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‘Start a little good’ for Unilever India kicks off with film about a shower cubicle in a desert

Ogilvy India has created a couple of films for Hindustan Unilever’s new corporate campaign ‘Start a Little Good’. The first film on water conservation starts with the stark image of a shower cubicle planted in a village in Rajasthan, one of the country’s driest states

Speaking about the genesis of campaign Ogilvy India west’s chief creative officer Kainaz Karmakar said: We came up with and discarded many stories, because they felt superficial. The day we thought of ‘The shower’ we were absolutely confident that this was the film to be made.

“The ability of the story to show you the value of water, from the point of view of those who don’t have it, made us 100% sure. What is so heartening is that our clients felt exactly the same way.”

Unlike other PSAs, ‘Shower’ went a little further, with the water used in the film recycled and given to the villagers of Mangalaram ki Dhani in Rajasthan, the location of the shoot. Asked how that came about Karmakar said: “We cannot take the credit for that. The director, Buddy from Little Lamb Films thought of doing this. He is one person who is absolutely committed to creating work that impacts change, however small or big.

“When we were discussing the production and setting up a shower cubicle in a village, he came up with the idea that we should give the water to the village where we shoot the film. We wanted to say this in the communication because we wanted to make sure that no one thinks we wasted water in the shooting of this film, because we did not.”

The second film which deals with plastic waste features an entire village trying to coax a cow to stop chomping on a plastic bag.

Asked if there was any reluctance building a script around a cow at a time when cows and violence initiated by those who claim to protect them is a hot-button issue in India, Ogilvy India West’s chief creative officer Harshad Rajadhyaksha said: “We were not worried because the communication is directed towards helping animals. In this story, the entire village comes together to stop the cow from eating a plastic bag. This shows respect and love. What the villagers do for the cow is what one would do for one’s own child.”

The films will have been released online and will be aired on television in January.

Speaking about the campaign, a company spokesperson for HUL told Mumbrella:The aim is to raise awareness and prompt action on pressing environmental issues the country is currently facing.

“It also informs viewers about the ‘little good’ that HUL has started as a responsible corporate citizen and urges them to make little changes in their daily lives that will have a sizeable impact.

“We often believe individual actions are a drop in the ocean and feel demotivated to take a step in the right direction. The campaign is an attempt to change that mindset – to make each citizen realise their role in making the world a better place.”

Asked whether there will be more to the campaign than the films, the spokesperson said: “We will be creating inspiring content and activations from time to time which will motivate and inspire consumers to take a step in the right direction.”

Rajadhyaksha added: “We have shared ideas and are in the process of choosing the most effective ones. Once the film has been seen enough, we will continue the campaign with other ideas.”

Credits

Chairman and creative head, South Asia : Piyush Pandey

Vice chairman and group CCO : Sonal Dabral

CCOs India (West) : Kainaz Karmakar, Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Sukesh Nayak

Copywriters : Kainaz Karmakar & Harshad Rajadhyaksha

Creative team : Ashok Karkala, Vinay Pawaskar

Chief client officer (India) : Hephzibah Pathak

Account management : Nikhil Mohan, Piyush Jha

Chief strategy officer (India) : Prem Narayan

Production house : Little Lamb Films

Director : Bauddhayan Mukherji (Buddy)

Producers : Monalisa Mukherji, Avishek Ghosh

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