The Intricacies of Art VS Design in Underdog's SKYi Campaign

The Pune market, synonymous with real estate, has had quite a few players dotting the billboard landscape from Mumbai to Pune. In this ultra competitive category, within a short period of just 5 years, SKYi Realty has been making its presence felt through a unique combination of integrity, aesthetic and inventiveness.

The brand launch idea encapsulated in just two simple words, Thoughtful Design, is what SKYi wanted to communicate powerfully to its core TG, which comprised its prospective buyers, its residents as well as its myriad business partners.  

Thoughtful Design, just as much a point of view as it is a brand idea, needed an icon as authentic, no-nonsense and dignified to take this communication forward. 

For Abhijit Jagtap and Vivek Kulkarni of SKYi, this message had to delivered with clarity and attitude.  Farhan Akhtar, who agreed to come on board, was of course all this and more. Vivek, the Chief Marketing Officer at SKYi explains the reason why: ‘With his signature interpretation of what Thoughtful Design stands for, Farhan helps SKYi break through the real estate clutter with the kind of poise and honesty that has rarely been seen in this dog eat dog, ‘every promise is an over-promise’ category’.

Abhijit, one of SKYi’s directors whose background seamlessly combines commerce with design is passionate about the campaign. According to him: ‘We are now at a stage where with our decision to scale up, we also had to let people know what we bring to the business of real estate. Every little detail at SKYi has been carefully considered and incorporated into design right at the inception stage. And it’s not just cosmetic, but even everything that accounts for environment and community living. This was a complex challenge but I think we have managed rather well.’

Underdog, was brought on board as communication partners to give impetus to this all-round package which includes Print, Outdoor, Radio and TVCs. For Vikram Gaikwad and Vistasp Hodiwala, the founders, this campaign was an ideal opportunity to do the kind of straight-talking this category so richly deserves. 

Says Vikram: The campaign is very dear to us because it’s amongst the first campaigns of Underdog and we believe we have a created a candid tone and imagery which will stand them in good stead in a category where you cannot have a conversation without exaggeration. Vistasp adds to that: Sometimes, advertising needs less cleverness and more soul. Not only is this campaign an accurate reflection of the Thoughtful Design thought it also completely mirrors the personality of its owners. This is how they are and this is how they would always come across as.

The films have been produced by Coconut Films and directed by Nishant Goyal. The campaign will be exclusive to the Pune market and will be complemented through a string of print ads, outdoor and radio spots.