Behind the Scenes on Facebook's New Indian Ad Campaign

Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam and Rattling Stick director Sara Dunlop have recently completed a campaign for Facebook India, which challenges consumers on two fronts; firstly, confronting the perceived benefits of the social media platform, and, secondly, challenging the perceptions of what being an Indian man or woman means. 

Rolling out across outdoor, TV, print, online - including, of course, Facebook - and cinema, the campaign brings to the fore people who are passionate about - and who are looking for ways to be better at - the hobbies and interests they pursue. The four films, Sandeep, Sunny and Heena [all embedded below] and Neha [top], celebrate four normal people doing extraordinary things, portraying each person's unique experiences as they demonstrate that Facebook is the tool that has enabled them to do more of what they love. 

Below, W+K creatives Ankita Tobit [above left] and Anyaa Dev [above, second from left], and director Sara Dunlop [above, seated] discuss the campaign and their experiences of shooting in India.

Above: Facebook's Live What You Love film, Sunny

What was the brief you received from Facebook and what was your initial reaction to it?

Tobit: People in India use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on around them, and to share and express what matters to them. We wanted to take this a step further and demonstrate that Facebook can also be a powerful tool for people to explore their passions and interests. This led to the idea of portraying the rich diversity of people in India and their multi-dimensional and interesting lives.  

Above: Dunlop [second from left] in discussion with 'Sunny'. 

Was the concept always to concentrate on individual people’s lives and hobbies and Facebook’s place within that?

Dev: Straight from the beginning we loved the idea of showing our countrymen how amazing they truly are. People of India are often presented as stereotypes, especially in advertising, so we decided to base our protagonists on real people that we know and love. 

Above: Facebook's Live What You Love film, Sandy

"Imagine dogs on set, people crying, people laughing, working, dancing - in front of, behind and around - the camera, loud music, bike scenes, torn ligaments, Delhi belly, a wedding, sweat, heat, four films, eight days, 16 hours-a-day. All of us had put so much time and effort into this project."

Why was Sara Dunlop the best director for the job?

Tobit & Dev: Sara was incredible. Her treatment of the films represented that beauty of everyday life that often becomes a blind spot for locals. She was eager to learn about our country and our culture and she shared our vision of representing people of India in the most authentic way possible. It was inspiring to see her work both in and out of her comfort zone. By the end of the shoot she was pretty much giving direction in Hindi, it was amazing and hilarious.  

Above: 'Neha', the star of the eponymous film, relaxing on set.  

How did you find the stars of the films, and what was the casting process like?

Tobit & Dev: The casting was intense. We needed these characters to feel real and rough and flawed. We basically wanted people to be themselves. It was amazing to see each of the people infuse their own personality into our characters and bring them to life.

"One of the creative challenges was to represent India in its true beauty and authenticity while also trying to ensure that each scene was fresh and interesting."

Can you tell us your experiences of the shoot?

Tobit & Dev: The energy was electric. Everyone felt like they had ownership of these films so everyone really put in 110%, which was great to see. Imagine dogs on set, people crying, people laughing, working, dancing - in front of, behind and around - the camera, loud music, bike scenes, torn ligaments, Delhi belly, a wedding, sweat, heat, four films, eight days, 16 hours-a-day. All of us had put so much time and effort into this project. We even got one of our CDs to dance in the Neha film. The best part was that everyone got along so well, almost everyone was in tears when it was time to go home!

Above: Dunlop on location for the Sunny film. 

What were the most challenging aspects of this project, both from a creative and directorial standpoint?

Tobit: One of the creative challenges was to represent India in its true beauty and authenticity while also trying to ensure that each scene was fresh and interesting. It was sometimes difficult to make some of the actors 'act' considering they were just regular people. 

Dunlop: What interested me in the scripts was that they were quite clearly treading a fine line between feeling like documentary style profiles of real people, but with the addition of very nuanced scripted dialogue. An interesting and unusual place to be, I thought, as usually it's one or the other, so I relished the chance to seamlessly combine these two worlds. 

Above: Facebook's Live What You Love film, Heena

And the most rewarding?

Tobit & Dev: The most rewarding was watching the films come together in post. We got to meet, work with and learn from some amazing people like Bill Smedley from Work Editorial, Parv [Thind] from Wave Studios, JC and Jack from MPC who really gave this project their everything.

Each of them helped bring these films to life. This was our first project at W+K Amsterdam and it's definitely one experience we will never forget.

Dunlop: The joy of being a director is I get to submerge myself in other people’s lives and cultures and this was one of the most disorientating but then rewarding experiences I've ever had. And I got to learn a few words of Hindi; what a beautiful language.

I loved working in India (excluding the traffic and incessant beeping of horns, it made London seem like a ghost town). When I finally got home I loved delving into details such as what is a founders day party? What happens at a ‘pre-wedding’? Yes, the wedding before the actual wedding! Or what does a Punjabi man cave look like?

In the end I hope the Indian public think we made some pretty authentic and entertaining Facebook films.

Above: One of the campaign's out of home executions.