We delve into Tata Tea Premium's approach to Independence Day campaigns, highlighting how the brand has maintained consistency by promoting traditional artisanship through personalised packaging, technology and digital approach.
India, as a country, has seen many milestones in its post-Independence era. For example, Haryana is home to some of the top sporting professionals and in 2010, 22 of India’s 38 gold medals at the Commonwealth Games came from the state's athletes. If we go back in time, the Ajanta-Ellora caves, regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, with paintings and rock-cut sculptures of ancient Indian art, was declared as the world heritage site in 1983.
Celebrating some of these regional milestones of post-Independent India is Tata Consumer Products Ltd.’s flagship tea brand Tata Tea Premium. For the 78th Independence Day, the brand launched its #DeshkaGarv-Pradesh Ki Kala campaign. Wit this campaign, it has launched a limited-edition regional art-inspired collection, with each tea set depicting India’s diverse state cultures.
The collection is created in association with The Plated Project, an organisation that strives to solve the hunger crisis through art. It has illustrated innate regional art forms in styles the states are known for.
Commenting on the campaign, Puneet Das, President - Packaged Beverages (India and South Asia), Tata Consumer Products, in a press release, said, “Tata Tea Premium has always catered to diverse taste preferences and has been celebrating India’s rich culture and pride.” Through this Independence Day campaign, the brand has captured regional art forms that evoke collective pride. He notes that this campaign provides consumers an opportunity to own a piece of history.
This isn’t the first time that the brand has educated the public about key moments in the nation, including highlighting persisting issues. Tata Tea has been long known for its activism through its marketing with Jaago Re. The brand utilised its campaign to urge the youth of the country to take a stand on various issues including voting, corruption, representation and more and address them. Since 2007, the cause marketing campaign has led to a social awakening.
Taking this national pride a step ahead, four years ago, Tata Tea Premium launched hyper-local campaigns intending to celebrate regional pride. This approach is visible through its Independence Day campaigns over the years. Tata Tea Premium's Independence Day campaigns have evolved into narratives that combine national pride with social impact, reflecting the brand's ongoing initiative to celebrate India's heritage while addressing contemporary issues.
We look at the themes that have paved the way for the brand’s Independence Day campaigns.
Desh Ka Kulhad - Reviving Traditional Tea Culture
The Handicrafts sector is one of the key sources of employment for the Indian Artisan Community. They were severely impacted during COVID-19. In 2020, the brand launched a special ‘Desh Ka Kulhad’ collection that promoted Indian Artisans’ work. Aimed to revive the traditional Indian practice of drinking tea in kulhads (clay cups), it highlighted the importance of sustainability and the charm of age-old traditions.
The hand-painted Kulhads showcased the rich cultural heritage and diversity of various Indian states. The brand partnered with Rare Planet, a startup that promotes and works with the artisan community across India.
Back then, Puneet Das stated, “India’s various art forms are great representation of the rich heritage and cultural diversity of our nation. We thought Kulhads are a unique canvas for taking the proposition forward of showcasing regional diversity by our skilled Indian craftspeople. This also helps us support our ‘Desh ke Karigars’ in earning their livelihood.”
Through this, celebrities and atheletes like Sonu Sood, Shabana Azmi, Rajkumar Rao, Dutee Chand and more took to social media and encouraged users to support the local artisans. These collaborations helped the brand connect with local audiences and reinforce the idea of celebrating regional diversity.
This sentiment was taken forward in 2021 as well, with hand-painted kulhads created through region-specific artforms like Madhubani folkart from Bihar, Warli artform from Maharashtra, Phulkari patterns from Punjab and more. As part of raising awareness, the brand released a digital film and a musical video sung by Rituraj Mohanty.
Kulhads are considered to be an intricate part of Indian culture across the country with people enjoying their “kulhad waali chai”. Through this campaign, the brand aimed to support the artisans impacted by COVID-19.
Crafted by Dentsu Impact, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu India, the integrated campaign included a film, a print ad, its website, a virtual AR experience, and more. The film garnered more than four million views across all digital platforms.
Desh Ka Garv - First edition
Before the most recently released campaign for Independence Day 2024, the brand launched the #DeshKaGarv campaign in 2022, highlighting significant historical moments from India’s post-independence era through a limited-edition tea-set and tin pack collection. Each piece of the collection featured art inspired by iconic events, such as the inauguration of the Hirakud Dam and the introduction of color TV during the 1982 Asian Games.
It’s TV campaign married storytelling with technology, showcasing the past and the present, giving viewers a chance to relive these special milestones from the past. Through the campaign, it encouraged people to remember and integrate these moments into their lives with pride.
The brand partnered with micro-influencers to further spread the message and bring a hyper-local focus to the campaign. The campaign also saw users actively engage with the message and post stories talking about the importance of our history and its milestones.
Through all of its campaigns, Tata Tea Premium has reached out to its consumers through customised packaging, be it the tin pack or the tea sets, each speaking to the particular regions history.
Keeping up with the tradition, in 2023, the brand paid homage to India’s handlooms. The idea came from the notion that India’s diverse heritage is most vividly and visibly captured in the handlooms of India. The brand created a limited-edition pack collection inspired by the handlooms of India. Each pack brings alive the artistry of Indian craftsmen and their timeless creations including Banarasi Silk from Uttar Pradesh, Kanjeevaram from Tamil Nadu, Muga Silk of Assam, Paithani of Maharashtra and more.
The story of these packs have been knitted together in a campaign conceptualised by Mullen Lintas and sung by singer Usha Uthup.
Usha Uthup took to social media and gave a mention to the brand’s packaging, noting, “It is so refreshing to see a brand redoing its packaging to pay homage to an artform, commemorating the threads that have been the fabric of the nation.”
As a part of the campaign, a curated collection made by weavers from across the country was available on OKHAI for purchase. Puneet Das mentioned the objective behind the campaign stating, “Through our heartwarming campaign, we hope to inspire every Indian to embrace and celebrate the legacy of our diverse regional handlooms, cherishing the threads that weave our nation's pride.”
Additionally, the brand went one step further and created an interactive OOH experience for consumers. Executed in collaboration with the Laqshya Media Group, the brand launched 3D anamorphic outdoor activations in the country, as the immersive experience took consumers through the artistry of some of India’s iconic handloom weaves. The activation was present at DLF CyberHub in Gurugram.
The brand has a history of leveraging technology to create immersive consumer experiences. Its Metaverse Holi Party, AI-powered hyper-personalized Lohri campaign, and Tata Tea Gold Care’s Mother’s Day campaign with custom packs using personalised variable data printing have all enhanced the brand’s storytelling.
Tata Tea Premium’s Independence Day campaigns have consistently highlighted India’s rich cultural and historical tapestry through innovative storytelling. From celebrating regional artistry and historical milestones to embracing the nation’s traditional handlooms, the brand has honoured India’s diverse heritage. With the use of digital mediums and technology, it has attempted to engage consumers in a meaningful dialogue about national pride.
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