Parle Products attempts branded content with video series on Independence Day

The iconic brand Parle-G from the house of Parle Products has launched its first branded content series as the second leg of the campaign #YouAreMyParleG. Based on user-generated content, the series is divided into five films and the first of the set is launched on Independence Day this year.

The film is a tribute to the Indian armed forces featuring an emotional story of a soldier and his family, which is inspired by consumer responses. The five-series digital films have been inspired by real-life incidences shared by consumers.

Parle Products has shortlisted 280 stories from several entries that it received on when it launched the TVC in May 2018.

Elaborating more on how the user experiences and content collaborated, Mayank Shah, Category head, Parle Products, said, “Not many consumers understood the idea of sharing their ‘YouAreMyParleG’ experiences. If they understood it, they didn’t know how to send back. While we got many entries, many didn’t elaborate the reason behind their ‘YouAreMyParleG’ moments. The agency shortlisted the stories, of which we chose five to make films.”

The stories were curated on social media. Many consumers wrote letters to the brand. Shah said, “Parle-G has a reach across the length and breadth of the country. We couldn’t have just restricted to the digital medium. So we asked them to write us letters also. We got entries from the urban and rural India both.”

The brand could have partnered with any content creator to create content, but it relied on user-generated content. Explaining the rationale behind fetching user-generated content, Shah said, “We did a research before we launched our first leg of the campaign and the kind of experiences consumers shared for Parle, no creative could envisage the kind of relation a consumer can have with the brand.”

The first film will release around Independence Day, followed by the second film towards the end of the month and three films towards next month. The films are dubbed in various regional languages.

Each digital film will showcase the importance of meaningful relationships that form an integral part of everyone’s life but are seldom acknowledged. Parle-G is subtly integrated into the narrative.

The first leg of the campaign in the form of TVCs was conceptualised by Taproot Dentsu, while the second leg has branded video content in the form of short stories conceptualised by Thought Blurb.

Shah said, “This time the idea was such that I don’t think it would have done justice on TV. Trying to fit in the emotions that people have for this brand in a 30-second TVC wouldn’t have done justice.”

Commenting on the insight of the video series, Vinod Kunj, Managing Partner, Thought Blurb, said, “Parle G as a brand appeals to every generation and section of our society. Yet each person perceives the brand in their own unique way. Like human relationships, they are not as elementary as love, gratitude, friendship or devotion. They would be reciprocal, layered and multi-faceted in intensity. We may understand these emotions, but we are never fully conscious of them at all times. We focused on the point in a relationship where that realisation dawns. This was the insight with which we initiated the communication.”

Kunj said, “In each film, you'll see how an action, a few words, or an emotion triggers our moment of clarity. The subtext of the relationship becomes clear to the protagonist and them of longing or gratitude. India’s complex and unwavering connection to the brand is equated to this. When the protagonist tells someone that ‘You are my Parle G’, he speaks for India, and its relationship with the brand.”

Shah said the films would be largely disseminated on digital, but will be amplified using other mediums. “I may at a time use the TV for this, but it would be more to lead the consumers to the digital medium. I will also use radio and in cinema would show the full film.”

The Film: