STATUE GROOMING

Short List
TitleSTATUE GROOMING
BrandWILD STONE
Product / ServiceWILD STONE MEN'S GROOMING RANGE
CategoryC01. Guerrilla Marketing & Stunts
EntrantMcCANN INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation McCANN INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Media Placement McCANN INDIA Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Prasoon Joshi McCann Worldgroup India Creative Leadership
Ashish Chakravarty McCann Worldgroup India Creative Leadership
Kapil Batra McCann Worldgroup India Creative Leadership
Abhishek Chaswal McCann Worldgroup India Creative Leadership, Copywriter
Abhinandan Dey McCann Worldgroup India Art Director
Pavitra Sharma McCann Worldgroup India Art Director
Rajat Gulati McCann Worldgroup India Account Management
Jeet Kalra Mccann Worldgroup India Agency Producer
Satish Kataria McCann Worldgroup India Editor
Ajay Pathak Collective Art Pvt Ltd Production
Amrita Vohra McCann Worldgroup India Client Servicing

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

When most men's grooming brands use film stars and sportsmen to advertise during the festive and wedding season, Wild Stone, a relatively new Indian brand entering this sea of sameness, saw beyond usual male celebrities and chose to groom the neglected statues of India's most loved and respected national heroes to break clutter. The brand's outlier step in the category, and our acts-not-ads approach makes this work relevant for the category.

Background

The men’s grooming category in India comes alive during the festive and wedding season, when most brands use film stars and sportsmen to advertise. Wild Stone, a relatively new brand entering this sea of sameness, needed to think differently to break clutter. But where would we find men who strike an emotional chord with the nation, as strongly if not more, than popular male celebrities?

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

India loves its National Heroes. There are an estimated 503760 statues of Mahatma Gandhi in India. You can find over 47,40,000 videos about Martyr Bhagat Singh on YouTube. Dr. Ambedkar, who wrote our constitution, has 13 universities named after him. There are a lot of great Indian men who continue to inspire us even years after they have gone. They are in our textbooks, our films, in our literature, our fashion, and in our hearts. And while these great men are not here with us, their many statues can be found all across the country, though often in a neglected state. So, Wild Stone, a homegrown Indian brand, decided to groom the statues of India’s National Heroes. After all, great men deserve to look great!

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We wanted to appeal to Indian men between the age of 18 to 35, mostly from tier-2 cities. During the festive and wedding season, most men's grooming brands use film stars and sportsmen to advertise. Wild Stone, a relatively new brand entering this sea of sameness, saw beyond usual male celebrities and chose to groom the neglected statues of India's most loved and respected national heroes to break clutter.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

In collaboration with municipal authorities, we started the Statue Grooming initiative from Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India. The 3-day-long initiative ran close to India's Republic day in different cities of Uttar Pradesh, from 22/01/22 to 24/01/22, grooming neglected statues of India's National Heroes.

List the results (30% of vote)

The idea immediately caught the imagination of people. Conversation started on social media and blogs. It became news. During the festive and wedding season, Wild Stone touched the hearts of its audience, and generated millions of impressions, earned media, and sales. And now, it plans to take the Statue Grooming initiative to other cities soon. Brand lift - 49% Intention to purchase - 17% Impressions - Over 500,000+ Earned media value - $100K Sales - 11%