Making of Spinny IPL campaign: Arshdeep Chhabra, Tanya Mahendru & Arjun Varain Singh lift the veil

Spinny's IPL campaign shows legendary cricketers in a fresh light. With Arshdeep Chhabra, Tanya Mahendru, and Arjun Varain Singh, Social Samosa goes behind the scenes - right from campaign conceptualisation to edit variations.

In conversation with Arshdeep Chhabra, General Manager - Marketing, Spinny; Tanya Mahendru, Creative Partner; and Arjun Varain Singh, Director, Tiger Baby; Social Samosa takes a trip to understand what went behind the making of Spinny's new campaign for the Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Go Far

'Go Far' is a long-running content IP by the brand based on the theme of going beyond boundaries and pursuing a desire or a dream. As a used car buying and selling platform, brand integration is invariably included as a facilitator of these expeditions. This IP evolves with the initiation of newer narratives and objectives. For instance, several versions such as Go Far For Love/Your Dreams, and more were first launched in 2022.

This year, for the IPL season, the brand has launched the campaign 'Go Far For Your Squad' featuring Spinny's strategic investor, brand endorser, and icon Sachin Tendulkar, along with the legendary squad Anil Kumble and Yuvraj Singh.

The campaign by Spinny has been created in collaboration with Tanya Mahendru, Creative Partner who conceptualized the campaign and produced by Tiger Baby and directed by Arjun Varain Singh. This production marks the first commercial ad of Tiger Baby, helmed by Zoya Akhtar & Reema Kagti, and the initiation of their new venture Tiger Telly.

Remarking on the objective of the campaign Arshdeep Chhabra, General Manager - Marketing, Spinny mentions that the campaign was driven by the medium - IPL and was intended to be fun and watchable throughout the season.

"We wanted to make something engaging that people can relate with, and that's when Tanya, who has been a partner with Spinny since the inception of the 'Go Far', helped us create various renditions of this and coined the term 'Go Far For Your Squad'. From there on we saw the team pull it off."

Discussing the creative approach Tanya Mahendru, Creative Partner mentions that the extension of the 'Go Far' thought came naturally for IPL, as the league is about team spirit and different players from different countries coming together -- the setup aligned itself with the principle the campaign is based on. "It is as much about sport as it is about friendship, how we do little or big things for our squad in life on and off field. These films are essentially about that", she adds.

"We wanted to keep it light, and not make it too preachy. I also didn't want to go the tactical way because Spinny is a relatively new brand, so we wanted to build a brand story."

The Brand Integration

The brand integration remains subtle throughout the campaign film as there is no mention of the buying and selling proposition or the other usual branding which includes the logo.

Tanya describes this as a conscious decision as the car is a facilitator of the journey and the central focus of the whole film. The commercial aspect of the film was not intended to be "in-your-face", and rather the car being a part of the journey as a fourth person with the three friends.

For Arjun Varain Singh, the director of the films, that was the coolest part about the campaign, that it did not come off as a car commercial.

"We wanted to create the brand in a way that when people are looking to buy a car, they think of Spinny. It was more about what the car can help you do," said Singh.

Tanya describes this phenomenon as "subtle confidence", when the brand does not shout about the 'five-day moneyback guarantee' but builds trust and loyalty.

Arshdeep states, "The expectation that people will see a video and start buying the car is fundamentally wrong. Buying a car in India is an event, so instead of cramming all information in one ad, we just went with a feeling that people would register, and if they go to buy a car - they should be clear about considering Spinny," adds Tanya.

The Production

The campaign film is a 70-seconder and the main film is a 20-seconder which is primarily distributed on social media, we also see individual snippets of each cricketer. Each individual content piece is independent of the lengthy narrative and keeps the core storyline intact. Elaborating on the production and edits, Arjun mentions Anand Subaya, the editor of the films who was one of the key people in churning out the cuts.

He further elaborates the 20-seconders were the ones to be delivered as concepts. Then the team tied those 20 seconds from the longer cut, as he and Tanya had already discussed from the conceptual stage, that the longer cut would be sub-divided.

From a production standpoint, the campaign was shot over three days, the first two days being shot with the talent, and the third day for B-Rolls, drone shots, and car shots.

The Revolved Narrative

The former generations of cricketers have almost always been shown in a serious tonality. Their brand endorser value is banked on elements such as trust, formal respect, and a sense of responsibility. In this campaign, the cricketers have been shown in their easy-breezy avatar, letting their hair down and having a chill time.

Tanya states this was a conscious decision to show them how they have never been seen before, in an easy, relaxed, uninhibited light, just chilling, being silly, and having fun. As audiences would be able to connect and relate with that.

Arjun says it was fresh to see them in their downtime and give a glimpse of how they would be in their own lives. It also reflects their real persona, as Yuvraj is described by Arjun as hilarious, and as Tanya shares, Anil cracks the funniest jokes with a straight face.

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A post shared by Anil Kumble (@anil.kumble)

Arshdeep mentions that it is easier to show the "big" players doing something over-the-top, but we didn't want that. Arjun adds that people have these tendencies to perceive (for example) Yuvraj as this over-the-top, loud, and exuberant Punjabi fellow. "We didn't want them to come across as a caricaturish form of themselves".

IPL is a fairly cluttered space. By putting out a campaign film that goes easy on the tonality, the brand intends to stand out.

Arjun believes that such campaigns when they are seen repeatedly during the season, "the ads get annoying… so you put it on mute, turn away, or use your phone. So we tried to make something that's visually a treat, but also does not sound annoying. So hopefully the viewer is not irritated when they watch it again and again."

The Distribution Strategy

The campaign is designed to be distributed during the IPL season in between the matches, but various cuts would also be amplified on other mediums. Arshdeep reckons that each 20-seconder (and other edits) is a short story within the concept, keeping the communications consistent, in whichever form or medium it is consumed in.

The campaign will be distributed on both digital and television broadcasts, along with YouTube to push out the 70-seconder.

"It is also like a music video that you can't get enough of, so over the course of time you will also see us doing something with the song because people are really liking it," says Arshdeep.

Social Media Strategy

Discussing the overall social media strategy, Arshdeep mentions conversions are an objective when it comes to social media and the kind of initiatives executed on these platforms.

He further adds that the focus remains on Spinny being a people's brand and projecting love and aspiration. As buying a car is an individual saving money, summing up a budget and fulfilling their aspiration, this projection remains constant with the communications.

"Needless to mention, it's mainly driven by people so Instagram seems to be the choice for people, customer support is also important and official on Twitter, for content pieces we use YouTube", Arshdeep concludes.