India’s ad story can’t be held together without the honorary mention of Fevicol. In its latest activation campaign – an event through which brands generate awareness – Fevicol adds a quirky touch to its long-running ‘ultimate bond’ campaign: Fevicol ka jod hai, tootega nahi.
The activation is fairly simple: They found a rural sports festival with too many spectators and very few seats. A musical chairs scenario plays out at the event, where a place to sit is only available on a first-cum-first-serve basis. Fevicol solves this issue by allowing people to ‘stick’ to their seats – quite literally.
The video for the campaign begins with an announcement: “Welcome to Kila Raipur Rural Olympics,” followed by shots of a vibrant festival where Punjabis dance with joy as people compete in games like long jump, wrestling and horse racing. “But the most exciting game takes place outside the field,” the narrator says after a beat, “the game of chairs…Vacate the seat, lose the seat.”
So Fevicol placed what it calls “Human OOH” (Out of Home Advertising) amid the audience. Men wearing white Fevicol Pidilite T-shirts walk around the stands with a stool stuck to their buttocks: “Presenting one-of-a-kind kursi [chair]. The chipku [sticky] chair, that’s impossible to lose.”
The rest of the ad is interspersed with shots of bemused people laughing at the boys walking around with their ‘chipku chairs’. “This chair will rise with you, walk with you,” quips the narrator.
We don’t know if the Ludhiana-based Kila Raipur Sports Festival has a seating issue. But an advertiser doesn’t have to bother with facts; they just have to sell the product.
In that, the activation is a bang for the buck: It speaks to the audience in the same language the brand has for over a decade now. It grabs attention and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s the branding that makes Fevicol more than a boring stationary item. It’s a glue, a damn good glue – one we trust with our eyes closed. Why? Because we love the obnoxious ads and subconsciously believe Fevicol ka jod kabhi tootega nahi.
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Fevicol’s brand language
The beauty of Fevicol’s brand language is that it doesn’t bother with the truth. The tonality of the ads allows the writer to take creative leaps and play with hyperbole. Previous Fevicol ads have not tried to harp on their product’s functionality; they just left it for the audience to understand the subtext.
The iconic ‘bus’ ad, where Fevicol places itself with a visual all Indians are very familiar with; An overloaded tempo, barely clung on to by way too many people. At the end of the ad, we’re only left with the visual of a Fevicol poster at the back of the bus.
Another ad where Fevicol crosses all limits of ‘quirk’ is one where buffaloes stop giving milk because a truck full of Fevicol cans pulls up near the shed – the joke being that milk sticks to the buffaloes in the presence of so much Fevicol.
Such creative liberty can only be exercised by a well-established brand that is also a market leader. At this point, the brand has evolved so much that it doesn’t advertise to educate or even increase customers– it advertises just to make its presence felt. It is the best kind of account an advertiser can get to work on, and Ogilvy’s team shows just how much fun it has while working on Fevicol campaigns.
People walking with stools stuck to their bottoms is only possible in cartoons – and Fevicol ads.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)