Zepto Vs Blinkit adverts: Who does it better?

Posted on by

Quick Commerce has pervaded the lifestyle of Indians in cities. Whether we have roads and drainage systems or not, we want our biscuits to be delivered before the tea begins to boil. It is debatable how beneficial these quick commerce start ups are for India; but I am not here to do that.

I am here to compare the communication between 2 of the biggest and fastest growing quick commerce brands in India: Zepto and Blinkit.

Both of them offer 10 minute delivery to your doorstep. There is literally no other value add other than the quick delivery and maybe the occasional discounts, which you could get from any brand and any other seller during the season.

They have been churning out ads to communicate the above and in this post, let’s look at the quality and effectiveness of their respective communication.

In order to be very objective in the comparison, I will be choosing comparable ads by Zepto and Blinkit. For example, they do ads on Indian holidays or special occasions (Rakhi, Holi etc.) and also on their functional offerings.

After his apple to apple comparison, I will also summarise all the ads I have seen on their YouTube channels and give you the gist of who’s doing better. Lets dive in!

Most recent Rakhi ads:

Let’s look at Zepto first.

The Zepto ad plays around a pretty song about sibling love and sibling rivalry: the ideal story of Raksha bandhan. The theme is lovable and brings out the warmth of the love in the family and also highlights the product offering from Zepto: Kalesh. It’s beautifully executed with warm lighting and good actors. I loved it and would give it 9/10.

Now Blinkit’s turn.

    I think this ad would get a lot of recall. That’s probably the only good thing I can say about it. Other than that it is quite lacking in creative taste and class. But full marks for the recall value of the advert. However they had to force-fit their brand into the ad some how and that took away some points from it. My rating 8/10.

    Recent Holi Ads:

    Once again, let’s look at Zepto.

    Once again, this ad captures the spirit of holi very beautifully and also weaves in the product (Surf Excel) and their own brand (Zepto). I mean it is obvious you’d need a detergent powder for Holi and Surf Excel fits the bill. This ad scores a 10/10 from me.

    Now let’s look at Blinkit.

    Holi rivalries are a thing in colonies. As kids we definitely kept score. It was refreshing to see this being captured in this ad. And the product (Gujjia) was also woven in nicely along with the brand (Blinkit). The only minus I see is the acting in some parts (especially between 16th and 18th seconds where the old ladies handle their specs and the little girls flex). They probably didn’t get good shots for those scenes and maybe a bit lazy post production work as well. Anyway, that makes the rating go down a bit to 8/10.

    Condom Ads:

    Zepto first:

    I guess I am very impressed with the Zepto creative team. They know how to hook the audience in and deliver the message with a punch. 9/10 for this ad again.

    Blinkit’s turn now.

    Quite a functional advert. But it has poor recall value and low creativity. So again, I’d give it an 8/10.

    Now lets just look at some random ads without comparing the theme.

    Generic ads:

    Lets look at a few adverts by Zepto first; starting with the Rice adverts.

    The above 2 ads were for 2 different rice brands. But the execution for both is quite unique and delivers humour in both the ads.

    Rexona Deororant ad:

    This ad is hilarious. Whoever is the creative genius that came up with this script gets a salute from me. Execution is perfect.

    If you find the ads funny and would like to just view some of them for entertainment then you may visit the Zepto YouTube channel. I spent a good deal of time on that page today coz I loved their ads so much. My score for Zepto is 9/10. I could probably give more but I am holding back.

    Now in Blinkit, the story is different. Let’s look at some of their other ads.

    Okayish humor. I can imagine the struggle by the creative team to make the story and brand fit in.

    Funny stuff. But it hits a strong message into the audience. The humor is spot on.

    Probably the worst advert I have seen today. I could make no sense out of this and why this advert was given the green light by Blinkit team. Anyway this lowers the score a lot, especially after witnessing some world class stuff by Zepto. Overall I’d give Blinkit a 7.5/10.

    So, in a nutshell, both brands are targeting city audiences, with humor and functional appeal of quick deliveries. There is not much to talk about, so they either talk about products one might need, or pick up occasions to weave their brand story into (like rakhi, holi etc). In my view, both brands get their messages across to the audience but it is actually a very simple delivery and a straightforward offering.

    However what differentiates them is the creativity and the execution of their communication. And in this case, Zepto has left Blinkit in the dust. I am not sure if this reflects in the business as well, but if it doesn’t I would be very disappointed in the Zepto management. After winning so well in communication, operations should catch up. If they do, then I am sure Zepto will be here for a long long time as a successful and strong brand.