Iconic Ads: Fastrack: Come Out of the Closet

Fastrack was creating more than just a buzz through its advertising. They were not preachy but spoke in a language which the youth spoke. Their communication was candid and straightforward.

The Lintas team brainstormed over many ideas/ issues which were topical, questioned societal mores and norms and went well with the brand line of “Move On’. LGBT was one of the many.

It was Arun Iyer who came out of the idea of using lesbianism. During that time, the rights of the LGBT community was being debated upon.

The issue was to be tackled by being non-preachy, non-intrusive and matter of fact.

Bharat Sikka (also a fashion photographer) directed the film. When the Lintas team was wondering which music to use, he suggested Daft Punk’s “Something about Us’. It truly represented the film’s narrative and led a lot more credence.

Arun wanted the advertising to communicate the youth’s voice, which was stating that people should let others lead their lives, their way. Do not interfere!

Bharat styled the ad and the models (trivia – Shweta Dhanwantary is one of them) giving it a very ‘fashiony’ feel.

It was surprising that Daft Punk agreed to lend its single for the advertisement. They usually do not give its singles for commercial use. But when Lintas reached out to them and gave the rationale why they wanted to use the song, they agreed.

Rajesh Ramaswamy (who led the creative team at the local level) did not expect it to have such a reaction but the people. He was pleasantly surprised by the response. He felt that it was indeed exciting that so many people agreed with the thought behind the commercial.