The BEST ad for which Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kapoor and agency waived their fees

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) recently launched two brand films under the ‘Pudhe Chala’ (Move Ahead) campaign. The films are woven around ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actor Anil Kapoor. 

The one-minute film of both Sachin and Anil got more than 5 lakh views each on YouTube within two weeks of launch. Sachin’s film, in Marathi, has got more than 6 lakh views so far. 

BEST buses have played an important role in Tendulkar’s and Kapoor’s lives, about which they have spoken a lot in their interviews. They re-lived these experiences in the ad films. 

What made this campaign more unique is the fact that from Tendulkar to Kapoor to the director of the ad film Abhinay Deo and his production team Ramesh Deo Productions (RDP), all waived their fees for this project. 

The creative agency on the project, Siriti, has also done the campaign free of cost. The campaign was executed by BEST's technology partner ‘Chalo’ 

In the films, which are in Marathi and Hindi both, Tendulkar recalls how he used to take a bus early in the morning to reach Shivaji Park for cricket practice on time; and Kapoor reveals that he took buses from his then Chembur home to studios and auditions across Mumbai. 

Their real life bus experiences were crafted into the script. Both end the films by saying that BEST helped them move ahead in life and achieve their dreams, and highlight that now BEST itself is moving ahead with its new digital services such as ticket booking through apps. 

When asked about the sentiments behind waiving off the entire campaign cost, Sohan Shah, co-founder of Siriti, tells e4m, “Why should only celebrities do the social campaigns for free? We also decided not to charge any fee for this project which is much more than an ad campaign. BEST has been part of my growing years too just as many other Mumbaikars.”

Shah says everyone came together for this campaign out of their love for Mumbai, especially the red double-decker buses of BEST. 

Explaining his thought process behind the campaign, Shah says, “Mumbai’s Dabbawalas have become iconic but somehow BEST buses do not. They are silently serving the society. We thought that BEST must get the stature it deserves. We all had our own experiences of traveling in city buses and hence we decided to use ‘Pudhe Chala’ in a different context, beyond an instruction word that is given by the bus conductor.”

“Pudhe chala also means keep going. The BEST bus service that took us forward, has now taken a leap and is now going forward. This became our cultural line for communication strategy,” Shah said. 

“The script was prepared in three days and shared with Sachin and Anil. They immediately agreed to be on board. We wanted to be as real as possible. Hence, they were asked to add a few lines of their own experiences from yesteryears.  And both of them added a few lines in the script. The campaign reflected back to our own realities.”

What was the target audience for this campaign? Has BEST given them any mandate in this regard? 

Shah explains, “The BEST management wanted to talk to every commuter who is commuting every day as well as those who are not. The campaign encourages Mumbaikars to switch to public transport when it is available in plenty. While private vehicles require parking places which consume a lot of time, buses save time. Moreover, they are air-conditioned and becoming environmentally-friendly.”

BEST’s digital services, in partnership with Chalo, make the bus service reliable through live bus tracking and the live passenger indicator. The Chalo App provides live tracking of over 15,000 buses, offers mobile tickets and 72 new Super Saver travel plans. 

Still pictures with Sachin and Anil Kapoor have also been shot and will be pasted on bus-shelters soon, says Shah.