Preparations for the Mumbai Marathon by Standard Chartered are in full swing. The marathon will be held on January 17, 2010. In order to promote this event, Standard Chartered has rolled out a TVC. The communications part was handled by TBWA India.
Geraldine Matchbox, head corporate affairs India, Standard Chartered Bank said, “We see the Marathon as an unparallel platform for “community participation” and it’s this dimension of the event that encouraged us to associate with marathons across our footprint. Including Mumbai Marathon, we sponsor nine full marathon events globally in cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai among others.
Shiv Sethuraman, CEO, TBWA India, commented, “The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, over the last six editions, has become a very significant part of the international running calendar. What’s more, it is a very important part of various communities and the lives that it touches. Hence, it is very satisfying for us at TBWA India to be part of an event, which has the potential to touch so many lives.”
The TVC is set in a slum and opens with a young boy jumping over garbage bags and feeling on top of the world. In the next scene a bunch of children from the area are also shown celebrating an unknown cause. Then the young boy atop the garbage bags, claims ‘I will win!’ The TVC is a montage of situations, wherein women, children, visually impaired people and sex workers feel empowered with the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon that claims to affect a lot of people’s lives through its charitable work.
Rahul Sengupta, national creative director, TBWA India said, “The Mumbai Marathon is a very inspirational brand, especially since it affects so many lives around it. It’s a rallying cry and all around us, which makes it a tremendous and commendable effort.”
Sengupta added, “StanChart has always been committed to its causes. The underlying thought behind the campaign is to re-pledge the commitment to these causes and to keep the spirit alive. StanChart believes that every runner makes a social impact and a big difference to society. We had to convey this through the campaign.”
Sengupta says, “We wanted to portray the commercial through the voices of the people who would be positively impacted by the campaign. StanChart ploughs in money from the marathon to various charities that it is associated with, that help the visually handicapped, sex workers, women and children, among others. The commercial portrays how these people feel about the upcoming marathon.”