The people behind Thums Up's latest blockbuster campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan talk about what it takes to build an iconic brand and the genesis of a toofani idea, in an exclusive interview
Two iconic Indian brands unite. Homegrown but owned by The Coca-Cola Company, Thums Up has launched a campaign, ‘Soft Drink Nahin, Toofan’, starring Shah Rukh Khan. The company roped in the star to present its new #ThumsUpStrong platform. Conceptualised by Ogilvy, Khan is seen as an action hero, performing deadly stunts and beating up bad guys on a high-speed train. The campaign also coincides with the key milestone of Thums Up becoming a billion-dollar brand.
Storyboard18 caught up with Arnab Roy, VP and head - marketing, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, Piyush Pandey, chairman of global creative and executive chairman,
Arnab Roy: We were looking for our face on the new campaign and working very closely with Piyush and Sukesh on this one. It was important to have someone very iconic to establish the power of the taste, a person who is not soft and who almost resembles this iconic toofan. We discussed and then realized that we had an opportunity to partner with Shah Rukh. And after that, for all of us, it was a no brainer. At the point of his career, at the point of everything he is right now, it fits entirely with the whole campaign idea. It was a joint discussion working with the Ogilvy team and then we just went all in.
Roy: It'll be important to also hear from our creative partners because internally we've had the conversation. I just want to say one thing, the values of the brand have been consistent. Even if you go back to the Palat De campaign that we had—that's not going anywhere—but if you see what the Palat De campaign was about, it was about inner strength. It was about resilience. All the stories about the Paralympic athletes were about inner strength.