Wakefit infuses artificial intelligence in its latest ad; features Ayushmann Khurrana

According to several secondary researchers, sleep is the only superpower that everyone need. Yet, the discussion around sleep is often ignored and not given the importance it deserves, unlike working out or eating right. This lack of discussion around sleep gave birth to Wakefit's campaign called "Andar ke bacche ko jaga" featuring Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana.

Before executing the campaign, Wakefit conducted thorough research and gained insights into their consumers' thoughts after getting a good night's sleep. The majority of consumers reported feeling happy, energetic, enthusiastic, and productive.

This led Wakefit to ideate and conclude that when it comes to energy, kids are at the forefront. This realization prompted Wakefit to incorporate childlike exuberance in their campaign.

Spring Marketing Capital, Wakefit's agency partner, has played a vital role in helping Wakefit develop its brand strategies from inception. While Spring Marketing Capital wrote the script and conceptualized the creative idea, Twilight Entertainment, a production house based out of Bombay, also came onboard to help decrypt Khurrana's kid version and add an artificial intelligence (AI) angle.

Bets on celebrity influence

For Wakefit, the company that started the trend of the "right to nap," getting Khurrana to act in the campaign was a no-brainer. According to Prateek Malpani, head of brand at Wakefit, Khurrana, the new brand ambassador, aligns perfectly with the brand values and ethos.

The brand film depicts Khurrana waking up as a child and engaging in various activities, truly seizing the day. The film showcases how Wakefit mattresses provide ultimate comfort to the spine, resulting in waking up as an extremely energetic version of ourselves, like a kid.

"The challenge for Wakefit was to find enough childhood images of Ayushmann to match his face with a child's body. We had to take numerous images for age progression and regression and conduct experiments," Prateek Malpani, Wakefit

"Ayushmann made it on his own. He started with small wins to reach wherever he is right now. Secondly, he has experimented and is innovative. He doesn't follow a standard template, which again resonates with Wakefit as the sleep and home solutions brand is now expanding into other categories apart from sleep," states Malpani, explaining the reasons behind Wakefit's decision to include Khurrana in the campaign.

Malpani also believes that Khurrana's personality traits, such as originality and quirks, connect him to the brand. Khurrana has a certain mass appeal in both metros and tier two cities, making it a sensible choice for Wakefit to bring him onboard.

Decoding the campaign challenges

Through this campaign, Wakefit aims to reach as many users as possible who are in the market for mattresses and sleep solutions. The goal is to expand Wakefit's reach and increase its overall market share.

During the campaign's development, Wakefit faced a few challenges that resulted in a two-week delay. "A very enthusiastic and talented kid initially worked on this campaign. However, Wakefit had to replace his face with Ayushmann’s. The challenge for Wakefit was to find enough childhood images of Ayushmann to match his face with a child's body. We had to take numerous images for age progression and regression and conduct experiments," shares Malpani.

“We ideated and realized that when one sleeps like a baby, they wake up with childlike energy. Our aim was to show that it could happen only on a Wakefit mattress and that is where the interesting touch of AI came in," Prateek Malpani, Wakefit

Wakefit gathered a large number of inputs for Ayushmann's facial features, particularly his head. Considering that the film is highly energetic, with the child bouncing and engaging in various activities throughout, simply patching the face wouldn't suffice," comments Malpani.

Enters AI

For Wakefit, AI isn’t a trend. “We absolutely do follow trends. But we don't blindly follow trends unless we are doing a good job of catching a trend and then applying our brand lens, our category lens and our way of doing things. Only then we take part in it,” says Malpani

Wakefit wanted something genuine and authentic and that could be achieved with artificial intelligence and computer graphics. According to Malpani, Wakefit found a genuine reason to use AI. The brand didn’t use AI because of it being in trend. “We ideated and realized that when one sleeps like a baby, they wake up with childlike energy. Our aim was to show that it could happen only on a Wakefit mattress and that is where the interesting touch of AI came in.” adds Malpani.

Plans on brand marketing

Wakefit's marketing strategy is multifaceted as it aims to be more than just a sleep or mattress brand. It positions itself as a complete home solutions brand. Wakefit's goal is to become a leader in the mattress industry and the top brand for sleep, while also expanding its home solutions business.

"We aim to open approximately 100 stores across multiple cities in India by the end of this financial year. Wakefit wants to establish a national presence and increase brand awareness," says Malpani. He further adds, "What sets us apart is that we focus on communicating the benefits of sleeping rather than solely talking about our products."

Regarding furniture and home solutions, Wakefit plans to utilize a combination of omni-channel marketing and city-level activations. The objective is to encourage existing customers to explore and purchase other products offered by Wakefit.

"Wakefit will have a presence across digital platforms and television. We are also exploring key sponsorship opportunities and considering significant investments in cricket. Given the current environment, we need to review our marketing budget on a monthly basis, determining how much to spend and where to allocate those funds," concludes Malpani.