Mumbai: Parle G releases its campaign celebrating Friendship Day. As a brand, Parle-G wears many hats. The brand’s tagline ‘Genius wohi, jo auron ke khushi mein paye apni khushi’ weaves into the culture of companionship in terms that Parle-G does best. The new film from the Parle stable addresses the real meaning of friendship on the occasion of World Friendship Day. True friendship, as opposed to faceless, impersonal social media.
The film follows the story of a group of friends, who are on the cusp of venturing into life after college. They rally around their one friend who needs a little cheer and encouragement before his campus interview.
The core promise of the brand can be extended to children, tweens, young adults and older parents in equal measure. It spans age, gender, language, and culture seamlessly.
Parle Products Pvt. Ltd vice president Mayank Shah puts it succinctly. “The Parle-G brand fulfils many roles in our everyday lives just as a good friend does. Friendship Day is a great platform to connect with the youth and send out a heartwarming message without being preachy. The film is made in the style of popular ‘buddy’ movies of today. The animated banter and college jargon work well for it. It has a universally appealing message with an informal approach, that adds a welcome layer to the brand’s image.”
It’s a coming-of-age story that most men in young adulthood would relate to and appreciate. It also speaks to a varied demography of viewers in its effortless portrayal. There is simplicity of emotion and genuine empathy, that makes itself evident in the course of the film. What begins with light banter and friendly joshing soon takes a deeply personal turn as each friend realizes that their road trip can wait for another day, but perhaps their friendship cannot.
The film was created by Thought Blurb Communications and released on Social Media and Video distribution platforms like YouTube on the eve of World Friendship Day.
Thought Blurb Communications chief creative officer Vinod Kunj added: “Venerable brands like Parle-G build over time. An over-arching brand idea like this helps to stretch its legs and grow. This is yet another iteration of an idea that feeds into the bigger brand story.”
Thought Blurb Communications national creative director Renu Somani speaks of the creative process. “The story may have come out of a simple insight, but crafting emotion into the usual young male bluster was its crux. There’s a shared emotion that comes to the fore and takes over from individual motivations.”
As Friendship Day comes and goes, the new Parle-G film becomes another brick in the creation of the brand edifice. It is part of the brand’s journey into the imagination of a new generation of Indians and a continuing legacy.