Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has hit the nail on the head with its 'Kitna deti hai' advertising campaigns. No one knows the Indian obsession with mileage better than the country's top passenger car manufacturer. This time, ads developed by Publicis Capital have taken this obsession a few steps forward, into the sky and underwater.
One of the advertisements shows two scuba drivers exploring and admiring marine life, when suddenly they come across a man riding an underwater bike. Through sign language, one of them communicates to the other that the machine is very 'cool'. Upon being asked by the duo, the biker explains the various features of bike, saying that it could move at a speed of 20 knots. One of the divers is unimpressed by the machine and asks 'Kitna deti hai' through sign language, to which the biker had no answer.
Another recent ad film shows travellers entering a state-of-the-art sci-fi aircraft. This is the aircraft's first maiden voyage from London to New York, to be covered in three hours, as announced by the attendant. An Indian is shown to be visibly impressed with the aircraft. Air hostesses explain different features of the aircraft, including virtual reality windows, and say that the crew can speak in 12 different languages. The Indian calls out in Hindi for which he receives a prompt reply, but leaves the hostesses stunned when he asks “Kitna deti hai?”
MSIL is believed to be an auto maker which has really understood the Indian customer's mentality over the years. JD Power, a leading research agency, states that as per one of their studies, one of every three Indians has turned down a vehicle of his/her choice, as another model was found delivering better mileage.
On further examination of the reasons for buyers to reject certain cars for others, JD Power revealed that 28 per cent of new-vehicle shoppers investigated more than one vehicle before selecting a model, in 2012. This went up from 23 per cent in 2011, which shows that Indians are conscious of getting the best value-for-money products. This data has been compiled from the JD Power 2012 India Escaped Shopper Study, which is based on questions asked to 7,382 buyers and 2,721 rejecters of new cars and utility vehicles. All these vehicles were bought between September 2011 and April 2012. The study was fielded from March to July 2012. Television commercials based on Maruti's mileage proposition state, “For a country that will always be obsessed with mileage. Maruti Suzuki makes India’s most fuel efficient cars.”
Commenting on the brief given by MSIL, Parshu Narayanan, Managing Partner and Creative Head of Publicis Capital said, “Maruti Suzuki wanted to communicate and re-emphasise its leadership in the realm of fuel efficiency. The Kitna deti hai series developed last year was based on the insight that Indians are a nation are extremely mileage conscious under all circumstances. The success of the earlier campaign and the popularity of ‘Kitna deti hai’ as a phrase in the context of automobile fuel efficiency prompted Maruti Suzuki to brief us on a sequel on the basis of the same concept.”
MSIL understands how customers are being affected by spiralling petrol prices. For this purpose, LPG and CNG versions of popular cars like Zen Estilo, WagonR and the Alto have been launched. Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Sales) for MSIL, Mayank Pareek said that customers in A1 and A2 segments were most conscious for fuel efficiency figures. He also added that mileage is a foremost criterion for almost every auto company in the Indian automotive market. As an example, Tata Motors is trying hard to break into Maruti territory by offering its Indica eV2 with a mileage of around 25 kmpl.
