Flipkart's flip could flop

Game-changers like Google, Apple, Infosys and Amazon have one common thread, a peculiar trait they reflect - they are revolutionary not only in their core business area but in all other aspects. Take for instance Google, we see innovation running seamlessly in all its functions. Not only the core product, the company has rewritten the rules with a pioneering business model, its offices which it calls campuses, its path breaking HR policies and its communication. Back home, there is an Indian equivalent - a recent addition to the list - Flipkart. What Sergey (Brin) and Larry (Page) did to the internet search industry worldwide, Sachin and Binny Bansal are doing it to the Indian e-commerce industry. India's new billion-dollar baby has changed the way India shops, streamlining a user-friendly website, robust delivery systems, wide range of products, unmatched prices and effective communication. Their belief in advertising getting translated on screen is worth a mention.

Like its service, Flipkart broke the clutter in television advertising, too, by portraying kids who acted like adults. These kids dealt with issues of online shopping reluctance, online payment fears, they introduced new categories, services and promoted the brand; remaining cute, funny and extremely effective all this while. I love the 'India wants to know' set of ads where a kid aptly plays Arnab (Goswami) dominating five others in the inset boxes. The series ends with him saying 'Ab sirf shopping nahin, Flipkart karo' (Don't just shop, do Flipkart) creating a verb out of the brand. The three-generation ad is adorable where the kid playing the daughter-in-law replies to her husband's query on buying a product looking at pictures, by by saying "Shadi se pehle aapka bhi sirf photo hi dekha" (even I decided to marry you by just looking at your picture). To use kids who sounded and acted like adults was a master stroke, apart from subconsciously instilling a message that the shopping on Flipkart is simple as child's play, the kids took a dig at funny adult behaviour without offending them; on the contrary, making them laugh at themselves and subtly change their perceptions.

I appreciate the founders' vision - as a company with humble beginnings they didn't shy away from investing in advertising; they didn't opt for the typical "let us first be cash rich and then advertise" model. They considered advertising as an investment in the real sense of the word, as a tool that extrapolated them from a niche book-lovers brand to a mass national brand. The numbers speak for themselves. The website traffic, orders and revenue all doubled post the campaign. The effect is a result of the enthusiasm, creativity and vision of two young organisations Flipkart and the agency Happy Creative Services.

The kids-as-adults has become the second identity of the brand and how I wish they had continued flaunting this lovemark. But alas, as I write this piece, they've changed it to adults-as-adults and I am afraid it adds to the clutter of many such e-commerce brands. I had to wait till the end to know that it was Flipkart, unlike earlier, when as soon the kids appeared, we knew it was Flipkart. The concept had the potential to do what the Amul girl did to the Amul brand; with this move the pillar on which the brand became a billion-dollar baby is weakening. There comes a time when the makers may feel bored with the same theme, but, lest we forget - brands are made in the hearts of the consumers.

The author is Chief Creative Officer, India Subcontinent