Leo Burnett: The way to a man’s heart is through his daughter

This one is for all of you with kids from nought to ten or above twenty. (As a group teens, are a big idea for contraception.) The Leo Burnett Mumbai long form ad for HDFC Life is called Sar Utha Ke Jiyo/Life of Dignity.

It’s an unabashed tear jerker, but it doesn’t only rely on its emotional impact. It’s a reminder to parents (…ok, dads…Indian society still plays largely by traditional rules) that they will not always be around to help their kids. It’s not a huge leap from there to considering HDFC Life life insurance.

The three minute film tells the story of a dad who guides his daughter through life’s challenges, in this case learning to dance with a prosthetic leg. He works hard to instil confidence and independence in his little girl while he supports her progress until she achieves her dream.

RajDeepak Das, chief creative officer, Leo Burnett, commented, “Sar utha ke jiyo is a true life lesson every parent teaches their children in their own way. And that is what we did in our story. A simple human and purposeful story, of a father‟s way of teaching his daughter to live with pride.”

Ajeeta Bharadwaj, executive planning director, Leo Burnett added, “Men today are working harder than ever before, but they are not getting the same acknowledgement from their families as they used to. With wives becoming more self sufficient, men are feeling a bit dispensable. Our aim is to highlight the crucial role a man plays in his family beyond playing the role of a provider. He subtly teaches his family life’s key lessons such as facing fears, believing in one’s self, living with dignity and pride among a host of other things. This communication aims to honour such ‘hard to replace’ men.”

Music was given an important role in the film. Upcoming Bollywood music director, Hanif Shaikh, created the tune that underlines the message of inspiration and pride.
This is the first time in five years that HDFC has created a new Sar utha ke jiyo story, and it will be supported by print, radio, OOH, DTH, cinema with significant focus on the digital and social media.