A new television and print campaign by Telus that targets young South Asians features a mainstream message with a twist.
The ads, an extension of the current national smartphone campaign, include the usual bright fish and catchy music, but in the South Asian version of the Taxi-created national ads, the music is from a traditional Indian wedding and the words are a combination of English and either Hindi or Punjabi.
The English tag line of “The ultimate do-it-alls” becomes “Karo kuch bhi,” which, loosely translated, means “Do whatever you want,” says Pankaj Gupta, account director at Vancouver-based Response Advertising, Telus’ multicultural agency of record. One print ad highlighting the Telus GPS service, which Gupta expects to be a big hit among the South Asian target audience, asks: “Lost your way to the Shaadi [wedding] reception. You:” with the two options of “Call Rahul for directions” or “GPS the route”.
Another print ad references Bollywood movies and arranged marriages: “Sapno ki rani jab dikh jaye (When you spot your dream girl), you: I.M. best friend or email picture to Mummy ji?”
Rather than just translate the English creative, Response looks for new, more culturally appropriate references and adaptations, says Gupta.
“Translation may help in readability of the communication, but may not generate any connection or response from the audience because it is not culturally relevant,” he says. This South Asian segment speaks English fluently, watches Hollywood movies, reads mainstream newspapers, but they also listen to Indian music and read Indian books.
“They do pretty much everything that mainstream Canadians do, so they really don’t need translation. [What] they do need and look for is to make a cultural connection,” says Gupta. “Often they will talk to their friends in English, they will talk at home in English, but…break into Hindi or Punjabi in the middle. If a brand actually does that, it sells to them so beautifully.”
