SITUATION
As Instagram took off, Facebook needed a new identity moat - it had become the platform your parents used. The brand repositioned around its core value proposition - the community effect. The insight was simple: people can do more together than alone, and no matter who you are or what you're into, you will find your people and your tribe on Facebook.'
As Instagram took off, Facebook needed a new identity moat - it had become the platform your parents used. The brand repositioned around its core value proposition - the community effect. The insight was simple: people can do more together than alone, and no matter who you are or what you're into, you will find your people and your tribe on Facebook.'
However, within weeks of launching, COVID hit. The brief changed completely, and all projects in the pipeline came to a halt. A platform about the power of human connection had to prove its relevance in a world where human connection had become rarer.
PS While 'More Together' was a global campaign, here I am highlighting 2 Indian launches.
TASK
Pivot the launch and Indian chapter of Facebook's global More Together campaign. Finding cultural moments where the loss of togetherness or the lack of community was most acutely felt, and show how Facebook could restore a semblance of order.
PS While 'More Together' was a global campaign, here I am highlighting 2 Indian launches.
TASK
Pivot the launch and Indian chapter of Facebook's global More Together campaign. Finding cultural moments where the loss of togetherness or the lack of community was most acutely felt, and show how Facebook could restore a semblance of order.
ACTION
COVID and lockdown had taken a lot of irreplaceable things, but in India, it had taken away festivals too, the moments when families, friends, and neighbors come together to celebrate life. Onam is a harvest festival celebrated in the South Indian state of Kerala. One of the hallmarks of Onam is Pulikkali - Kerala's iconic tiger dance, where performers paint their bodies and dance through the streets of Thrissur to crowds of 15,000. The festival and the dance were cancelled. The Ayyanthole Desam Pulikkali Sanghataka Samithi - a group on Facebook who perform every year- weren't going to perform at all.
COVID and lockdown had taken a lot of irreplaceable things, but in India, it had taken away festivals too, the moments when families, friends, and neighbors come together to celebrate life. Onam is a harvest festival celebrated in the South Indian state of Kerala. One of the hallmarks of Onam is Pulikkali - Kerala's iconic tiger dance, where performers paint their bodies and dance through the streets of Thrissur to crowds of 15,000. The festival and the dance were cancelled. The Ayyanthole Desam Pulikkali Sanghataka Samithi - a group on Facebook who perform every year- weren't going to perform at all.
We saw an opportunity to temporarily alleviate loneliness by bringing people together to celebrate the Onam festival. We pivoted on four levels simultaneously.
A physical cultural event became a digital Facebook live event. We coordinated with the performers, artists, government, IT technicians, etc, sending people to individual homes to paint the dancers' bodies, set up cameras and production infrastructure across multiple locations, and brought the entire Pulikkali online as a live Facebook event for the first time in the festival's history.
A regional folk art became a national cultural moment. What normally reached 15,000 people in Thrissur reached millions across India and the world. The campaign went live with the first-ever transgender Pulikkali performer, expanding who the tradition belonged to.
A social platform became the cultural infrastructure. Facebook wasn't advertising Onam; it was the reason Onam happened at all. Alongside the main event, we had post-launch brand love assets, an AR filter, and a social-first strategy to help amplify the event. The AR filter lets anyone put a Pulikkali face and join the celebration from wherever they are.
A regional folk art became a national cultural moment. What normally reached 15,000 people in Thrissur reached millions across India and the world. The campaign went live with the first-ever transgender Pulikkali performer, expanding who the tradition belonged to.
A social platform became the cultural infrastructure. Facebook wasn't advertising Onam; it was the reason Onam happened at all. Alongside the main event, we had post-launch brand love assets, an AR filter, and a social-first strategy to help amplify the event. The AR filter lets anyone put a Pulikkali face and join the celebration from wherever they are.
RESULT
Facebook Live launched in India through this campaign, as both an infrastructure and a use case of what the platform could do when it mattered. Built an AR filter that let anyone put a Pulikkali face on their own and join the celebration from wherever they were.
Facebook Live launched in India through this campaign, as both an infrastructure and a use case of what the platform could do when it mattered. Built an AR filter that let anyone put a Pulikkali face on their own and join the celebration from wherever they were.
209M impressions from the film alone. Brand love up 76.74%. Brand lift score 8.3. Average ME/MI score of 4.56. 24.4M video views at 3+ seconds. Took a celebration that normally reached 15,000 people in Thrissur to millions across the world. Earned organic amplification from Mohanlal and major South Indian celebrities. The campaign entered awards consideration globally.
One year later, with COVID still reshaping how the world lived and grieved, we went back to the same brief - find the moment where togetherness was most needed. This time we chose Diwali, more importantly, The First Diwali Without.
SITUATION
COVID wreaked havoc across 2020 and 2021. Globally, including India, the second wave in early 2021 was the deadliest, taking innumerable lives, both young and old. Diwali, a celebration of light, hope, and new beginnings, arriving at the end of the year was a muted affair. The first set of firsts is always the hardest - the grief is fresh, and the memories are inextricably linked. We wanted to play in the situation authentically.
COVID wreaked havoc across 2020 and 2021. Globally, including India, the second wave in early 2021 was the deadliest, taking innumerable lives, both young and old. Diwali, a celebration of light, hope, and new beginnings, arriving at the end of the year was a muted affair. The first set of firsts is always the hardest - the grief is fresh, and the memories are inextricably linked. We wanted to play in the situation authentically.
TASK
Find a true story and a group that could illustrate the power of community in helping deal with the grief together. We decided to tell the real-life story of a doctor who saved countless lives during COVID, but unfortunately lost her loved one to the disease, and created a support group to help those who have lost their loved ones just like her.
Find a true story and a group that could illustrate the power of community in helping deal with the grief together. We decided to tell the real-life story of a doctor who saved countless lives during COVID, but unfortunately lost her loved one to the disease, and created a support group to help those who have lost their loved ones just like her.
RESULT
The film reached millions of Indian families navigating their first festive season after loss. The story of the doctor and her support group resonated precisely because it was real, not a brand construct, but a community that already existed on Facebook. The campaign earned organic amplification across social and press, and extended the More Together platform's proof point from celebration to grief, demonstrating that Facebook's value wasn't situational. It was there for every human moment that mattered.
The film reached millions of Indian families navigating their first festive season after loss. The story of the doctor and her support group resonated precisely because it was real, not a brand construct, but a community that already existed on Facebook. The campaign earned organic amplification across social and press, and extended the More Together platform's proof point from celebration to grief, demonstrating that Facebook's value wasn't situational. It was there for every human moment that mattered.
