ADVERTISING STRATEGY OF AIRTEL

In response to the much-hyped ad-campaign by Vodafone Essar, ZooZoo, Airtel has launched its
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“Special 5” campaign. However, industry insiders say the launch of the advertisement has been brought forward by at least two months to counter the growing clout of Vodafone. “As per the original plan, this (Special 5) campaign was supposed to be launched during the Champions Trophy in late September, just like the ZooZoo’s ad campaign during the Indian Premiere League,” a person in the know, who did not wish to be named, toldFinancial Chronicle.When contacted Ajay Naqvi, national business head for Airtel of Rediffusion Y&R, the creative agency working on this campaign, said, “Advertisement is a dynamic industry where plans keep changing. We strive to break in as early as possible. But the right platform is needed."Though different from the ZooZoo campaign, the Airtel advertisement seeks to build real life character based on cartoon characters, the insider said. However, Naqvi said, “I am not in a position to comment on this. In a week, everything would be clear.” An email sent to Airtel, went unanswered.In the 15-second teaser, now on the company's website and youtube.com, the advertisement shows a young girl, named Anna, identifying her five friends. “The concept is of being in touch with people (as many as five) at all times who matter. This is done at discounted rates,” Naqvi said. Local calls will cost 20 paise while STD calls would cost 50 paise.Naqvi added the following parts of the advertisement would hit TV screens by the end of this week or beginning next week.