This year, Kerala’s media group Mathrubhumi decided to take a light-hearted route to remind advertisers that when it comes to making decisions around Onam, Malayalees find it impossible to ignore Kerala’s most trusted media giant and its verticals.
This campaign idea translated into a series featuring Mathrubhumi as the proverbial elephant in the room, which worked perfectly, since elephants are a very Kerala mnemonic and also represent the Group’s gigantic influence into the state. Every Onam, elephants are a huge part of the festivities, with processions of elephants forming the centrepiece of many celebrations. The message remains clear – this Onam, Malayalees will find it impossible to ignore Mathrubhumi.
In addition to the campaign, there was a simple 60 sec elephant game challenge where one had to get the giant ready for Onam, giving an opportunity for participants to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Kerala and truly experience God’s Own Country.
Jayakrishnan N, Head Brand Communications, Mathrubhumi Group said “The campaign aims to demonstrate various combinations of media that can effectively drive response across target groups, through the integrated model and help our clients achieve their festive goals in Kerala. The prime driving factor of the campaign message is that it will be difficult for the Malayali and advertisers to ignore Mathrubhumi this Onam, the elephant in the ads is a synonym to the image of our brand which is loved, and a huge figure which cannot go unnoticed in any crowd.”
“Creating the campaign was such fun – we took in to account that we had a very targeted audience, many of whom advertised in Kerala every year and really knew the nuances of selling in the state. We wanted to make a campaign that they’d enjoy. So we made sure every character and situation has been carefully illustrated, with dozens of easter eggs for the audience to discover, with even the headlines packed with references. Hopefully, it’ll be a campaign they can’t ignore”, said Francis Thomas, Creative Director, Maitri Advertising Works.
