`Chennai Dreams' by Coke

Hindu BusinessLine

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, Nov. 19

AFTER A.R.Rahman's Bombay Dreams, it is now Chennai which is dreaming. As a part of its regional language communication strategy, Coca-Cola India is launching a new advertising campaign for Tamil Nadu called Chennai Dreams.

Conceptualised by Orchard Advertising, a Bangalore-based agency, the advertisement is a blend of gaana style of music and ballet. Targeted at the youth, the ad features actor Vijay, a youth icon in Tamil Nadu, and Katrina Kaif, a model. The ad, directed by Rajiv Menon, will be aired on leading TV channels in the State.

At the launch, Mr Rajesh Mani, Region Marketing Manager, Coca-Cola India, said that the new campaign based on gaana music is in tune with the brand's strategy of "building a connect using the relevant local idioms." This is the third of a series of the brand's campaigns in Tamil, which has used gaana music. Mr Mani said that the previous two campaigns on similar lines had worked wonders for the brand and increased sales by about 50 per cent.

"We won the Effi award from Advertising Club, Mumbai for this campaign," he added.

Mr Mani also explained that though the brand value of Coca-Cola remains the same globally, it is continuously searching for local insights for effective communication.

For instance, the company used an exhaustive process to zero-in on gaana as an effective mode of expression among the youth in Tamil Nadu. As Thomas Xavier, Executive Creative Director of Orchard explains, "We were clear that the need of the hour was not for an ad film but for a Tamil feature film in 60 secs."