Why Ogilvy India Turned an Indian Hymn into a Diwali Safety Song – with the Help of Mumbai’s Firefighters

Sparks fly every Diwali thanks to fireworks, crackers and candles – but sadly India’s festival of lights sees a huge uptick in fire-related accident and injury. This Sunday’s Diwali, the Delhi fire department received over 245 calls until midnight on Sunday, and 96 between midnight and 10am Monday morning.

Insurance company ICIC Lombard and its agency Ogilvy have been doing their bit to remind the public of practical precautions they can take to reduce the risk of fires while enjoying the festivities. The Diwali 2019 campaign, which launched on October 23rd, sees Mumbai Fire Department firefighters sing out some handy advice to the tune of a popular seasonal devotional song. 

Unlike other players in the market, the brand’s positioning is about not focusing solely on the moment when calamity and catastrophe strikes, as Ogilvy West India CCO Harshad Rajadhyaksha explains. “It’s one of India’s leading insurance companies. Throughout the year ICIC Lombard and Ogilvy have the plan of lifting our customers not just to take insurance and using us when calamity strikes,” he says. “What we want to do throughout the year is to encourage people to stay healthy and safe… So rather than talking about what happens after a fire and painting a gloomy picture, we can encourage people to have a safe Diwali.”

The campaign is anchored around Laxmi Aarti, a devotional song common at the beginning of Diwali – but the lyrics have been changed to include a series of simple health and safety tips. That means the tune is simple and immediately recognisable. “It is a catchy song because ever since they were kids most Indians have been used to chanting this tune as a prayer,” says Harshad. “Through the device of the aarti they are telling you really practical and important things. When you burst firecrackers, make sure you’re not wearing synthetic clothes. Keep a box of sand handy.”

Just as important as the familiar tune is the casting of real Mumbai firefighters, explains Kainaz Karmaker, who is also a CCO at Ogilvy India West. “They are the unsung heroes because while the rest of us are enjoying Diwali, they are the people who are not celebrating the festival but are on absolute alert in case a calamity occurs,” she says.

The shoot took place at Mumbai fire stations. The ICIC Lombard team and the production company Colonial Films worked to ensure that regulations were followed and correct approvals granted but the team was only able to shoot with the firefighters when they were on shift. That added an extra nail-biting element to production, as Harshad explains.

“We took a conscious call that it would be that much more powerful if we could work with real firefighters. That is what has charmed people. None of them are actors,” says Harshad. “The beauty of it was that at any given point during the shoot, had they been called in for a real fire call, they would have had to abandon the shoot. Luckily nothing interrupted the time they had given us, which made the experience very, very unique and adds to the meaningfulness of the message.”

The campaign was launched during the week before Diwali, as preparations were in full swing and people were shopping for gifts and cleaning their homes. The hope was that this would give the message time percolate down in peoples’ subconscious.

This year, Mumbai appears to have had a relatively safe celebration, when it comes to Diwali, with 47 calls to the fire department and no major incidents reported. Nonetheless, fire safety is an evergreen issue – so what are the thoughts about continuing this platform for next year?

“While it could be an annual thing, the beauty of it is in its unexpectedness. So, if every year we bring them in to deliver a message it could become a bit repetitive. The reason that people are loving it is because it is so unexpected to see real firemen singing a devotional song with repurposed lyrics with safety instructions,” says Kainaz. “I think the trick is to do something unexpected and to really, really surprise people. The message of safety and that people need to be alert is something that can be done on an annual basis but I don’t think we’ll be reusing the same device.”