Paper Boat: Nostalgia for the rootless generation

We are now at that point in India’s story when the generation born in the 80s – early 90s have come of age and are working. These are the individuals who were either (1) very young during liberalization or (2) were born after it. These are also the individuals that were exposed to alternate media, growing up (in addition to the staid, old Doordarshan that had been the sole staple of their parents’ lives).

As a result of the aforementioned liberalization – both economic and pop-cultural - the lifestyle of the average urban Indian has changed tremendously compared to even their parents’ generation. Their worldview, clothes, mannerisms, music, speech have all undergone massive changes, mostly as a result of media promoted westernization. At the same time, the traditional family structure has fractured as a result of the opening up of the economy, and nuclear families have become the norm. Individuals now work far away from their families, and for longer times. 

The end result is that lives seem to have become exceedingly mechanical and complex, and there’s a yearning to go back to simpler days when one was growing up – the carefree, good old days when having fun was the only concern. The days when one was a happy, little child, protected and taken care of by one’s loving family. The days when time moved at a glacial pace, and one found comfort in repetition. 

The golden, fun days of youth that are now located irretrievably in the past. Never to be repeated.

A communal childhood

A thread that unites this generation is a shared childhood filled with similar experiences. Experiences, perhaps forever lost to those born in the late ‘90s and beyond. Barring a few exceptions, these were common experiences, no matter where one stood on the socio-economic ladder.

These are experiences that are filtered through Doordarshan-and-Tinkle-tinted glasses, of an India forever stuck in the 80s – early 90s. The epochal moment for our TG.

Indeed, a casual get-together with old friends might eventually end up being a collective, nostalgic look back at the good old days.

Enter Paper Boat

This post is inspired by a TVC that I saw recently. Now I’m fairly jaded as far as media is concerned, after being inundated with it for most of my life. However, credit where credit is due, even if you can identify the tropes and the thought process inherent to a piece of work, all that matters is if it ultimately proves to be effective.

And make no mistake, this particular TVC is very effective. I’m talking, of course, about the new ad for Paper Boat.

Some background

It's a rare occurrence when a product, it's name, positioning and communication are all beautifully in sync.

Paper Boat’s tagline is “Drinks and memories” and they aim to bring you all your favourite old flavours in a new avatar. They were one of the first organized movers in what I would call the “packaged nostalgia” drinks segment.

These are drinks that we had as kids at our grandmother’s house, or from a travelling juice vendor, or a ramshackle shop down the road. Drinks from places and a particular time that now only exist in memories.

The names reflect this aspect, as Paper Boat seems to have stuck to the traditional names and have not succumbed to the temptation to modernize them. So we have delightfully old-fashioned names like Aamras, Jaljeera, Thandai, Panakam etc.

The marketing team have also decided to focus on this facet, and have mercifully resisted the urge to “modernize and update the drinks for a cool new generation”. They have rightly guessed that nostalgia is a more potent emotion for this generation, and it makes sense as the product itself is a nostalgic throwback.

In effect, they are selling the only thing that this "materialistic" generation cannot buy, but very badly want.

Packaging Nostalgia

Paper Boat has always seemed to be very clear about its TG, positioning, brand message et al. It has all stayed consistent throughout, and the strategy has paid off in spades.

They have managed to tap into the yearning described earlier and have positioned their brand as an empathetic aid to the TGs nostalgia for their vanished childhood. And since this was a childhood with particular shared experiences, Paper Boat then becomes a vehicle for a communal recollection of shared experiences, and mutual validation.

The communication has always been distinctive in presenting the simple past and a natively rooted Indian life. One’s childhood experiences and common occurrences are showcased through a Doordarshan-ist, Malgudi Days slant, where TVCs/shorts are concerned, and a more Tinkle/Indian comic style of pictorial representation over assets on social media and elsewhere.

The TVC

The TVC itself stays true to Paper Boat’s positioning and ticks all the boxes mentioned.

A few cues and call-backs that would trigger nostalgia in the TG:

•  The kid reading Tinkle

•  The sleeper class, non-AC train journey

•  The kid occupying the window seat

•  Mother cautioning kid to keep his hands away from the window

•  Sharing food (in this case a fruit, that ties in neatly with the flavour being  advertised at the end)

•  Hesitant crossing between compartments

•  Blowing up an air pillow

•  Making friends/meeting a potential crush

•  Fear of abandonment – The kid is afraid as his father gets down at a station to re-fill water; he fears the train leaving without his father

•  Retrieving the footwear from under the seat

•  Re-uniting with family after a long journey

•  Malgudi-ish music (of course this is common to all the brands assets)

These are all common experiences that most individuals, born in the time period mentioned earlier, identify with.

As of today, the TVC has got over a million hits on YouTube, and massive exposure across various digital channels, similar to their prior videos and other assets. The comments all bear witness to the fact that the ad has connected in a big way, and has taken the TG back to their childhood, as intended.

And all without the product being shown/used.

Now, this is subtle advertising that conditions the consumer to associate the brand with a certain positive emotion.

Paper Boat is successfully appealing to its TGs memories to sell its product. The product itself, the names, and the communication are all rooted in the past – a perfect synergy. 

So effectively, Paper Boat = Nostalgia. 

Take a bow, guys.

Some thoughts

On a different note: I’ve noticed other ads picking up on this nostalgia aspect to appeal to the 80s-90s “kids”. Manyavar (with Virat Kohli), being an example.

Are we going to see an increase in this sort of communication to appeal to Indian “Millenials”? 

And is this part of the larger yearning on the part of the TG to re-discover its roots, as they were the first generation to be significantly influenced by westernized (Americanized) mores.

Something to ponder about.