No wooden acting in Greenpanel’s latest IPL spot with Delhi Capitals

What do a dejected David Warner, a morose Manish Pandey and a petulant Prithvi Shaw have in common? The Delhi Capitals stars are promoting wood panel manufacturer Greenpanel. The pan India campaign titled “Why So Angry?” has been rolled out by L&K Saatchi & Saatchi for the IPL season.

The ad opens with a sullen-looking Warner sitting on a bench with an equally sad Pandey as they share a look of commiseration.

It then cuts to Warner again sitting at a table, looking at his meal with disinterest. He is comforted by Shaw and Pandey as they place their hands on his shoulders.

Back in the changing room, things get all the more heated when a frustrated Shaw destroys a cricket bat in anger while Warner and Pandey cower.

All is not well, it seems like, and by now we are left wondering about the root cause of the trio’s frustration. The voiceover says “Jab Greenpanel MDF se furniture nahi banwayoge, toh gussa toh ayega hi.” (When Greenpanel MDF is not used to make your furniture, anger is inevitable.)

“Our endeavour, at the end of the day, is to make Greenpanel synonymous with MDF,” said Arvind Joshi, VP, Marketing at Greenpanel in the brand’s official press release.  

“The task set out for us was simple, make Greenpanel synonymous with MDF such that the two words are almost used interchangeably! With the Greenpanel film, we managed to do not just that, but also make people regret their choice of material/wood IF they haven’t used Greenpanel MDF,” commented Rohit Malkani, the Joint National Creative Director at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi. 

What do experts think?

The short ad film is bolstered by some surprisingly good acting by the trio comprising Warner, Pandey and Shaw. Additionally, the theme song also adds to the morose mood of the ad, which incidentally is also the stand-out factor of the film. 

Yash Kulshrestha, the CCO at ^atom network found the ad to be “zany and unexpected. “It’s a challenge to get non-actors to act this well. The players and the director did a decent job,” he noted.  

He also lauded the writing: “What works for the ad is the script itself, which is interesting. The IPL topicality, performance, and music lift the ad well.”  

For Subodh Chaubey, Creative Director at Infectious Advertising isn’t too convinced by the ad, especially since there’s a missed opportunity to showcase the product itself. “The ad started off really well, building up intrigue about the players' dejection. However, the final act fell rather short, with a somewhat expected climax - the regret of not using the product - in this case Greenpanel,” he said.  

On a brighter note, he added, “What works for the ad is the context of Delhi Capitals’ current form; so despite being their sponsor, Greenpanel has managed to score when they're low.”

As one may have guessed by the name of the campaign, the ad harps on negative emotions like anger and frustration to promote the product.

Although many a seasoned marketer may warn against the perils of hinging on negative emotions, there is enough canonical evidence to say that they may help: case in point, Onida selling envy or World Wildlife Federation selling fear or Always selling anger.

Sadness appeal can boost empathy and emotional immersion while anger appeal can stimulate people and can impact their purchasing decisions.

Can Greenpanel’s use of negative appeal cause a similar outcome?

“Personally the negative emotions make the storytelling richer. If only the reason had been beefed up, it would be great ad,” said Chaubey. 

Kulshrestha believes that unlike execs in “soulless boardrooms,” consumers don’t overthink about things like negative appeal in ads. “Consumers don't overanalyze ads as we all do in soulless boardrooms. They are not obsessed with it. They either find it interesting or not. It is in the brand's favour if it is funny, sticky and drives the point. Everything else is irrelevant. They will remember the ad and, hopefully, the brand when they go wood-hunting.”