Cementing Relations

Roti-kapada-makaan are the bare necessities of life. Everyone dreams of building a home for their loved ones. But what’s a home if not built on a robust foundation with strong pillars? And that is what every cement brand claims to provide, a tried and tested formula. But, to go beyond the obvious, MP Birla Cement weaves interesting analogies in its two-part campaign released in December. The heart-warming campaigns touch upon the emotions and experience that go behind making a home.

Conceptualised by Ogilvy, the ads talk about the strength and durability of Birla’s two marquee brands — Samrat and Perfect Plus. The campaign for Samrat has primarily been made for its core market in the Hindi heartland and “leverages on the heritage and trust elements using a strong local idiom and a heart-warming story,” says Sandip Ghose, chief operating officer, MP Birla Cement. For Perfect Plus, the company chose to challenge a social construct.

In the first film -‘Tajurbe Ki Taaqaat’, the viewer is introduced to Bishambar, who runs a family-owned eatery. Over the years, the family has perfected the art of producing savouries and passed it on to newer generations. The business is expanding and so is their house. And just like their recipes have stood the test of time, their choice of cement – Samrat – has too.

The second campaign, for Perfect Plus, has a film in which a man overseeing the work at a construction site assures his beta that he knows the foundation is as important as the pillar when building a home. Overhearing his conversation, the on-site supervisor says that he is very lucky that his beta is building a house for him. But the next day, the supervisor is surprised when the man introduces him to his beta, who is actually his daughter! “In our society, daughters are as strong and capable of building homes as sons. The sentiment in the film has never been captured in the advertising spectrum,” says Sujoy Roy, executive creative director & managing partner, Ogilvy.

In both the ads, the cement brands are brought in at an opportune time, without overpowering the story. Also, by having one film talking about legacy and the other about a modern and progressive society, MP Birla Cement has managed to reach out to a wide set of audience. Now that’s what we call a ‘strong’ and ‘durable’ campaign!