Amazon are launching its first campaign in India for the Kindle Paperwhite, with the aim of finally making e-reading acceptable in India. The campaign from Leo Burnett agency Orchard Advertising, focuses on a 3-minute digital film called “Celebrating the Joy of Reading.” It focuses on a man traveling from the city to a distant city with the Kindle Paperwhite as his sole companion. Once he arrives at the village, he shares the joy of reading with its children. The idea is simple, but emotional, and underlines the fact that the Kindle is designed to appeal to all demographics. The Kindle Paperwhite, which adds a highly functional backlight and sharper, more readable text to the original device, was first launched in the US in 2012, but was only released in India later this year.
The campaign from Leo Burnett agency Orchard Advertising, focuses on a 3-minute digital film called “Celebrating the Joy of Reading.”
Thus far, the idea of e-reading has yet to catch on in India, but Leo Burnett India's chief creative officer, Rajdeepak Das, believes the ad could help usher in a sea change. He said that “Reading an e-book has never been part of (Indian) life,” but that it's basically “The same as reading anywhere.” He said the idea behind the new campaign was to show Indian readers that “The joy of reading does not decrease with a Kindle, and says their creative work regarding the Kindle will get “More and more human.” The major challenge facing Amazon is that e-readers are seen as “Impersonal,” so the campaign aims to rectify this by positing the Kindle as an emotional and almost human device. They hope the ad will help break the mental barrier about e-reading in the country. Alongside the ad, Amazon has also launched a Twitter handle, YouTube channel and Facebook page for the campaign.
Celebrating the Joy of Reading
In the US and across the rest of the world, the Paperwhite has traded on its backlight, meaning it can be read in low-light conditions the fact it reads more like actual paper, thanks to its no-glare feature. In the Indian campaign, these features are shown, but are not highlighted in any significant way. Manish Kalra, head of integrated marketing at Amazon India, said “A love of reading and a profound appreciation for the people who create great books is part of our DNA at Amazon.” He feels the narrative drive of the ad “Showcases how Kindle Paperwhite reader delivers the ultimate reading experience,” without dwelling on the technological features, which could alienate “Traditional” readers.
The major challenge facing Amazon is that e-readers are seen as “Impersonal,” so the campaign aims to rectify this by positing the Kindle as an emotional and almost human device
Left: Rajdeepak Das , Right: Ram Madhvani
The ad was written by Das and cohort Gunjan Poddar and directed by Cannes award-winner Ram Madhvani. It was shot over four days in Sri Lanka with a soundtrack featuring rustic music by composer Tajdar Junaid and vocalist Swanand Kirkire. Madhvani said they “Needed a film that has a heart, that made people believe in the magic of stories no matter how they are received,” and from the evidence, I'd say that's exactly what they ended up with. According to Ambika Srivastava, managing partner of the media buying agency Strategic Mediaworks, “India is a very important market for(Amazon), and it is critical for them to succeed , so they cannot afford to compromise on effective communication.” Indeed, back in July, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos promised the company would invest as much as $2 billion in India over the next few years.
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer, musician and Kindle owner from Kidderminster in the UK. He is considering publishing his own novel via Amazon's Kindle store next year, but could use a decent proof-reader. Any takers?
