Imperial Blue Packaged Drinking Water has rolled out another edition of its ‘Men Will Be Men’ platform and campaign, titled ‘Holding the Lift’, revisiting the iconic lift setting the brand has used over the years to build its playful take on men trying to impress women.

Conceptualised by 82.5 Grey, the campaign comprises an ad film. 

The 20-second film opens with two friends in a lift, one helping the other, who is seated in a wheelchair with his leg in a cast following a fracture. After ensuring his friend is comfortably positioned, he notices a woman approaching as the lift doors begin to close and gently pushes his friend forward to hold the doors open for her, playing on the idea of chivalry.

What we think about it: The film brings back the iconic lift, but the gag feels predictable, relying on the familiar trope of men going out of their way to impress women through chivalry. As ideas around masculinity evolve, ‘Men Will Be Men’ could benefit from a more contemporary interpretation, using its humour to spotlight positive male behaviours or lend itself to a relevant social cause, particularly amid the broader conversations around gender and masculinity today.

Ahmed Rahimtoola, CMO, Tilaknagar Industries, said, “We are delighted to present our first Imperial Blue Packaged Drinking Water campaign under the Tilaknagar banner. Our newly appointed brand creative partners have elevated the well-loved Imperial Blue wit in a contemporary manner while driving reach to a new generation of consumers. For us at TI, this is a critical step in unlocking the potential of Imperial Blue Packaged Drinking Water’s established brand equity and accelerating its growth story”

Ishwindar Singh, senior vice president - marketing, Tilaknagar Industries, added, “The Challenge for us has always been to find new creative ways to celebrate the quirky yet relatable male habits in the ever-evolving cultural context, reinforcing humour & relatability as distinctive territories for the brand. Meninism is back, the lift is back, and everyone is on the joke. Ahmed, Garima, Aditya & I have had a blast working with the team at 82.5 Grey, Roopali and Deja vu films on the latest version of Because, Men will be Men.”

Singh said, “Because, Men Will Be Men is iconic, and I was overjoyed to be a part of bringing it back in its new flavour with 82.5 & Dejavu Films. Anuraag, Trishay and the team had a solid script and a clear sense of where they wanted this to go. Through multiple conversations around casting, performances and iterations of the script, we kept coming back to one thing - while we wanted to give the campaign a younger, more contemporary perspective, the humour had to remain at the heart of it. We hope the audience sees men for their quirks, their humour, their madness, making some moments simply unforgettable. Men Will Be Men has always found humour in the little things men do. But as relationships change, those little things change too. That’s what keeps the platform fresh. This time, the women aren’t just watching the Men-isms; they’re part of them. Because Men Will Be Men shouldn’t mean men never change. It means there will always be something wonderfully ‘men’ about them, which we all can appreciate.”

CREDITS:

Client: Tilaknagar Industries

Agency: 82.5 Grey

Creative team: Kiran Ramamurthy, CEO; Anuraag Khandelwal, chief creative officer; Rohitash Srivastava, Chief Strategy Officer; Varun Kohli, senior vice president; Trishay Kotwal and Vihar Patkar, ECDs; Anuj Sharma, vice president; Anshita Singh, group account manager

Client team: Ahmed Rahimtoola, CMO; Ishwindar Singh, SVP marketing; Garima Sharma, general manager; Zoya D’Costa, head digital; Aditya Nair, brand manager

Director: Roopali Singhal

Production: DejaVu