Although a host of campaigns are created, very few leave their mark with their brilliant concept, immaculate execution and superb visual strategy.
So what is it that makes one campaign a success story and another, a tale of disaster? To assess the causes that determine the fate of a concept, we took critical evaluations from marketing and advertising professionals on the Facebook India More Together digital video commercial.
Following is their analysis on how they view it.
Zoha Aamer
Brand Manager
Bank Alfalah
In this day and age, it is very rare to not only capture audience attention online, but to have them sit through an ad which is over 7 minutes long. Although it goes against every rule of customer retention and average attention span, the new Facebook More Together ad touches on all the right chords and takes one on an emotional journey, one that is not only insightful but also extremely relatable. Given that almost the whole world has gone through something similar on a bigger or smaller scale this year, it weaves together all the emotions and hope into a storytelling masterpiece that drives the point of social connections and community building home beautifully.
Fatima Nasir
Creative Group Head
Synite Digital
The latest communication from Facebook India shows us a post-COVID world, and it made me feel all the feels. The reason why this video content instantly became a hit is solid relevance. Our culture, not very different from that shown in the video, and shared value system preaches helping others out. This may even be at the expense of our own success and progress in society.
From a storytelling perspective, the communication highlights life after COVID-19 as bleak, impacting businesses and livelihoods, with daily wage earners being hit the hardest. Our protagonist aims to change a few lives with her small sweet shop. When obstacles hit even more, she chooses to sell her own car to continue paying wages to the extra help she hired. Her own brother becomes her biggest critique. This for me was the point that resonated most. Often in life, our choices are criticized by our own blood rather than any other person.
The concept of giving back is wonderfully captured. Which brings me to my next life lesson learnt: Those who have the least are the ones willing to give the most. At the end of the video, you are left feeling warm and hopeful that there are still good people in this world.
Hasan Puri
Account Director
Digitz
Before we review the advertisement, let’s understand the background and the need for creating such a piece of communication.
India deems to be a very lucrative market for Facebook. Yet keeping in mind the size of India’s population and opportunity area, Facebook only has 25% penetration in a potential market of over a billion users.
This campaign comes amidst a major pandemic showcasing the platform’s (aka Facebook) capability of bringing communities together. The communication ties all aspects of success: A concept that revolves around the core message of “More together” by bringing the community in one place with the protagonist opening their doors for others; the fact that dialogues, background score, and the direction is so captivating it entices the audience to watch the 7-minute commercial till the end, so much so that this communication became the talk of the town in this market even.
The cherry on top is the seamless portrayal of the platform’s core feature at the end, for me it closes the loop of the problem that was highlighted and places Facebook as a solution.
Sumayyah Aidrus
Creative Group Head
Synergy Denstu
I was engrossed in the ad till the last sentence. That only happens when the script writing has depth and an emotional connect that is relevant to the consumer. This ad did two things: One, encouraged the consumer to open their hearts to people and two, push them to give an honest solution to people who are unemployed.
The progression of the film through the lens of the camera kept me glued to the story. Even though the end was predictable the story writing did justice to the concept. It was heartfelt and optimistic.
Syed Ahsan Ali
Asst. Creative Director
Convex Interactive
The latest commercial from Facebook India portrays us in a post-COVID world, making us feel hopeful within ten minutes with a widespread smile!
The production design reflects the urban city life of India. The locations refer back to old constructed houses and shop, reflecting the simple life of the socio-economic class projected in the TVC. These locations compliment the ad’s subject; the crisis being faced by a middle-class young woman who is running a business with extra staff.
The actors justified the DVC plot by performing their characters effectively. Our protagonist, the young woman brings life to the commercial with her outstanding performance and expressions. My favorite character apart from the lead protagonist is the guy who posted the video on Facebook to promote the mithai shop.
The overall color treatment of the commercial is dominated by earthy tones, while blue and green hues are used throughout for depicting the Facebook brand’s color palette and for symbolizing growth and hope.
Day lighting techniques are used quite smartly. Interestingly, while it can be easier to shoot interiors in studios, the Production Designer boldly decided to get the audience to enliven the raw city life of India by selecting real city locations.
The best part of the advertisement is the adaptation of these very raw life aesthetics, which connects basic human emotions and every day struggles of the masses with the communication, instead of portraying glitz and glamour.
Kudos to Facebook for connecting with people across the board! This world can be much better together!