Cipla campaign hard-hitting; was aimed at opening people's eyes: Lav Dhruv

Which do you consider your best campaign and why? When was the campaign launched?

In my view, the best campaigns are the ones which can spark a change and you can gauge their impact. One such work of ours was the ‘Breathefree’ campaign for Cipla launched in January 2017. At that time, people in Delhi were reeling from the effects of unprecedented pollution levels which caused many of them to fall sick. Even me and my team members were not untouched. Working inside a closed office, we could feel the symptoms like breathlessness, coughing and irritation in the eye. So when Cipla came to us with their product, we devised a solution that everybody needed.
 
With their collaboration, we established Breathefree clinics all over Delhi, with plans to follow the model in other states later. The idea was to motivate people with such symptoms to visit the clinic for a breath and lung check-up, and in an advanced case, use the Cipla breath inhaler. We began the campaign by sensitising the people through an out-of-home advertising campaign followed by print and radio advertisements. It was a hard-hitting campaign with raw facts that aimed to open people’s eyes. No sooner than the campaign was launched, the Breathefree clinics were flooded with calls and people with symptoms poured in. It was then that we realised the severity of the problem.
 
What did the campaign achieve for the brand? Could you also share some numbers to corroborate your claim?

The campaign soon became the talking point of the city. People in Delhi were made aware of the importance of lung health. They realised it's not just a fad but the bitter truth, and if they didn't act fast, the repercussions could be severe. People from all parts of the national capital region came for lung check ups, and the inhaler from Cipla became a fast selling commodity. The website along with the call for action number received countless hits every day.
 
What was the key idea behind the campaign?

We decided that a health problem like this couldn't be communicated in a subtle manner. Unless you informed the masses about the severity of the situation, the message couldn't be conveyed. That’s why we launched the campaign with hoardings showing stark shots of the most polluted places in Delhi, along with a simple message, urging the audience to act quickly before it's too late.
 
What was the industry response to the campaign?

The campaign achieved a lot of mileage because it was a public service campaign and also because we had patients lining up at the Breathfree clinics. It was talked about in leading media portals and in health forums. A number of other brands started their own campaigns as well using the same term — “breathefree”.
 
What were the execution challenges?

The real challenge was shooting in the most polluted locations in Delhi. It used to be real smoggy during early morning, and it was tough to click the right pictures amidst all the smoke and filth. At the Ghazipur landfill, especially, we had a real hard time because of the murky light conditions and the eagles that landed on the muck contuinously.
 
Given a chance, what would you do differently?

I believe this idea was the best at the time for the brief we had been given; but maybe we could come up with an even better concept given another shot at it.

Brand: Cipla

Year of launch: 2017 

Agency: Ogilvy