BT to launch ad aimed at Asian people

BT has teamed up with a writer and a director of Goodness Gracious Me to produce an ad campaign in Hindi aimed at the Asian community.

The move is part of a strategy to target different community groups. It is also part of a concerted attempt by BT to move away from a perception that its advertising is arrogant, having in the past been associated with white middle-class families.

BT has already created an ad in sign language using a BT videophone, which forms part of BT’s Bringing People Together campaign. It is also considering making an ad targeting the Chinese community.

BT Retail head of consumer communications Katrina Lowes says: “BT is trying to be more relevant to more people.”

The Hindi campaign, created by an Asian team of actors, writers and a director, includes a TV ad as well as press and radio and aims to motivate people to talk to a team of BT telephonists that offer a number of Asian languages. The TV ad features a girl who invites her friends round for a curry, but as she doesn’t know how to make one, she decides that it is too much bother and places an order for a take-away instead.

The TV ad breaks later this week on a number of niche channels. If the ad is a success BT, which sees the Asians as an untapped market, may make a further execution.