make sure that they are able to leverage culture and insights to have a growth impact on the brand and the business… Therefore, if you look at Britannia Marie Gold, it has always stood for women to be more and to enable them to do more. It has always been the cheerleader. As a result, we have always got a lot of love from our consumers over time, which has also resulted in a huge, touchwood brand and business success for us.”
The purpose of Britannia Marie Gold as a brand is to help women achieve anything they set their minds to. To that end, the response to the Britannia Marie Gold – My Startup Contest has always been superb.
“This time, it is even bigger. We are partnering with Google to provide training and learning to the women-led entrepreneurial ventures. Four years back, the brand was thinking of what we can do to not just advertise but to act. We realised that in addition to running their families, women want to contribute to their own growth through their passion points and their ventures,” Doshi said.
Although 48 percent of India’s population comprises women, the representation of women entrepreneurs is extremely low. This is where Britannia saw an opportunity to help such women grow and gain that much-needed representation by breaking the shell.
“In India, we celebrate startups and unicorns. So we decided to take a very different approach. We decided to start from the grassroots. We wanted to hear from women across the country about micro-enterprises that they wanted to build as a manifestation of their dreams. That’s what Britannia Marie Gold as a brand wanted to be associated with,” Doshi said.
Over the past three years, 30 women-run businesses have been funded through this initiative. This year, 10 more will be funded. Some of these businesses have become great successes.