Airtel's Border Campaign

The talking point these days is Airtel's Border campaign shown below which is launched under "Barriers break when people talk" theme and is one of the best ads to come out recently. It is running it on some 70 TV channels (over 18,000 spots) in eight languages, besides Hindi and English. Although the ad is broadcast on a variety of channels, it is particularly heavy on general entertainment and sports. Though originally it was thought to shoot the ad in India Pakistan Border it ended up being shot in Morroco. Here is the video of the ad

However the current “border” ad is not a new idea but is the culmination of the series based on the idea of bridging boundaries, and at the same time, providing Airtel with a stronger brand identity. Business Standard in a very detailed report says that Airtel is trying to become an iconic brand like Nike in USA and hence the appeal to people's emotions. Iconic brand are defined as those that have social lives and cultural significance that go well beyond product benefits and features.

What we are trying to communicate is to be seen as a brand that is more iconic, which has greater stature and, therefore, a play on the notion that Airtel as a brand bridges boundaries — the ad simply conveys that if you have a conversation or talk to each other, you become friends.”

Overall a very good effort lets see if it successfully helps in making Airtel an iconic brand.