Campaign Logic: Perceptions can be misleading

A new ad campaign by Ford India hopes to dispel the myth that its cars are high-maintenance

Brand:  Ford India

Budget:  Rs 12 crore

Agency: Global Team Blue India
 

Buying a house, a child’s wedding and purchase of a car are the top three high-value purchases in the life of an average Indian consumer. Indeed, before purchasing a car, apart from the upfront cost, a buyer also researches the overall cost of ownership and the service experience during the entire ownership period.

Recognising this, Ford India has set out to dispel the myth that its cars are expensive to maintain. In a new campaign the automaker claims that its products are surprisingly affordable to buy and keep, contrary to the popular perception that the cost of service for the brand is high.

The television commercial (TVC) features well known on-screen “villains” — Prakash Raj, Gulshan Grover and Sudha Chandran. The three protagonists discuss how they have been pigeonholed as “bad characters” even in real life courtesy their negative on-screen image. In one of the films, for instance, Grover is seen opening a bag kept in the boot of a parked car. As he unzips the bag, a viewer sees small saplings. A smiling Grover says, “Ho gayi na galat faimi? Galat impressions yun hi ban jaate hai.” (Got the wrong idea, didn’t you? It’s easy to form wrong impressions.) He goes on to explain that when one thinks of, say, a Ford Aspire, one is inclined to believe that its service cost would be prohibitive, given its positioning. Then a super appears on the screen highlighting that even after being on the road for five years, the cost of service for a Ford car is just Rs 3,453. Grover signs off saying: “Kahi-suni pe mat jao. Khud dekho, parkho, phir decide karo.” (Don’t go by hearsay. Check it for yourself and then decide).

Rahul Gautam, vice-president, marketing, Ford India, says the automaker is conscious of the buyer’s concerns regarding the costs involved through the life cycle of a product. Yes, for a Ford spare part the customer will end up paying double the amount they would otherwise pay for a spare part of a competitor’s car. But then the Ford customer has to do it only once a year, which helps to make Ford products surprisingly affordable. “Indian customers, despite being conscious of costs, are not aware of such facts. With the help of our new ad, we wish to break those myths.”

The TVCs have been created by Global Team Blue. Vidhu Sagar, managing partner, Global Team Blue India, says, “Human beings tend to blindly go by hearsay and accordingly form their perceptions, which may or may not be the truth. This behaviour, in fact, applies to everything in life. For example, many among us continue to believe that bulls hate red, humans have five senses, alcohol keeps you warm or Everest is the tallest mountain.”

Ford India’s domestic sales and exports combined in 2016 stood at 238,098 vehicles compared to 176,858 units in 2015. Gautam says that Ford has embarked on a Growth 2.0 strategy that is focused on product-led innovation, delivering differentiated customer experience and busting the myth of high cost of ownership.