Cheeka is a pug who appeared in the “You & I” advertising campaign of Hutchinson Essar’s and Vodafone’s cellular service in India, along with the child actor Jayaram. The dog follows the boy in unlikely locations, prompting the tagline, “Wherever you go, our network follows“. The duo first appeared on TV, billboards, newspapers and bus shelters in 2003 and became instant celebrities all over India. The campaign was created by Mahesh V and Rajeev Rao, Senior Creative Directors at Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai. The dog hails from the United Kingdom and is owned by Vishal and Lisa Bandekar of Goa.
The television ad for Hutch was the first to be shot, a 60-second sequence in lush green Goa. The role of the boy was played by Jayaram, an eight-year-old who had already starred in four other ads. Cheeka was suggested for the role by an assistant at Nirvana Films, the makers of the ad. The campaign became a hit, and was soon followed by a print version for newspapers. Cheeka earned ₹ 150,000 for the campaign,and still appears in vodafone ads, representing the network.
The campaign was ranked the Top Print Ad of 2003 and among the Top 10 TV Campaigns of 2003 in India by Business Today.The ad campaign was followed by a rise in the popularity of pugs in India, and the sale of pugs more than doubled within months, with prices shooting up from about Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000-60,000. A few other ads also appeared in the following months, inspired by the idea of a dog following a boy. In addition, Cheeka remains the wallpaper most often downloaded by Hutch customers onto their phone screens as of 2005 and now Vodafone is going on the same track for their recent campaign of their 4G networks.
A Memorable Ad of Vodafone-Hutch
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