Tanishq demonstrates golden PR skills and PETA tackles Naomi Campbell

 7th November 2012    Good and Bad PR 

Great PR
 

Twitter is all lit up, this Diwali!

In a tribute to the very active Indian community on Twitter, the 6^th largest worldwide, Twitter has put up a dedicated page for Diwali, the biggest festival of the year, the first time it has done so. Twitter India put out this tweet saying :

A quick look at the page shows classic Diwali pictures of Diyas and lights, which can also be retweeted, along with a constant stream of tweets about Diwali from the film industry, brands cashing in on the Diwali fever with giveaways and would you believe Jeffrey Archer!  Here is  a sample :

Timely PR from Twitter India.

All that glitters this Diwali is certainly gold
 

The festive season has begun in earnest and this is the time that the well-documented Indian lust for gold peaks. Jewellery maker Tanishq has come out with this charming TVC around a young married couple, with the husband surprising his wife with a gold jewellery set. Tanishq is no stranger to interesting communications marketing moves designed to convert sales. Last month, a designer bus called “Mia on Wheels” drove working women to their offices, through the nightmarish traffic of Bengaluru, for two weeks. Women riding the bus got to try the “Mia” range of jewellery and receive foot massages. This was backed by an interesting social media campaign around the “Mia Women”. 

Now with a clear focus on referencing the upcoming Diwali festival, Tanishq’s subtle PR promotion with this slice of life film has found favour with the experts fuelling stories about the campaign. Mint-Wall Street Journal, one of India’s top two business papers, quotes Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer at BBDO India, as saying that, "I love the playful banter, the insightful dialogues, the clever script. It makes me smile, wish and wonder”.

A far cry from Tanishq’s clunky celebrity driven ad last year, which failed to strike a chord with people.

I do wonder why the new ad is not available on Tanishq’s Facebook page, couldn’t locate it. A missed opportunity to drive the conversation around this further?

Smart PR from PETA, puts Naomi Campbell in her place and highlights the plight of the Asian elephant  
 

This is a classic PETA PR move. Targeting soft celebrities and making animal rights newsworthy in the process. All this helped not only the organisation gain mileage, but also the issue of Elephant Polo gain a high profile this week. Naomi Campbell is currently on a well publicised trip to Rajasthan, India, for billionaire boyfriend Vladimir Doronin's 50th birthday bash. When unconfirmed reports  spread that Naomi Campbell was planning to hold an elephant polo match as part of the four day long birthday jamboree, PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), promptly swung into action with a strongly worded statement.

Stories in papers across the world quoted spokesperson Benazir Suraya as saying the supermodel and star is “clueless". PETA also told Britain's Daily Telegraph that they would “urge Naomi Campbell to immediately withdraw her plans to organise this cruel 'sport' and instead work with PETA to promote elephant protection in the country”.

Indian papers ran the story with headlines quoting PETA as saying; ”An elephant is more intelligent than Naomi Campbell.”

The predictable clichés about the IQ status of the supermodel notwithstanding, the story helps to put the plight of the Asian elephant firmly in the spotlight. The story has helped to form a connection with the issue and the audience in a country where animal rights are, frankly, not really a priority. As per PETA, the elephants are registered under Rule 3 of the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules 2001 under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which prohibits exhibition or training of an animal as a performing animal.

Last heard, Naomi Campbell has denied that there was ever a plan to hold an elephant polo match, a spokesperson for her stated that, "Ms. Campbell is extremely upset by these untrue allegations, which were first published in a UK newspaper and which have been widely repeated around the world, and has instructed her lawyers in London to deal with the matter immediately.”

Allegations, legal threats, supermodels, aggressive activists; all in all a high profile week for animal rights, an issue that rarely hits the headlines in India.

Have you seen any great or even bad PR?
 

Contact Paarul Chand by emailing paarul@prmoment.in or tweet @PRmomentIndia throughout the week and we’ll happily credit you for your trouble.