HomeShop18 makes a cheeky sales pitch to viewers in new ad, ropes in animated cats

If you are fond of cats, then you just might love HomeShop18’s latest campaign. The 360-degree, TV-led campaign is in line with the brand’s proposition of ‘Shopping makes me happy’ and has roped in two cheeky, animated cats Billy and Sunny. Creativeland Asia is the creative agency behind the ads, which will air starting June 6. Apart from TV, the new campaign will have a prominent digital leg to support it. The campaign comprises three ads - one umbrella TVC and two others to promote women’s apparel and HomeShop18’s discounts, each.

The umbrella commercial opens to the father cat Billy and his son Sunny. Both are addressing viewers and are using all their charm and persuasiveness to convince them about HomeShop18’s benefits - the fact that you can shop via the TV channel, site or the mobile phone app.

The duo moves on to tell viewers about the range of brands and products they stock, as well as the the convenience of cash-on-delivery they offer to customers. The cats sound exactly like owners of a family business (it is one!), too. In the both, father and son do a small jig to the brand’s jingle and sign off with ‘Shopping makes me happy’.

Watch the commercial here:

Firstbiz spoke to Vikrant Khanna, chief marketing officer, HomeShop18 and Sajan Raj Kurup, founder and creative chairman of Creativeland Asia, to understand the campaign better.

Said Khanna, “The brand campaign reflects HomeShop18’s ideology of ‘Shopping makes me happy.’ This is not just a tagline but a universal insight that resonates with people across the world. At HomeShop18, we believe that we are best poised to appropriate this position since we are the only ones that offer shopping via the three digital commerce platforms of TV, web and mobile app - each aligned to a relevant consumer segment in the Indian market.”

Speaking about the brief for the ads, Kurup said, “We had to make Homeshop18 the most preferred remote shopping destination, be it online, on TV or on the mobile app. It is the only shopping brand that’s present on all these three platforms. The task at hand was to create an umbrella campaign that would promote thepropositionof Homeshop18.”

Khanna added that shopping makes people happy irrespective of who they are or where they are from. This simple truth in the campaign will help resonate well with customers and HomeShop18’s partners, he opines.

Is the commercial a way to appeal to the current cat-obsessed, generation? Yes, said Kurup.

“Our understanding of the category told us that the core idea of Shopping makes me happy is one of thosetruismsyoucan’t disagree with. Shopping in the past was about buy necessities. Today shopping has become a stress-busting, mind-opening and a mood uplifting recreational activity.Since this category deals with a lot of information dissemination, we had to find engaging characters to deliver it. Cats are famous on the internet. Cat videos are the most watched and viral videos on the internet. So we decided to go with two cats, a father and son duo to star in our commercials that represent different generations of shoppers across TV and the internet,” Kurup said.

Khanna also informs of other films in the series featuring Billy and Sunny, each of which is based in a life insight.

“The first film is based on the insight that contrary to popular belief happiness can be bought by shopping. Post the first film, we then move to the important product categories. The film for the apparel and accessories category is based on the importance of a mirror in a woman’s life, for instance,” said Kurup.

The film for women’s apparel has the Billy-Sunny duo speaking to the female audience. They say that the world’s greatest invention isn’t the steam engine, but in fact, a mirror. It is a woman’s best friend and worst critic, too. They go on to say that shopping for apparel on HomeShop18 will give them the confidence to look into the mirror without a care in the world.

Watch the ad here:

The commercial titled ‘YouTube’ has Sunny and Billy telling viewers that watching TV ads are very expensive. A better option is to watch ads on YouTube, so that they can give away great discounts on HomeShop18 items to viewers instead.

View the film here:

The fourth commercial commercial in the series, ‘Billy and Sunny ke solution’, promotes the range of appliances that HomeShop18 offers. It begins with the pair speaking to ‘_auntyji’_about how they don’t need to deal with maids and the problems they bring with them, anymore. It goes on to speak of the various appliances that can be ordered for various needs such as cooking, cleaning, mopping, etc.

Watch the commercial here:

Speaking about the life-like animation and execution of the ad, Kurup said, “We shot the film live with two actors. And modelled our cats basis their expressions and performances. Needless to say that the cats were created using CGI, which is always tricky with fur animals. I am glad we took some good calls on the human versus cat characteristics and stuck as close to reality as possible.”

Apart from TV and digital, the campaign will have print, radio, social media and branding and identity mediums.

Elaborating on the engagements across various media, Khanna said, “HomeShop18 is the first Indian brand to use Whatsapp to reach out to its customers through viral posts and videos. The company has also created www.shoppingmakesmehappy.com for engagement with its customers as well as the latest on Billy and Sunny.For this TVC, the social media and digital activation campaign is being spearheaded by Mindshift Interactive. The aim is to target the ever growing internet population with its fascinating viral content that is both youthful as well as, has a cosmopolitan charm.”

Credits

Client: Homeshop18
Agency: Creativeland Asia
Creative chairman: Sajan Raj Kurup
Executive creative director: Anu Joseph
Creative directors : Ravi Shanker, Rajat Dawar
Copywriters : Sajan Raj Kurup, Rajat Dawar, Ravi Shanker
Creative partners: Deepak Jage, Riti Hamlai
Illustrator: Sanjay Pandav
Planning: Priyanka Kurup
Client servicing : Harshad Lad, Shreyashi Pandit
Director: Ram Madhvani
Production house: Equinox Films
Director of photography: Pushpan Kripalani
Animations: UPP, Prague

Disclaimer: HomeShop18 is part of the Network18 group, of which Firstbiz is also a part.