A man's photo, which has been recently garlanded, hangs on the wall of a big house. His wife sits on a sofa, shelling peas sadly. A bunch of party workers sit around her and the woman carries on a half-hearted conversation with them. A party worker says, “Bhabhiji, bhaiyaji ke baad, aap hi ko kursi sambhalna hai.” She is not very happy with this. Just then, one of the party’s aides gets a message on his cell phone. “Super Idol kaun?” The aide, annoyed, says to the phone, “Kaam ki baat pooch na janata se?” This is when the idea strikes and he tells bhabhiji, “Aap kursi sambhaliye.”

This is one of the fist ads of the Idea campaign that focuses on the ‘janata ki awaaz’ or voice of the masses. After this, ads show a man getting on a boat when he gets an SMS that asks whether there should be a bridge built on the river. He replies saying yes. Many people across the town SMS in the affirmative, and the bridge is made. Shift to bhabhiji, who is now the chief minister. She nods and says, “Janata ne kahan haan toh haan.”

From whether there should be a dry day to whether a hotel should be constructed on farmland, all these questions are put to the public. This ad campaign for the Idea cellular network has managed to get the brand plenty of attention, as it uses democracy as its major selling point. Nikhil Rao, group creative director at Lowe, the ad agency behind this campaign says, “We are trying to show the transfer of power to the people, the true form of democracy. It seemed like a seamless way to get the politicians to do what the people want.”

... contd.