Patriotism, empowerment, inclusion power brand campaigns for I-Day

Independence Day is turning into a lucrative time for brands, albeit with a patriotic flavour. Even as retail outlets and e-commerce portals come out with their special sale offers, brands, too, go on an overdrive with their marketing and advertising efforts. Campaigns are especially created keeping in mind the sentiments of the nation, where the defence forces are saluted and also celebrated is the march of a confident India. 

We take a look at how our media, marketing and advertising sectors are celebrating Independence Day this year. 

It’s raining sales 

A long holiday weekend has spurred a shopping frenzy, what with Raksha Bandhan in the preceding week and Janmashtami celebrated just a day ahead of August 15. Holidays and sales are a powerful combination for brands to boost their sales and this year is no different. 

Apart from the usual retail discounts, e-commerce platforms are also aggressive with their sales initiatives, be it Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, ShopClues or Nykaa, among many others. 

Online shopping platform, Naaptol, launched a Freedom Sale video on Facebook for its Independence Day sale with discounts up to 70 per cent. Electronic payment platform, Paytm Mall is offering up to 80 per cent off and Rs 20,000 cashback  to celebrate Independence Day. 

Remembering our bravehearts in uniform 

Our defence forces are being increasingly featured in brand campaigns across diverse sectors. iD Fresh Foods has launched a digital campaign that aims at creating awareness about the plight of the families of our army martyrs, as well as encouraging the public to pledge their support for the well-being of these families. The focus of the digital campaign is to encourage contributions that will be used towards helping the education of the children of our martyrs. 

In a one-of-a-kind initiative, ride hailing app Ola has decided to give its customers an opportunity to ride with Ola Sainiks on August 15, where thousands of ex-servicemen will be driving on the Ola platform under its ‘Share’ category, sharing their stories with the customers and seeking support to make freedom from congestion, a reality. This initiative builds on Ola’s ongoing campaign, #FarakPadtaHai, that emphatically brings out how each individual’s actions, no matter how small, make a big difference. Under the Independence Day initiative, Ola will also handover letters and thank you cards signed by its driver partners to various Army camps across the country. 

Theme park Essel World has decided to contribute 10 per cent of the ticket value collected from the sale of combined Essel World and Water Kingdom tickets on Independence Day, valued at Rs 1,299, will go towards the welfare of our Jawans by providing facilities for the army and war causalities. 

Of human stories & empowerment 

India has achieved a lot in the 70 years since she got her independence in 1947. But where do we stand with it comes to the rights of women? How do we compare with the rest of the world? Have we progressed or regressed? For Independence Day, Vitamin Stree decided to answer these questions for women across the country. The video features 17 women ranging from 8 years old to 63 years old, and gets them to talk about Women’s Rights in a light, conversational manner. 

Watch the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT6HoFa8ZDk

This Independence Day, Puravankara, one of the leading real estate builders based out of Bengaluru, launched their campaign - "Freedom of Thoughts"

 Extending the theme of Freedom, we approached people from different walks of life, who enthusiastically participated and shared their thoughts on what freedom meant to them. Ranging from a corporate employee to a vegetable vendor, the variety of responses made the video endearing. 

https://www.facebook.com/Puravankara/videos/10154869836956547/

Bajaj Avenger has come out with an ad for women empowerment. The words of Mahatma Gandhi, uttered all those years ago, ring true even for India of today – “The day a woman can walk freely on the roads at night, that day we can say that India has achieved independence”. 

#RideYourIndependence - Bajaj Avenger Independence day Film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtPpnOKDo4g

Meanwhile, Lokmat along with Trinayani, a not for profit NGO, have launched a film bringing together persons with and without disabilities, where they sing the National Anthem together. The film features people who have visual, speech, hearing, intellectual and mobility impairment along with representatives of LGBTQ community and an acid attack survivor.

Television celebrates patriotism 

With the long weekend, TV channels have lined up a plethora of shows, docu-dramas, and films. Sony Pictures Networks will simulcast the inspirational tale of India’s greatest ever sports icon, Sachin Tendulkar, with the film ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’. Another sports film will hit the airwaves this Independence Day – the mega hit film on wrestling, ‘Dangal’, which will be aired on Zee Cinema. Meanwhile, as part of its #ZEEForAll initiative to make television viewing accessible for all, audio description for visually impaired audiences and subtitles for the hearing impaired audiences will be available during the airing of ‘Dangal’. 

&Pictures is airing ‘Naam Shabana’, the spin-off movie of the hit Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Baby’. The channel will also air the war drama ‘Ghazi Attack’ on August 15. 

Star Movies will premiere the sci-fi film, ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’, on August 15. 

Discovery Communications India will air a special short capsule feature series highlighting the work done under the ‘Namami Gange’ programme starting this Independence Day. The special series will air across 7 Discovery portfolio channels, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery HD World, Animal Planet HD World, TLC HD World and Discovery Tamil.