Late Waler Mendis, a copywriter then employed with Mudra, scripted the classic slogan 'God's own country' for Kerala Tourism more than a decade ago. How it gave Kerala an identity on the world tourism map is a study in itself. Now, after a gap of five years, the state is all set to woo the market with a new campaign 'God's own country - Life in a new light'.

Thiruvananthapuram-headquartered Stark Communications, which has held the Kerala Tourism account for the last seven years, has worked on the new campaign as well. A new set of television commercials - five 30 seconders - will hit the tube in June this year. Simultaneously, a print campaign will also be launched. The ad films are directed by celebrated filmmaker Santosh Sivan who also directed the 2000 campaign 'Watercolours by God'.

While the 'Watercolours by God' campaign had its stress on the Kerala experiences, the new campaign focuses on various Kerala themes. The commercials based on the core-competencies of Kerala Tourism - backwaters, ayurveda, hill stations, beaches and culture. Urban concepts have been used to highlight nature-based products, thus presenting the strengths of Kerala in completely unexpected perspectives.

Stark Communications director Swarup BR explains the brief: "With research revealing the onset of brand fatigue, the primary objective was to breathe new life into the brand. Our aim was to present the destination in a refreshingly new perspective. The creative platform was simple - God's Own Country makes you look at life in a new light. Concepts from the concrete jungles of the world were juxtaposed on naturescapes, thus presenting the products of Kerala in a simple, yet universally charming language."

To give it an urban treatment, words like 'broadway, high rise' and 'corporate jungle' are used to depict the themes. The 'high rise' ad presents rolling hills, placid lakes and virgin forests, while 'free zone' portrays the charm of Kerala's spectacular beaches. 'Corporate Jungle' takes you to a land painted in a zillion shades of green. A different 'highway' is revealed through the backwaters which has no traffic jams, speeding vehicles or blaring horns. 'Work shop' explains the magic of Kerala's ayurvedic treatments.

These exquisite works of creativity and technology unveil sheer magic. Here, the highway metamorphoses into an endless waterway of peace. Highrises touch an amazing 2700 meters. Free zones offer sensational incentives in addition to sun, sea and sand. Workshops cure you of all ills courtesy Ayurveda. And the nightlife washes all your sins away!

One of the print campaigns created by Stark

Stark had in fact shot six commercials, and the sixth one which is of 60 seconds duration consists of visuals from each of the other five commercials. The ad films were shot in 2004 and the visuals were used in the print campaign launched in October. According to Swarup, there was a delay in the TV commercial (TVC) release. The TVCs are being unveiled now and the new print campaign in the offing will come out with some different visuals from the TV commercials.

With the new market-focused commercials, Kerala tourism targets specific travel markets. To elaborate on the strategy, the ad film on ayurveda can be used to woo markets such as Germany and UK, while the beach commercial might attract Russian tourists. Kerala Tourism's holistic approach to communication is revealed in the ads as the print ads, the television campaign and all the other collaterals speak the same language.

Elaborates Swarup on the target group (TG): "The films addresses the affluent alert independent traveler (AIT) - the sensitive, environment conscious traveler who seeks natural destinations and their raw experiences and who strives to leave the place better than he found it. Kerala consciously shifted from mass tourism to quality tourism about eight years ago - this decision was taken to ensure that we are able to sustain the destination and also ensure that the local people benefit a great deal because of tourism. Today, Kerala has evolved into a destination where the rich and the famous holiday."

Swarup says the media plan is in the process of being finalised. Apart from various Indian and international channels, the commercials will also be screened in select cinemas across the country. Kerala Tourism is currently conducting a series of road shows to promote the state aggressively in the domestic market. The new ad films were formally launched in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Kerala Tourism principal secretary Bharat Bhushan feels that the positioning with a basket of six theme-based commercials will guide the media planning strategy. "The commercials promote distinctive products like backwaters, ayurveda and our rich culture. This will definitely give us an edge in terms of strategic media planning."

The Kerala tourism creative account was with Mudra Kochi during its inception. When the agency's branch head and account director TK Harshan moved to Stark with his team, the account also shifted to Stark. Since then, the agency has been playing a key role servicing the account.

According to Swarup, there are about four agencies in the account panel, each handling different areas. "The total budget for promotion and publicity is about Rs 100 million, which gets apportioned based on the jobs handled by each agency," he says.

It took a fifty-member crew working over three weeks to complete the shoot of the six commercials. Director Santosh Sivan also took care of the cinematography part while composer, arranger and percussionist Taufiq Khureshi scored the music.

With special inputs from Taro W, Bangalore