Riding The Wave Of Change

It was a moment when clearly the stars were aligned. What else could explain the assembling of an unusual star cast? That of Baba Ramdev, Mamata Banerjee and Lalu Prasad Yadav all in one hatchback. Well, not them but their lookalikes. And then there’s Narendra Modi too. All campaigning for the same cause – urging the electorate to dump the old favourite or bekaar and opt for the new Datsun Redi-GO.

Branded as ‘Vote for change’, the 13-video series takes an indirect jibe at the Maruti Alto, and tries to convince first-time car buyers to book the latest model by the Japanese brand instead. Featuring Vinay Pathak as the master impersonator, the commercial shows the actor pull off a very convincing portrayal of each politician while endorsing the car’s features of more power and extra space.

Complete with an enthusiastic electorate lining up the streets calling for a revolutionary change, the campaign presents a pun-filled depiction that resembles the emotion on election day in the country. Why the backdrop of an election? Subramanian Krishnan, chief strategy officer, TBWA\ India, the agency that created the commercial explains, “Elections in India are a strong metaphor for the ‘power to change’. And Datsun decided to harness the allure of this public spectacle in its campaign.” Jerome Saigot, vice president, Datsun India, further comments on the auto maker’s philosophy, “We believe that the secret to making a change is to focus positive energy – not on confronting the old, but building the new. Datsun aims to strike the right chord with young risers in India through this campaign.”

In this mock election for the most popular small car, the battle lines are clear. And Redi-GO looks like an absolute winner when compared to the other contender — the bekaar models. Datsun first launched Redi-GO in 2016 as a budget hatchback. Labelling it as a “leader in style, comfort, space and power” through the new “Vote for Change” campaign, Datsun aims to regain its foothold and spread awareness in the small-car segment. And looks like this electorate is taking note of the change. “Since the break of the campaign, we have data showing a significant surge in Redi-GO inquiries with similar buying intention metrics,” Krishnan concludes.