What do you do when you have Sourav Ganguly (read: Dada) for 6 shooting hours? And you have to promote one of Coca Cola’s biggest IP – ‘Kolkata Is Cooking’. The answer is below.

In collaboration with Ogilvy and The Glitch, we challenged ourselves to make the most of the time with Dada and churn out as much content as possible – precisely 9 video reels (mobile-first video content) and statics for promotion that were to be packaged during the course of the IP running.

The journey is about how we shot multiple POV ads with Sourav Ganguly, where he speaks directly to the user in a mobile-first video for Coca-Cola, during festive season as well as the event.

Durga Puja is the most celebrated festival in West Bengal and it is 5 days of celebrations with friends, art and of course food. Coca-Cola, a popular soft drink that has been integral to the Bengali puja bhoj for decades, reminds the audience about the magical amalgamation of everyone’s favourite dishes and a bottle of Coke. This message is narrated by Bengal’s very own poster boy, Sourav Ganguly.

The short ad showcases only Sourav Ganguly, speaking directly into the camera, as though to the audience on the other side of the screen. The charisma of Dada and the unison of having him speak of Bengali food during Bengal’s most loved festival instigates a joy that needs to second person on screen.

The script has been kept very simple and poetic, owing to a Bengali’s love for poetry. The poem, as simple as it is, mentions every dish, from cutlet to kebab, from biryani to chowmein, and it tastes better with a sip of Coke.

The set is lit in full festive vibes inside a living room that is stuck in time from a bygone era. The dominant colour is red, in synch with the colour of celebrations in that culture as well as the brand.

Dada is seen wearing a traditional Bengali Panjabi (Read: Kurta) that is also red in colour, matching the background. This touch is given to have a festive feel/vibe to the videos. We also see him wear a suit that gives the other content some freshness as well as makes him look quite sleek. All of this, keeping in mind the color palette.

A very subtle, folk-themed background score continuously played in the backend, it was a rhythm that is familiar to the TG as it is used in a lot of folk songs. In that way, the relability as well as grounded feeling aspect was covered overall in the campaign.