Why Ambuja Cement’s ‘Great Khali Ad’ is Taking India by Storm

Cement is one of the most boring categories in advertising. Other than Ambuja's Is Cement mein Jaan hai tagline, I don't remember any other 'cement brand' advertisement. Possibly, this happens because cement players typically resort to plain vanilla advertising; mainly showcasing how people are unable to break walls (constructed using a particular brand's cement) despite continuous efforts.

However, now Ambuja Cements plans to change that. It has released a latest campaign and attempted to breathe life in this 'otherwise' boring category by roping in the world-renowned wrestler The Great Khali as its campaign face. The campaign is supported by a TVC that share Khali's story where only Ambuja Cements can stand the Great Khali's strength.

While keeping strength as the central theme of the communication, the TVC depicts problems that the world-renowned wrestler might have faced in his childhood. You see Khali as someone who could not be stopped by walls. He would often break walls, create holes in it, fall from the rooftops, or pull out exercising latches fitted on the wall in these TVCs. We recommend you watch the ads yourself to know how Ambuja really comes into the picture.

Designed and conceptualized by Publicis India, this comes across as a powerful campaign by the brand. Speaking about the idea, Bobby Pawar, MD and Chief Creative Officer, Publicis India says, "The brand wanted the campaign to come and stay. The basic idea was to show the strength of Ambuja Cement. So, we decided to get The Great Khali and make our point by showing the impediments he faced."

He further shares, "The brand was gung-ho on Khali as he represented great strength. Khali has played his role from heart and the film is like a 'mock'umentary. We did not go for a slapstick comedy because it does not have longevity."

On the strategic front, Partha Sinha, MD and Chief Strategy Officer, Publicis India shares that the script for the film was written prior to signing the endorser for it, which is exactly opposite to the way most brands operate. "Mostly the cement brands derive recall from entertainment and Bollywood. But Khali has given a completely different look. So, the campaign was like putting one giant against another. For this campaign, we had the advantage of high reputation of Ambuja Cement and Khali," shares Sinha.

The campaign seeks to communicate with dealers and independent home builders. These people can be anywhere around the country may be in a metropolitan or a non-urban location. The campaign is running across various TV channels and also has a digital and on-ground leg to it.
Strength had always been the focus for Ambuja Cement's advertising. Remember the Boman Irani ad where twin brothers make numerous efforts to break the wall between their homes, but couldn't? And in the end one ask, "Bhaiya Yeh Deewar tuthti kyon nahin?." Last year too, the brand had focused on strength again in its2014 campaign. We saw a student narrating a paragraph on 'Walls' and shares his concerns of invisible religious walls created by his families that prevents him from being friends with children of other religion.

'Like'able?

The ad has gone viral on the internet by garnering more than 1 lakh views within three days of being launched on YouTube. A search for 'Ambuja Cement' on Twitter and Facebook just reveal the ad's popularity. As per Google Trends, the ad trended as the sixth most searched topic on Google in India. So, what makes the ad such a 'likeable' piece of content?


'
PK Anil Kumar, ECD, Bates CHI&Partners finds it a very fresh approach of conveying the same old message. "We are all aware of the brand Ambuja cement, and its benefits. But using Khali, as the brand ambassador is a smart move. His childlike innocence balances his heavy weight build which makes the story even more endearing. The Ad is very well executed and story looks real and because of its freshness and funny moments the Ad certainly breaks the clutter," opines Kumar.

Read our entire coverage on Publicis

To this, Navin Theeng, Senior Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide, the idea is brilliant and the execution is bang-on "The strategy shines through and is one of the best ads of 2015. The individual instances are carefully thought through. Nothing much amiss with this at all. Historically, Ambuja Cement has always banked on humour, but this takes it a few notch higher. And like all previous ads, Ambuja Cement being a synonym of strength, is brilliantly played out. This one will be remembered for a long time to come," shares Theeng.

However, Nilesh Vaidya, Director, Workship Communications does not find the film to be an original idea. "From the first frame to the last, there's only one thing I could think of while watching the Ambuja ad - Epuron's legendary 'Mr W' commercial for wind energy," shares Vaidya.

All said and done, for roping in former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, The Great Khali, and coming up with a brilliant concept, the brand and its agency wins the game for us.

Source: http://www.adageindia.in/marketing/cmo-strategy/heres-why-ambuja-cements-great-khali-ad-is-taking-india-by-storm/articleshow/49329417.cms