Hero MotoCorp’s electric scooter VIDA V1 has launched its maiden ad campaign with its creative partner Wieden+Kennedy India. The offline and online campaign is conceptualised by the agency’s Delhi office.
A set of tongue-in-cheek ads were released as a pre-launch activity. VIDA V1 communications emphasised that it’s not “India’s ‘not-first’ electric scooter”. The provocative articulation was used to convey the effort and time the company has put into getting things right, as opposed to rushing headlong into the market, said the agency in a press note. The print ads were supported by an innovative on-ground activation at Gurugram’s CyberHub, which further emphasised the company’s focus on R&D and testing.
A look at the brand’s outdoor innovation.
Speaking on the new campaign, Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan, head – business growth, Emerging Mobility Business Unit (EMBU), Hero MotoCorp, said, “Our endeavor is to create a brand that is empowering, inclusive and optimistic. VIDA is a truly new-age global brand that resonates with customers across the world and is authentic and progressive. VIDA has a distinct brand identity with a tagline ‘Make Way’, which is a call to action for the global changemakers. The pre-launch brief was to bring out our philosophy of being right, rather than rushing to be the first in the market. Subsequently, the launch will focus on bringing out our philosophy of driving change and introduce our segment disrupting propositions to grow the category.
Santosh Padhi, chief creative officer, Wieden+Kennedy India, added, “There is always a different high, when you get to launch a new age product or a brand, which is the ask of the society or need of the future. We are extremely happy to have found a great brand voice for VIDA which is sticky, quirky and youthful. We are happy the way the pre-launch and launch has panned out and we all at W+K are excited to take this wonderful narrative forward in the coming months”
According to Wieden+Kennedy India, “Make Way” is imagined as a rally cry, urging would-be riders to move past the ignorant cynicism of the world, not least in regards to EVs as a whole. As a brand idea, it acts as an anchor to bold, gritty communication that shuns category tropes of greenwashing and hollow claims of change.