Tanishq Ekatvam

The year 2020 was a difficult one for all of us, including a brand like Tanishq whose 80% of annual business happens during Diwali. With no sales during the lockdown, everything depended on the upcoming festive season, which was not as festive, unfortunately.

But the campaign we created ended up making 2020, Tanishq’s best year by a large margin, with the brand reaching its highest ever sales numbers.

Our country is going through a phase. We are more divided than ever. Tolerance seems to be at its lowest. Religion, politics, sports, opinions, elections – everything seems to invite hate and opposition.

We played off this behaviour and created - EKATVAM (Sanskrit word for Oneness).

A documentary showed how the artisans of the nation had come together to create this year’s festive collection. Our OOH and Print showed various pieces of jewellery, with crafting techniques from all over the country, coming together as a single ensemble. Celebrities from various eras and geographic locations came together to talk about their culture and traditions.

Our films showed the union of teachers and students after a long time and the special relationship between them. An employer’s story of making the employee who kept her business afloat, a partner. A story of accepting traditions and customs of a religion that’s different from your own.

The last one caught fire in the media. At first, the trolls and conservatives hijacked the conversation and spewed sponsored hate all over. And then, poured in the love. Consumers started buying products from the brand and shared receipts on social media. Stood up to trolls and paid media. Visited the stores and pledged their allegiance to the brand.

The biggest politicians got involved. Celebrities took sides. Social media lit up. International news channels picked it up. Strategically, we had taken down the ad. But the people took it over and refused to let the film die.