The Campaign

An insight was unearthed that those young men who didn’t tell their fathers they loved them often had children of their own. And they told their children they loved them all the time. And waited with baited breath for the moment they would hear it in return. Or have already heard it, but never tire of the words. The creative idea was to simply point out the irony. We spoke to them as fathers, at which they were ever ready to proclaim their love for their children, and how they couldn’t wait/loved to hear it in return. At that, we flipped the switch and asked them, “Don’t you think your father would feel the same way?”

Creative Execution

Creating a playroom for father and child to interact freely, we brought in these young fathers and children, and revolved an interview around them as fathers. As they declared their love for their children and how much they would love or do love to hear them say they love him, we simply pointed out the irony. Asking them, “don’t you think your father would feel the same?” It was then revealed that the young man’s father was listening behind the scenes all along, followed by a reunion of the three generations. The video was launched on Facebook the day before Father’s Day with the message “Choose to say I love you. This Father’s Day. And every day.”

The video had over 1.3 million views; with the 1 million view milestone reached in just 26 hours, shattering the previous Sri Lankan record (4 days). The video also garnered over 6,500 shares and nearly 15,000 reactions. The digital community in Sri Lanka got behind the idea, with opinion formers featuring the video extensively on their sites and social media. Among the many to feature the video were Yamu TV - the pioneers of the digital content landscape in Sri Lanka, Aniwa.lk and Roar.lk (Sinhala) – two of the biggest and fastest growing digital communities in Sri Lanka. In addition to the digital buzz created, the video was also featured on mainstream media. On Television, it was featured by national broadcaster Rupavahini, as well as other major private stations, notably Swarnavahini and Derana. On Radio, it was featured on major English and Sinhala stations, notably Gold FM and Hiru FM.

While aiming to spread the message to young men across the island, a more specific target audience was also identified. First, being a life insurance company, it was decided the communication needed to resonate with the ‘life insurance buyer’. In Sri Lanka, this is predominantly men, who have been recently married or recently become fathers. Secondly, with Softlogic Life catering mainly to a more up-market clientele than other national insurers, a more urban target was identified. It was due to this that Facebook would prove to be the best platform, as it is still the most used social media platform in Sri Lanka, with heavy interactivity.