In India, nothing beats the emotional bonding between brothers and sisters. Traditionally, to celebrate this, on Raksha Bandhan day, a sister ties a rakhi (sacred thread) on her brother’s wrist with a prayer for his prosperity and happiness symbolizing sister’s love. The brother gives her a token gift and a promise to protect her. Raksha Bandhan, is an auspicious Hindu festival that is celebrated in many parts of the India. The festival celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters.
When a brand comes forward and encapsulates the unmatched emotions through beautiful ads, it touches an emotional chord. Over the years, several brands across categories have used the occasion to reach out to their audiences and be a part of the celebrations. The festival has helped brands increase sales, recall and be a part of the family celebrations. These brands advertise across mediums and offer schemes and discounts to increase footfalls to their stores (both offline and online). Since it is a festival that tugs at heartstrings and brings up memories of all the time spent playing, sharing, fighting and plotting long adventures with your beloved siblings, brands have been coming up with innovative campaigns that delight the heart and do their job.
This year, brands melted hearts with everything from emotional to progressive storytelling through their Raksha Bandhan ads. Let’s look at some of the best campaigns doing the rounds this year.
1) Ferns n Petals’ #CelebrateSiblingBond
This Raksha Bandhan, Ferns n Petals, a flower and gifts retailer, wants people to celebrate Rakhi with a new perception. It urges men to tie rakhi to their sister and remember that it is a festival that celebrates the bond of protection and sisters too can protect their brothers.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/fnp.fernsnpetals/videos/
2) Cadbury Celebrations
The chocolate brand has released a commercial around Rakhi. The film showcases siblings who pretend to fight each other but truly care for each other from bottom of their heart. The film begins with showing the sister tying Rakhi to brother and the latter asking her to do it with a smiling face. He then questions why does she tie Rakhi every year and in response the sister says why does he saves his pocket money to bring her Cadbury Celebrations every year.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/cadburycelebrations/videos/
3) Amazon.in #DeliverTheLove
The film tells the story of a young man who just cannot fathom why his grandmother doesn’t mind getting the same gift for rakhi, every year. The grandmother then tells the story behind the gift that how her brother used to steal that particular gift for her from their neighborhood when they were young. She goes into a nostalgia remembering her childhood days and stresses that everything else is just a gift but the one that her brother gets for her is the real gift.
4) Micromax #ThankYourSister
The brand has launched a film that showcases how a sister has always stood with her brother in his every mischief, problem and decision. The brother now decides to thank his sister and ties a Rakhi on her hand to express his gratitude for always being there. The idea is to showcase a progressive sibling relationship in which ‘Raksha’ takes a new meaning; where just like her brother, the sister also protects, defends and supports her brother.
5) Reliance Jewels Reshma Thakur’s Memorable Momemt
The brand is celebrating 10 years of its existence and has launched several commercials to communicate that to their audiences. One such commercial is around Rakshabandhan where a sister ties Rakhi on her brother’s hand but is reluctant to take the gift from him. The brother without insisting quietly agrees and stands infront of a photograph hung on the wall. It turns out that the real brother of the girl was in army and had passed away and he has taken his place. Upon realizing the sentiment behind the gift, the girl addresses him as his brother and takes the gift.
6) Dukes Waffy #SheIsMyBro
Dukes India, a biscuits and confectionery manufacturer makes their Twitter debut for Waffy, one of their most popular products with #SheIsMyBro. Traditionally, Rakhi is considered a festival wherein sisters seek promise of protection from brother. However, in today’s time sisters are also playing the role of protector and care taker which are traditionally seen as the role of the brother. The campaign is an attempt to portray that the festival is not just about brothers, preaching that sisters too are protectors, best friends, and guardian angels to their siblings. In this digital video, the brand has used kids to express their feelings for their sisters breaking the stereotype. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=19&v=cC3YtP7kFVY
7) Kwality Walls
The TVC shows how our siblings are also our best friends. That’s why it is so hard for us to share them with others. The ad beautifully and realistically captures the brother-sister bond and makes you smile from ear to ear. The relatability quotient makes you like the ad and immediately think about your siblings.
In a move away from the ordinary GoAir and Nickelodeon celebrated Raksha Bandhan in their own unique way.
With a slightly more unique take on Raksha Bandhan, GoAir epitomized the festival with its in-flight cabin crew tying rakhi on the wrists of CRPF Jawans at Srinagar airport, to express love and respect for providing security to all those who fly in and out of Srinagar airport throughout the year.
India’s elite Border Security Force (BSF) at the international Wagah – Attari Border received a pleasant surprise from kids and their favourite toons, Dora and Shiva, from kid’s entertainment franchise, Nickelodeon. The force that spends the entire year away from their families protecting the nation’s 7000+ kilometres land border had kids along with the toons pay them a visit to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan in its true essence of “Surakshabandhan”. The children along with the toons tied the symbolic rakhi on the soldiers’ wrists as a prelude to the iconic retreat ceremony, thus saluting their bravery.
References
http://www.exchange4media.com/advertising/raksha-bandhan-ads-strike-a-balance-between-emotional-and-progressive_69995.html
http://www.adageindia.in/marketing/cmo-strategy/heres-how-brands-are-celebrating-rakshabandhan-this-year/articleshow/59945599.cms
Raksha Bandhan 2017: Splurge on truly special Rakhi gifts for your sisters
http://www.campaignindia.in/article/blog-push-pull-or-shove-its-all-brotherly-love/438627
http://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/How-Innovation-has-Led-to-a-Change-in-the-Gifting-Industry/27-07-2017-122946/