As the fear of a possible third wave of COVID-19 looms, calls for staying at home and avoiding unnecessary travel are growing louder. Chiming in is bike-taxi aggregator Rapido with its fresh #ZarooriHaiKya campaign. Through it, Rapido, which also offers a person-to-person delivery service, is asking its customers to think twice before stepping out or calling for a service at home with the simple, “Is this important?” In doing so, it makes the audience think also about the service providers — riders, at-home beauticians and such — and how they put their and their families’ health at risk while completing an order. With humour, the advertisement strings together visuals of unessential service requests — from using local delivery services to sending a rose every day to a sweetheart — and advises the viewers to be cautious, leaving them with the promise of meeting again when the risks subside.
Rapido’s ‘zaroori’ message
Rapido is asking its customers to think twice before stepping out or calling for a service at home with the simple, “Is this important?”
While the campaign and storyline were conceptualised by Rapido’s in-house team, the script was written by Enormous Brands and the production was handled by a budding production team.
“Despite being the largest bike taxi player in the country, Rapido wants to take a bold stand by asking people to step out only when necessary. We want customers to rethink their needs and if it is worth putting someone’s life at risk,” explains Amit Verma, head of marketing, Rapido.
He says the idea came from the way people were using these services. “While everyone talks about the customers’ point of view, we wanted to show how such executives do their jobs while trying to stay safe and protect their families and customers from danger,” he says.
Talking about the development of the campaign, Ashish Khazanchi, founder and managing partner, Enormous Brands, says that the campaign was a collaborative effort from the outset. “The brand’s brief was really sharp and well-defined. While the film has dealt with few aspects of the brand, there is a larger message for everyone about the choices we will be making in the coming days,” he says