MAM
GM looks to increase emotional quotient of Chevrolet through marketing initiatives
MUMBAI: For a special journey called life! Car and vehicle manufacturer General Motors (GM) India is going all out to increase the aspirational awareness about its Chevrolet brand of luxury cars. For this purpose the company has among other things announced a tie up with jewelry store Tanishq.
Elaborating on the strategy General Motors India VP marketing, sales and after sales Amit Dutta says that a loyalty initiative Optra Gold Rush has kicked off in the Metro cities. This will be a two-month affair that is aimed at pushing the Chevrolet Optra. Here customers purchasing the care get gift vouchers worth Rs 30,000 from Tanishq. However each week a lucky draw is held and the big prize comes in the form of the winner visiting a Tanishq store. The man will then have one minute to pick up whatever jewelry is on display and put it on his wife.
Basically the aim is to take the message of the Chevrolet furthering the bond of love, warmth and emotion between a man and a woman to the next level. Last year a TVC had been done where a man as a treat takes his wife out for drive on his Chevrolet Optra. This year another TVC was created where the quietness of the car is brought to forefront. Basically in the car while the woman is very nervous she can hear the man’s heartbeat. Chevrolet ads naturally air on channels that cater to the upmarket sector like Star Movies.
As Dutta says,” While ads of other luxury cars make a big noise about luxury our message is that the Chevrolet quietly and smoothly moves along. As a result the woman can literally hear the extent to which her partner feels for her. A strong storyline was used to push the emotional quotient. One unique TVC was done through a tie up with BPCL. Through that while the ad was for a petroleum brand FI driver Narain Kartikeyan was shown driving a Chevrolet Optra.
“Just to give perspective when we launched the Chevrolet Optra in 2003 after a gap of 50 years the challenge was to rekindle the association. So our first TVC basically demonstrated the perfect control the car allows the driver. We also conducted a Chevrolet Vintage Rally last year in Delhi. Basically General Motors’ aim is to capture 10 per cent of the car market share in the next few years. We also came out with a book that spoke about the heritage of Chevrolet. Most of our media budget goes towards promoting the Chevrolet brand. It goes without saying that we have become much more visible in 2004 and in 2005 due to our next product the Chevrolet Tavera which launched last year.”
However Dutta points out that while mass media is effective in creating awareness about the aspirational value of a brand direct marketing can have a bigger impact at a lower cost. He gives the example of a tie up that the company did with Jet Airways in 2004. Winners could walk away with a Chevrolet Tavera and as a result GM got 80,000 inquiries.“That represents the number of potential clients. We also do customer relationship management initiatives. For instance through a tie up with ICICI Bank we were able to build up a database of 20,000 potential clients. We have also done innovative loyalty programmes like giving away movie tickets to customers. That is not to say that we do not use mass media like print.”
“In fact a print campaign that we did in magazines and newspapers celebrated the fact that 10,000 Chevrolet Taveras were sold. As of now I would say that around 17,000 Taveras have been sold. Also the TVC that was created showed a family going for a holiday. That is the brand positioning of this car – that a husband can use it to get away from the hectic life of the city and go for a break with his family to a hill station like Lonavala. Another TVC was the Monk Ad. This saw students in a monastery enjoying a ride despite the fact that monks have a strict routine.”
While McCann handles the media duties Enterprise Nexus is in charge of creative for GM. The next round of ads for Chevrolet Optra and Chevrolet Tavera will kick off in September. Dutta says that hoarding activity will be taken to the next level. Last year outdoor was used in around 76 cities. This year it will be used in 120 cities, which will include the smaller towns. However the company has no plans to rope in a brand ambassador as of now. Dutta says, “A brand ambassador works better for mass products. For high end products like Chevrolet it is better for the product to speak for itself. Anyway people are not going to buy a car unless they are sure it is reliable. That is why we plan to put in place 90 sales points and nearly 100 service outlets by the end of the year. We will be bringing in mass products like SUVs later on. At that time we might consider appointing a brand ambassador who will be able to help us cut through the clutter.”
The company has also kicked off the GM Service Plus initiative in Delhi. It has among other offers the Free After Three service. Here a service mechanic will reach the car destination within three hours. If that does not happen then the person gets the service for free. So far 600 customers have availed of this service and the company claims to have had a 98 per cent success rate in meeting the three-hour deadline. It plans to introduce this initiative to Mumbai in December. This is way of saying “We value your service and your time’. The aim is to provide the wow factor in the service arena and thus become a leader as far as image is concerned even though in terms of volume sales one might not be number one. In addition before the year is through Chevrolet will unveil its global brand positioning.
Brands
Yes Madam taps Rajpal Yadav’s Chota Don nostalgia to power new digital campaign
Home salon platform ropes in Tanya Mittal as it bets on humour and pop culture to showcase trust and convenience
NOIDA: India’s fast-growing home salon platform Yes Madam is leaning on nostalgia and a dose of comic chaos to pitch its services. The brand has launched a new digital campaign starring Rajpal Yadav and influencer Tanya Mittal, reviving Yadav’s much-loved Chota Don character to underline the reliability of at-home beauty services.
The campaign marks Yes Madam’s first collaboration with Rajpal Yadav and revisits the quirky Chota Don persona made famous in the 2007 film Partner. Produced with Footloose Films, the film blends slapstick humour with a nostalgic callback to spotlight the platform’s promise of dependable, quality services delivered at home.
The storyline plays out like a miniature action comedy. Tanya Mittal finds herself surrounded by goons and calls for help, only for Rajpal Yadav to appear in full Chota Don mode, dispatching the attackers in his trademark comic style as Mittal cheers him on. The drama then flips abruptly to a calmer scene, with Mittal relaxing at home while enjoying a Yes Madam service and insisting the heroic episode really happened, even as posters of Chota Don decorate her house. The film ends with Yadav’s voiceover declaring that the incident may or may not have happened, but the trust and quality of Yes Madam’s services certainly have.
The collaboration also follows a broader show of support for Rajpal Yadav within the industry. In the growing wave of backing for the veteran actor, Mayank Arya, co-founder and chief executive of Yes Madam, publicly supported actor-producer Sonu Sood’s call for concrete help from the film industry and corporate brands. Arya took to the social media platform X urging companies to move beyond expressions of sympathy and instead offer tangible opportunities to the actor amid his ongoing legal and financial challenges.
He wrote, “Seconded @SonuSood. Even brands should come forward to help the great talent. @Rajpalofficial will also be a part of an ad film @_yesmadam! Have already aligned the team on it. #ComeBackStronger.”
Seconded @SonuSood. Even brands should come forward to help the the great talent.@Rajpalofficial will also be a part of an ad film @_yesmadam !
Have already aligned the team on it.#ComeBackStronger https://t.co/Q7qpJttLTs— Mayank Arya (@iammayankarya) February 11, 2026
Rajpal Yadav recently surrendered at Tihar Jail after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea seeking additional time to repay dues in a long-running cheque-bounce case. The actor had been accused in the case in 2018 after he was unable to repay a loan taken for a film project that failed at the box office. The court later ordered him to surrender after the dues remained unpaid.
The situation triggered a wave of support from several high-profile figures. Sonu Sood emerged as one of the most prominent voices, expressing solidarity and promising Yadav a role in his next film. Sood emphasised that industry support should be about dignity and real job opportunities rather than charity. Celebrities including Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Gurmeet Choudhary and Guru Randhawa have also publicly extended financial and professional support.
Before surrendering, Rajpal Yadav shared an emotional statement in which he spoke about feeling alone and unsupported, a remark that struck a chord with many in the industry. However, his brother later clarified that the actor would never have intended to suggest that he lacked support from colleagues or well-wishers.
Reflecting on the campaign, Mayank Arya said the film was designed to entertain while strengthening the brand’s message. “At Yes Madam, we have always believed in creating campaigns that connect with audiences in an engaging and memorable way. I had earlier spoken about the importance of extending meaningful opportunities to Rajpal Yadav, and we are glad to be the first brand to take that step forward with this collaboration. Through this film, we wanted to create a compelling narrative while also reinforcing the trust and reliability that customers associate with Yes Madam’s services,” Arya said.
Akanksha Vishnoi, co-founder, said the campaign leans on nostalgia to strike a chord with digital audiences. “Consumers today engage deeply with content that blends entertainment with relatability. With this campaign, we wanted to revisit a nostalgic moment while subtly reinforcing the convenience and reliability of at-home services. Rajpal Yadav’s Chota Don is an iconic character that instantly evokes nostalgia and humour, making it the perfect fit for this campaign. Tanya Mittal’s presence added a vibrant energy and helped us bring the vision of the campaign to life,” Vishnoi said.
Founded in 2016, Yes Madam offers salon and spa services at home through trained professionals using hygienic, single-use product formats. The platform now operates in more than 55 cities across India, pitching convenience, transparency and quality to a growing base of urban consumers.
The new campaign, rolling out across social media and video platforms, makes its pitch with a wink. The Chota Don rescue might be fiction, but the promise of a salon at your doorstep, the brand suggests, is the real deal.
