Pizza Hut's ad campaign is my favourite: Creativeland's Sajan Raj Kurup

The idea of the campaign itself was very primal: Build relevance, repeat the brand name, create a catchy tune, show irreverent visuals that almost mirror the content on the TikToks and the Instagrams

Which is your favourite campaign and why?
 
There are many that come to my mind, but in these times of “here and now”, I’d go with a recent campaign we created for Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut is a popular brand worldwide. But given the clutter and noise of pizza brands — global and local, new and old — the brief was to set those scores right and bring the brand back to where it rightfully belonged. We realised that it wasn’t just the job of mainline advertising to set this right. Because old methods can only get you the same old results. We needed a whole new approach, a wholesome approach. In a world of insta-stories and TikTok videos, where we are no longer just competing with other ads, brave new narratives are as important as grounded insights.

 
We set up the first brand studio for Pizza Hut. It was everybody who we needed to solve the problem in a single room. By everybody, I mean, the data guy, the digital experts, the social experts, the writers, the designers, the content guys, the producers, the editors, the planners and the account management team, sitting in one war room.
 

We conceptualised the Pizza Hut javenge, 99 mein khavenge campaign. We got a YouTube star, Bhuvan Bam as the brand ambassador across media. He starred in the TV commercials and all of the other content pieces.
 
The idea itself was very primal: Build relevance, repeat the brand name, create a catchy tune, show irreverent visuals that almost mirror the content on the TikToks and the Instagrams of the world.

 
On what parameters did you base your decision?
 
Creativeland, from its inception, has been fortunate to handle some of the biggest brand refreshes in the country. Frooti, Cinthol, MTS, Micromax, to name a few. I think it’s our forte. While this is a brand refresh as well, I like it for how we went about it as much as what we did with it. Creating the Pizza Hut brand studio was a big moment. But, the most important reason I chose this campaign was for the results it delivered. In just a month of launch, every score the brand was seeking to improve, improved. Both spontaneous recall of brand and future consideration scores went up. Mis-attribution scores dipped dramatically.

 
That it went viral even before the media push began spoke volumes about the relevance and enjoyment of the content.
 
 
Did the campaign win any awards? Do you think advertising awards serve any purpose?
 
It’s just a month old, this campaign. Awards are a little far away. In any case, Creativeland enters very few award shows. Advertising awards can serve a couple of wonderful purposes. It is a motivation to up your game and push the boundaries of creativity. And a little recognition for great work, goes a long way in attracting good talent and generating buzz around your workplace.