Britannia Bends To Nature's Will In Its Latest OOH Campaign

Britannia reimagined outdoor advertising by letting nature dictate the design of its latest campaign. Showcasing its longstanding commitment to sustainability, the brand used this approach to emphasise its dedication to ESG practices over the years.

The ‘Nature Shapes Britannia’ OOH series stands out for its unique approach with billboards designed to conform to the natural shapes of trees around them. The visuals illustrate how the brand adapts to nature rather than imposing upon it. Each billboard comes accompanied with a message about Britannia’s progress in sustainability across various facets, from plastic neutrality to waste management and harnessing a circular economy; to water stewardship and energy management.

Amit Doshi, Chief Marketing Officer, Britannia said “Britannia has been committed to being a sustainable organisation with a deep commitment towards its strategic ESG pillars. Through years, we’ve learnt that sustainability needs a conscious, adaptive, flexible approach. This initiative is an embodiment of this flexible approach with nature shaping ‘Britannia’, quite literally. The team ensured even the material used for the hoardings was 100 per cent cotton biodegradable, ensuring we stay committed to the cause we are delivering.”

The trees dictate the art direction and typography of the billboards placed alongside them, shaping how ‘Britannia’ is presented. The brand name bends, curves, compresses or bounces, adapting to the contours of the trees. The creative approach symbolises the cooperative and flexible mindset large brands need to have on-ground to make progress in sustainability.

The campaign’s creative agency, Talented, collaborated with multiple media partners to execute a media strategy that defies the conventional billboard selection process. Since media agencies don’t keep active data of billboards ‘blocked by trees’ in top Indian cities, the selection process involved boots on the ground.

Aabhaas Shreshtha, Founding Member and Creative, Talented stated, “Nature shapes Britannia and so it was natural for us to want nature to shape its advertising as well. And so began our mission to find ‘rare trees with billboards right next to them’. After a long and rigorous recce-ing with our media partners, we studied the contours of each tree, understood its growth and coverage, and designed around them. Large-scale sustainability charters are extremely consequential in the bigger picture, but can feel distant. By partnering with nature around us to tell the story, Britannia is bridging that gap.”

Sonia Lal, Partner Coral Media, “We were pleasantly surprised when we were briefed on the current campaign ask and honestly feel incredibly proud to support Britannia’s initiative - which is not just a wonderful way to show the impact of the brand’s sustainability initiatives - but a signal from one of the country’s long-standing advertisers to other advertisers and media owners to think differently. Not everything great must come at the cost of nature.”

The ‘Nature Shapes Britannia’ OOH campaign released in four cities, namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Meerut and Pune, featuring a variety of trees such as Nag Kesar, Aam, Neem and Peepal as integral elements of the design.