Cannes Lions: Inside ^ a t o m network’s - The EmerJersey and The D Series Project

This year, the Indian advertising industry is all geared up to meet the expectations around Cannes Lions after last year’s resounding success.

Continuing with our series on the entries from India this year, we look at ^ a t o m network’s four campaigns in 11 categories.

Agency leaders Abhik Santara, CEO & Director, ^ a t o m network, and Yash Kulshresth, Chief Creative Officer, ^ a t o m network, spoke to e4m on the campaigns they are banking on the most - Reliance General Insurance’s The EmerJersey and The D Series Project.

Reliance General Insurance’s The EmerJersey

During the festival of Dahi Handi, a number of people get injured, leading to hospital emergencies. Due to the various medical procedures involved it takes long to get the treatment started and this is what Reliance General Insurance wanted to address with EmerJersey where all the medical details were printed on their jerseys and the washing tags.

The campaign created an impact with the then Mayor of Mumbai voluntarily promoting EmerJersey and assuring to implement it across teams, saving 100K lives annually. Many sports teams, autorickshaw drivers, and a school chain also adopted the concept of EmerJersey.

Talking about why they chose this campaign Kulshresth said, “Idea. Craft. Impact. These three things throw any campaign in and out of the awards season. With EmerJersey, we have a great idea that goes beyond the traditional fringes of advertising. It's an on-ground idea that is not high on production, but the clever use of washing tags and exterior design conveys the brand's core without altering the cultural landscape.”

Speaking on the brief and the process, he said, “The brief was to build a stronger association between brand and health, and to convey the core of the brand - 'care'. Any festival is a sensitive environment for a brand. The cultural and traditional aspects take precedence over anything, even safety. The biggest challenge was to create something remarkable without changing anything in and around the festival.”

The D Series Project

The D Series Project by Reliance General Insurance is one of the four campaigns that the agency is pinning its hopes on. The campaign is about making people aware of organ donation through the medium of music. Since several song titles have mentions of body parts like the heart and eyes, the brand used popular numbers to talk about organ donation. The campaign saw get around 10,000 people taking the pledge to donate organs.

Asked about why they chose the campaign, Kulshresth said, “The D Series Project has been chosen for two reasons - one, the creative idea of using popular songs to popularise organ donation, and the second - using an innovative media placement that demonstrates a unique and creative approach to reaching the target audience. By utilising a new or unconventional media channel, the campaign was able to capture the audience's attention and deliver the message in a fresh and memorable way, ultimately resulting in increased brand awareness and prompting an increase in the number of organs pledged for donation.”

He also shared that the brief asked them to address India's organ crisis and nudge our audience towards pledging their organs while increasing the brand's association with health. Considering the brand's consumer-facing tonality, the communication needed to cater to an audience across different age groups.

“Using a fun and engaging communication style while talking about a serious problem was a challenge that we overcame. The campaign was well received, exceeding all projections made by the media team. Apart from engagement numbers and views, the campaign also met its goal of increasing the number of organs pledged in India,” he added.

Speaking on expectations from this year’s Cannes Lions, Santara said, “While a lot of euphoria drove the flavour in 2022, on the back of Covid-19, Cannes Lions in 2023 will witness a reality check. Growing concerns about the global economy and layoffs at big corporates will affect how brands augment their budgets to send their delegates. Cannes has become an expensive affair, and it will make smaller agencies and brands think twice before spending their budgets on something that has a weak ROI. No doubt it is the most prestigious award show, and it will continue to be the icon of creativity and many brands will send their work.”

“The other interesting thing will be to see the introduction of metaverse into categories focused on new realities and emerging tech. For many in the world, the bubble has busted. But how the creative executions on brands have lifted the creativity will be a good watch to have. And let’s not forget ChatGPT and other AI tools – I can visualise that chatter at every session in the show. Is the creative industry going through a metamorphosis or is it just another passing phase, that will be the centre of many interesting discussions?”