Till around 2005, DTH was considered premium and exclusive. People had cable connections, which aired seventy to eighty channels and were happy with it. There were some satellite television options, but they were not successful. This was because they used the technology to reach out to customers, and that proved daunting to them.
Rediffusion was assigned the task of simplifying DTH and allowing consumers to grasp the many advantages of having a Tata Sky connection at home. The emphasis was on value-added services rather than the channels available through the set-top box.
Tata Sky was insistent that the campaign be one, and it should demonstrate how tempting its features were. And how a Tata Sky set-top box allowed for more enjoyment than simple passive watching of television.
The creative team led by Ashish Khazanchi was clear on the route. It had to be of “More entertainment coming your way”. Three times more channels, but it was more than that. More content choices like active learning, games, cricket from different angles and so on. It was about entertainment.
Their first thought was of enhanced picture quality. So whether it was a film, serial or show, the focus would be on the picture quality. Then, they thought of the idea of watching a cricket match from different angles.
But something was still lacking
They needed a phrase to bring everything together. It would have to be easy for people to understand, make it a part of their language and lives.
Rediff decided to add a ‘fun’ element.
The team came up with the line, ‘Dish Nahin, Dishkyaun hai Yeh’, – It isn’t just a dish connection. And many commercials were written.
They presented it to Vikram Kaushik and Vikram Mehra at Tata Sky, who were uneasy and said, “We are Tatas, and we never take a dig at our competitors. We never denigrate them. It is against our company ethics.” The Rediff team was confused and did not know which competitor they were referring to. Till they were told, Dish TV.
It was unintentional. Rediff was referring to the physical dish antenna & by coincidence, the line became competitive.
One day Ashish was sitting at home and thinking. After a couple of attempts, he wrote, “Isko Laga Dala, Toh life Jingalala”. He laughed out and texted Chax, his boss. Chax replied with smileys and said he loved it. The next day, when shared with his colleagues they found it zany
The team went back and presented the new line to Tata Sky who chuckled and said, “Do it, it is very interesting”. They also requested Rediff to come back with one more option, so that they have a reference
Most of the ads were directed by Ram Madhvani.
Later some other creative heads came to Ashish and said how their clients (other DTH players) wanted, ‘a jingalala-like creative’.
Wonder what the reaction would have been if the alternative line was “Tata Sky ho sang, to gapu chi gapu chi gum gum.
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