PhonePe’s Nazar Battu campaign brings spotlight back to the dying artform of truck art 

In a bid to spread awareness around the relevance of motor insurance, PhonePe revived the lost art of Nazar Battu - an evil warding art, usually featuring on trucks.

More than a decade ago, trucks used to be adorned with quirky idioms and messages with prominent, creative art forms. They used to be an impactful medium to not just grab the attention of the travelers but also to educate people. Utilizing this insight and bringing back a forgotten art form, PhonePe brought its latest initiative with ‘Nazar Battu’, conceptualized by its in-house team and executed by Active Media Innovations.

The aim of the campaign was to spread awareness around its two and four-wheeler insurance offerings. The brand aimed at engaging the audience at the moment of truth - on highways with the messaging on the importance of insurance. The idea was to give the end audience an understanding of why insurance is integral and reaching them at the right time. 

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The campaign video commences by highlighting India’s original motors insurers – the truck artists. Drawing parallels between modern motor insurance, the video goes on to showcase how truck art with ‘Nazar Battu’ was considered a creative and vibrant way of safeguarding every journey. 

As the campaign puts the spotlight on the selfless service of truck drivers in a poignant manner, the brand attempts to reimagine the assurance provided by the old art form with the PhonePe Nazar Battu, spreading awareness around motor insurance products. In association with the new and veteran fleet of truck drivers, PhonePe ends on the note of hope and optimism with its awareness campaign.

Adopting an impactful channel of communication, the brand embraced the tailgates of the trucks that are high on visibility and engagement, as people love to read messages while driving on the road. The initiative intends to cover the western region of India with communication on trucks that will be seen on highways in Maharashtra, covering Pune, Nashik, and Mumbai.

“We were surprised to stumble upon an interesting insight. In the decades gone by, trucks often used to have images of demons to ward off evil. We spoke to a few veteran truck drivers & truck art experts who said that drivers used to believe that these images of demons protect them from untoward incidents on the road. When insurance for trucks wasn’t well understood or adopted, this provided mental assurance and 'insurance' of sorts to drivers!”, said, Ramesh Srinivasan, Director - Brand Marketing, PhonePe.

He added, “We believe that trucks are a great medium to educate consumers about the importance of two & four-wheeler insurance as the use for insurance is felt the most when one is driving on the road. We believe that this campaign will be very contextual and seamlessly extend itself on the back of these trucks which can be easily noticed by drivers of two & four-wheelers. This also helps in the message manifesting at the point of truth - highways and the roads.” 

Through the campaign, PhonePe manages to reach out to a community that is constantly on the move, through a medium that is constantly with them. Further, reviving the Nazar Battu grabs the attention of all consumers on the go.