HUL's Brooke Bond Red Label rides on contextual content this Ganesh Chaturthi

Brooke Bond Red Label — Hindustan Unilever’s and India’s largest selling tea brand in terms of market share — has yet again reinforced its philosophy of togetherness with a branded content piece, #ShreeGaneshApnepanKa, for Ganesh Chaturthi. Riding on the power of contextual messaging, the short film launched by the brand has clocked over 2 million views in four days.

“The impact is magnified because of the context of the festival. The power of contextual messaging is that it rides on the current frame of mind that people are in,” a HUL’s spokesperson told BuzzInContent.com.

Conceptualised by Geometry Encompass, the film delves into deep-rooted human prejudices and encourages everyone to open their minds and break the shackles of their own notions to come together.

“Inclusiveness is at the heart of Brooke Bond Red Label’s brand purpose. Prejudices do come in the way of inclusiveness and questioning some of our deep-rooted prejudices can pave the way for a more inclusive society,” the spokesperson said.

The film features a make-shift shop of Ganesh idol where devotees throng in large numbers to choose and book their perfect Ganpati. The film starts with the close shot of an idol-maker painting one of them. A first-time buyer asks him to show him some idols.

The situation turns grim when the idol-maker puts on his taqiyah. The buyer cancels his plan to buy the idol from his shop but his mindset changes as he sips a cup of Brooke Bond Red Label tea. He is surprised to know that a Muslim man makes idols and also knows some interesting facts about Bappa, along with what it truly means to bring home the ‘lord of new beginnings’. He drops all his biases and decides to take home Bappa from the shop.

Talking about the idea behind the film, the spokesperson said, “Brooke Bond Red Label’s purpose is to help people find common ground over a cup of tea. Towards this purpose, one of the many things that we do is leveraging contexts. Festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi provide a great context and are fertile ground for creative ideas.”

The film subtly weaves in the brand where the idol-maker requests the buyer to have a cup of tea at least. Talking about the context of 'Ek cup chai toh pite jaaiye' as an ice-breaker, the spokesperson said, “As India’s No. 1 tea brand, Brooke Bond Red label strongly believes in the power of a cup of tea to diffuse awkward situations and to bring people closer. Tea is a ubiquitous symbol of hospitality in India and as such, offering a cup of tea to a visitor is a perfectly normal thing to do.”

The brand’s content initiatives include the Cannes Lions Glass Grand Prix winning ‘6-pack band’ that urges people to open their minds against biases, prejudice and accept people irrespective of their differences.

The brand does a lot of traditional advertising too, apart from branded content. “Whatever be the kind of marketing we do, our endeavour is to be true to our brand purpose,” said the spokesperson. “Brands with Purpose is a passionate Unilever marketing credo. Many of our brands, including Brooke Bond Red Label, have a strong purpose which resonates with consumers and builds brand love.”

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