Brands
This Independence Day, brands celebrate spirit of frontline workers
NEW DELHI: Today, when India celebrates its 74th Independence Day, brands managed to engrave the patriotic sentiment through video campaigns on various social media platforms. Some brands took this as an opportunity and gave huge discounts on shopping and other offerings.
Brands from various categories like consumer durables, real estate, FMCG and others have rolled out quirky campaigns for the day.
Last year brands dedicated their campaigns to freedom fighters but this year the main theme for many brands is saluting the spirit of India’s frontline pandemic warriors.
Indiantelevision.com curated a list of a few such campaigns that have made an impact.
Blackberrys
Blackberrys, launched a new campaign #UnitedWeRise. In sync with the brand’s ‘Keep Rising’ philosophy; this latest campaign motivates the people to fight the obstacle of COVID2019 with strong will and unity.
The campaign encourages people to share their fighter spirit to sail through these tough times and to embrace this new normal with enthusiasm. The campaign is also backed by a special offer through which the customers can become a part of the noble cause of lending support to all the warriors including doctors, bankers, police officials and other safety workers who are selflessly working to achieve freedom from the virus.
Suzuki Motorcycles
The two-wheeler subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, launched the Independence Day campaign, #ParkForFreedom. The campaign consists of a digital film featuring Indian citizens revving their stationery vehicles and requesting people not to step outside their homes on 15 August unless it is absolutely essential. The heartwarming campaign where the sound of accelerating engines is rhyming with the melody of ‘Sare Jahan Se Acha’ song, conveys a public interest message to curb the spread of Covid2019 by staying at home this ‘Independence Day’. The five-day long initiative is targeted at two-wheeler riders across the nation.
MAGGI
Nestlé India announced the launch of “MAGGI Desh Ke liye 2 Minute – Ek Chhoti Si Koshish”, a set of year-long initiatives, across the country.
The initiative begins with a digital launch followed by several initiatives focusing on Swasthya (health), Swachhta (cleanliness) and Sahayata (co-operation) that will be unveiled as the year progresses. As part of these initiatives, MAGGI will partner with various entities, including reputed NGOs to assist society in a variety of ways.
The brand aims to provide for a meal to be fed to the disadvantaged and weaker sections of our population, support 10000 street food vendors come out of these challenging times and continue the environmental sustainability initiatives with a focus towards plastic waste management.
Tata Tea
Tata Tea Premium-‘Desh Ki Chai’ lend support to ‘Desh ke Karigar’, the brand has extended support to the Indian artisan community through a special ‘Desh Ki Mitti’ collection. The brand encourages Indian handicraft in partnership with Rare Planet, a young start-up focused on uplifting rural artisans that connects more than 2000 artisan families across India. This is an integrated campaign with print advertorials, digital, social media followed by influencers.
Nobel Hygiene
Friends Dry Pants – the flagship brand of Nobel Hygiene, specially designed for people suffering from Incontinence, launched its freedom campaign today via a national campaign across television and digital platforms. With Azaadi Mubarak, the campaign focuses on educating people about the problems faced when one goes through Incontinence and recommend an easy solution that is within everyone’s reach. Friends Dry Pants is an effective way to manage incontinence and the product is engineered for both men and women. The campaign will also create solidarity among people suffering from incontinence by letting them know they are not the only ones in this situation while helping them accept the truth.
Snapdeal
Snapdeal launched its ‘Pride of India e-store’ with specially curated patriotic-themed items. It also has products from Indian artisans, weavers, craftsmen, and women entrepreneurs. The move will also help sellers of these indigenous products revive business as they rebuild their businesses after the massive disruption due to the Covid2019 pandemic. The special promotion gives a boost to these indigenous Indian products.
The e-store also features casual apparel from famous India-made brands like Mufti, John Player, Spykar, Cantabil, and Duke.
Airowate
Airowater Private Ltd launched a campaign #HarBoondSeBadlegaIndia through which it aims to educate the people not only the threats of water security but also encourage the individuals to join hands towards a greener, healthier, and happier society.
The ad focuses on freedom from water shortage, diseases caused by water, freedom from plastic bottles, and ground water.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
