What's so 'khaas' about the Cadbury Ad?

The remade Cadbury Dairy Milk ad is here to reflect India's renewed attitude towards women.

Through out my childhood Cadbury Dairy Milk ran ads with the iconic tagline -"Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye" featuring Amitabh Bachchan. The brand has always positioned the chocolate to be had at celebrations. An insight rooted deep in Indian culture, to have something sweet during a good moment. And India doesn't run out of reasons to celebrate, the most recent is the Cadbury ad itself.

Cadbury remade its famous ad that rocked the TV sets of the older generation. It's the same story and music but with a minor change - a woman plays a cricketer while her boyfriend watches in the stands.

New Ad

Old Ad

"Why did they have to make a remake, did they run out of ideas?", my mother asked, sincerely.

No, Piyush Pandey (Chief Creative Officer Worldwide and Executive Chairman India for Ogilvy) and the brain that crafted the story does not run out of ideas. What most of us do not know is that the 90s Cadbury ad also uplifted the image of a woman. Back then when women wore traditional outfits, the model Shimona Rashi wore a dress, was bold and danced in public. As Piyush Pandey narrates in KV Sridhar's book, 30 Second Thrillers, "It was a conscious decision not to engage a choreographer for Shimona's dance. We simply asked her to do whatever she wanted to. Thus, what she does on the field is an unplanned event, she simply freaks out on her own and we got what we were looking for, in the first take itself!"

So recreating the ad has strategic importance because it takes women empowerment one step further to symbolize that Indian women today have dreams and careers, are independent and are capable of achievement. Secondly, it targets both age groups. For the oldies it revives memories from their childhood and youth, but at the same time reflects progress. The young crowd who have no idea about the old ad find it appealing because it reflects their ideas of gender equality.

But lets not forget, what makes the ad adorable is the boy and his crazy copied dance moves. It's a sweet reminder that it will always be a beautiful picture when men show up to support women.