Sabhyata Diwali ad: An ode to female leadership?

exchange4media speaks to Sabhyata's Marketing Head, Chayan Verma, and conceptualizer of the campaign Manish Sharma, Founder & Director at P Se Picture

e4m by Tanzila Shaikh
Published: Oct 24, 2022 8:59 AM  | 6 min read
Sabhyata Diwali Campaign
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The recently launched Diwali campaign #RedefiningCelebration by Sabhyata, an Indian ethnic wear brand, evoked various opinions on the internet as the storyline revolves around a young woman seeking a job while being pregnant for the first time. 

The ad shows a young woman played by Ayesha Kaduskar waiting to get interviewed for a job. She is approached by an older woman played by Sheeba Chaddha who strikes up a friendly conversation with her and gives her a pep talk about the seemingly impending interview. Chaddha's character is able to gauge that the young woman is pregnant and offers some advice as to how to handle the interview.

As a friendly gesture, she also offers the young woman her Diwali gift given by the company, a hamper from Sabhyata. At the end of the close to four min ad, it is revealed that the lady was the CEO of the company and the woman had been hired. 

The ad has been quite conspicuous on social media, with many hailing the brand for broaching such a relevant topic. 

To understand the thoughts and efforts that went into the ad, exchange4media spoke to the brand’s Marketing Head, Chayan Verma, and conceptualizer of the campaign Manish Sharma, Founder & Director at P Se Picture.

Talking about the concept of the ad, Verma said, “This is our fourth ad. Whenever we have discussed the concepts and the ideas, it's all around women empowerment with a certain tweak. The stories have an element of quirk in them.”

While Sharma said, “The main target audience of Sabhyata is women in their mid-twenties to sixties. We had to think like them while conceptualizing the ad and see what their lives are like. The key to our approach is to look at relatable situations.”

Verma drew from his wife's experience balancing pregnancy with work, a common situation for working women these days.

After more than five months of preparations, the campaign was finally out and the concept seems to have hit its mark. The ad has gone viral, receiving 136,768  views on YouTube at the time of filing this story. 

People have also noticed that the brand Sabhyata comes into focus only at the end of the ad, giving priority to the message of the ad over the brand placement.

According to Verma, this was a deliberate decision: “The idea is not to over-impose the brand. The reason why this ad is going viral is that the brand has been placed very intelligently and realistically. We have always thought that we want to keep the brand minimalistic. If the ad reaches people, eventually people will be aware of the brand.”

Sharma added: “This is a purpose-driven ad campaign and it is very important to connect with the audience or the target audience of the brand. People would connect the emotion with the value Sabhyata stands for.”

Verma and Sharma told us that the biggest challenge is the placement of the music which is composed by Aniruddha. The video was edited down from a five-minute version to a 3min 46secs. 

The internet disects

Despite the plaudits, the ad has also served as an interesting topic for discussion. While some have enjoyed the ad and appreciated the message behind it, others have found it quite unrealistic. Reactions have ranged from questioning the brand placement to objecting to the message of the brand.

With the bouquets, some brickbats are also expected. However, apart from creating a memorable ad, the brand has opened doors for some important discussions and debates on the internet, which is what most spots aspire to do.

Published On: Oct 24, 2022 8:59 AM 
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