Cristos by Gopal Snacks has rolled out a campaign 'The World of Mexican Chilling' featuring its newly introduced human brand mascot 'Cristopher'. The mascot has been created by Rajiv Rao.

Conceptualised by M&C Saatchi, the campaign comprising six films depict Cristopher embracing a laid-back lifestyle, culminating in the introduction of the brand's Mexican Chilli wafers, all set to their catchy brand anthem.

What we think about it: The catchy brand anthem effectively reinforces brand recall, resonating with the youth audience that embraces this 'chill' mindset. While the films are entertaining, quirky, and hilarious, their narratives tend to become repetitive and predictable.

Jaydip Maheta, head - media and communications, Gopal Snacks, said, “Namkeen as a mother category often reflects strong cultural ties, like Gathiya for Gujaratis and Jhalmuri for Bengalis. However, wafers stand out as a universally accepted and loved snack and are enjoyed by people of all ages, cultures, and geographies. Even multinational companies have made their Wafer brands a global favourite. So, it becomes strategically important for any Namkeen brand, including Gopal, to put a special focus on Wafers as a sub-category.”

Raj Bipinbhai Hadvani, whole-time director and CEO, said, “Our mother brand Gopal touches the heart and soul of everyone who celebrates Indian culture. However, the youth is evolving and they resonate and relate more with the globally accepted food formats like Wafers. And that’s exactly how we came up with a more youthful sub-brand Cristos! Also, it is not just about creating the brand but also creating a whole new world for the brand.”

Manish Bhatt, founder, director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, added, “In a time when a disproportionate amount of brand budget is being spent on celebrities and influencers, we created our own influencer and our own celebrity for our brand. And when we studied the world of brand mascots, we found that the majority of them are either illustrations, animations or CG. This inspired us to create Cristopher, arguably the second-ever human brand mascot in the history of Indian advertising after Onida’s Devil from the late 80s. But we didn’t stop there and also created an entire World of Mexican Chilling which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not only for the brand team, the production house and the director but also for everyone in our agency!”

Rajiv Rao, director, Nirvana Films, said, “I had the incredible opportunity to co-create a new mascot and direct the launch campaign for Cristos. From the moment we began visualising the scripts, bringing the characters to life, crafting the landscape, selecting props, and composing the music - every step in designing the captivating world of Cristos has been a profound learning experience. I’m grateful to have worked with the best talent, and the magic we created together has been truly inspiring.”  

The campaign's teaser will be live from 17 August 2024 and the entire campaign will be live on 20 August 2024 across mediums such as digital, OTT, social media, outdoor, activations and radio etc.

CREDITS:

Client: Gopal Snacks

Client team: Bipinbhai Vitthalbhai Hadvani, Dakshaben Bipinbhai Hadvani, Raj Bipinbhai Hadvani, Shivangi Hadvani, Jaydip Maheta, Naveen Gupta, Karan Vora.

Brand: Cristos Wafers 

Agency: Scarecrow M&C Saatchi

Creative team: Manish Bhatt, Raghu Bhat, Kapil Tammal, Yuvraj Gorule, Poonam Nandivadekar, Abhijit Kalan, Kunal Parkar, Aarjavi Tejookaya, Doremi Chatterjee, Vishwajeet Talwadekar, Vaishnavi Mandavkar, Varun Shah, Anshika Chirania, Aditya Ambike, Vinayak Shetye, Yashvi Solanki, Rohit Rathod, Sanjana Shah.

Account management team: Mangesh Mulajkar, Monil Shah

Studio team: Subhash Gade, Mangesh Kasekar, Vikram Dalvi, Sandesh Rane.Film Production 

Production House: Nirvana Films

Director: Rajiv Rao 

Line Producer: Mahesh Roy

Producer: Marjorie Rodrigues 

Production Manager: Imran Mullaj

Producer: Surashmi Basu 

Directors assistant: Arunita Sircar

1st asst. director: Balakrishnan S. Thevar

2nd asst. director: Ayush Govind 

DOP: Yash Khanna

Costume stylist: Meghana Arora

Production designer: Patangaart

Post producer: Abhishek Singh

Location: Light Craft Virtual

Post Production  

Offline Editor: Sally 

Grade: Vineesh 

Online editor: Mahesh 

CG: Ventana Studios

Audio production 

Music director: Aman Pant 

Sound engineer: Arun Crastos 

Assistant sound engineer: Sanketh Shetty and Shobin

Trumpet: Kishore Sodha

Accordion: Satyajeet Prabhu

Flamenco guitar: Adrijo Bhattacharya

Bass guitar: Shivam Pant

Singers: Suman Sridhar, Shahriyar Atai

Lyrics: Manish Bhatt

Cast: Pratik Motwani, Shivam Gupta, Brandon Hill, Sharad Wagh

BTS Crew: Frank Ahalpara, Prasad Bandkar, Sameer Patwardhan

Print production 

Casting: VN Casting (Vinayak Naik)

Photographer: Shekhawat Himmat

1st. assistant: Jayesh Borade 

2st. assistant: Aaryavansh 

3st. assistant: Deepa

Costume stylist: Meghana Arora 

Hair and makeup: Ankit Rajput

Line producer: Vikram Purohit 

Gaffer: Mokim