There isn’t much happening with my clientele - so I don’t really have a solid client case study, and I assume it will take a while to come up with the next one.

During this time, I have been hunting REALLY GOOD content to learn, reverse-engineer, and build frameworks I could possibly use for my projects.

As I did that, I randomly tried to understand why Tanmay Bhat’s ads have been most talked about recently and what he is doing right so brands are continuously reaching out to him.

I started with a basic breakdown and posted it on social media; took me less than 20 minutes. The post got more traction than expected, prompting me to go down the rabbit hole and write a full-fledged issue on Cognition …and here we are.

DISCLAIMER: I have been referring to these ads as Tanmay’s ads in my promotions/thumbnails/titles because of his reputation for creating ads and how familiar most people are with him. But honestly, it is the collective effort of Tanmay, Devaiah (his co-founder), Vishal Dayama, and the Moonshot’s team.

I am sure I have not mentioned many important names, and my guilt won’t allow me to write any further without mentioning these ads as Moonshot’s ads in this newsletter—and not as Tanmay’s Ads.

What can you expect?

I have watched Moonshot’s ads for CRED, Lenskart, Disney+ Hotstar, Subway, Smallcase, and a few other brands over and over (10 brands, ~25 ads)—and tried to identify patterns and USPs.

In this issue, I will cover:

• My thesis on how Moonshot makes ads

• I’ll dive deep into the patterns and breakdown the popular ads (in the context of the thesis)

• What if I worked with Moonshot?

• I’ll share my handwritten research notes at the end

We will get started with it in a minute, but say hello to our sponsors first:

Land Your First Client In 5 Steps

Freelance Writers:

• Tired of getting paid per hour (or worse, per word?)

• Still relying on inconsistent word-of-mouth referrals?

• Ready to step off the freelancer hamster wheel?

Then you’re in luck! 

This FREE 5-day email course will help you:

• Craft an irresistible offer

• Charge premium prices

• Land your first $5,000 client

Click here to get instant access.

How Moonshot Makes Ads?

From what I have observed in all the ads, Moonshot strongly focuses on virality and entertainment over anything else; in a good way.

The best ads never feel like ads, and Moonshot cracked it. Pick up any ad; you are watching a fun sketch of your favourite star. These ads make you laugh, and rewatch them a few times before you get bored of them.

As a consequence, ads drive a lot of talk about the brand, its creativity, and the ambassadors associated with it (remember how your social media exploded after Rahul Dravid and Johnny Sins ads?)

Now, the eyeballs gathered might or might not lead to sales/conversions/downloads, etc., but I see the entire act is focused on branding and traction. In other words (I know I am repeating this multiple times), I’d say the primary objective of these ads is to get more people to talk about the brand on social media and with their friends.

As a result, Moonshot’s clients (brands like Subway, Smallcase) can now communicate with an audience who are not only larger in number but also attentive.

This graphic explains it better:

Diving Deep into How Moonshot Makes Ads

I have reverse-engineered ads for ten brands and identified a few consistencies and patterns in most of them, with only a few exceptions due to nuances.

Presenting the top three:

1. Playing on Public Perception

All celebrities have a public image, and I love how Moonshot’s team capitalizes on this audience’s perception of celebrities.

While most brands are trying to make the celebrity represent the brand, Tanmay and his team keep ambassadors in the limelight and use their fame, style, and image in favour of their client.

What’s more impressive? They have not only played on perception but also created viral ads both ways—when the public image is met or taken by a shock.

• Meeting the perception: Ravi Shastri has a reputation for being flamboyant and unapologetic about his lifestyle. You can see how CRED embraced it in Being Ravi Shastri is Fun ad.

• Taken by shock: Rahul Dravid is known for his calm, silent persona. Everyone expects Dravid to behave the same way. What does Moonshot do? Flips his character to a short-tempered, frustrated Bangalorian.

I am sure this ad needs no introduction:

It’s not limited to CRED. Here are more instances when celebrities’ public images are represented in ads:

Lenskart:

Karan Johar is known for his love for owning luxurious goods. The brand used his image to show how unhappy he was to own top-quality products at a lower price.

Watch the ad here.

Disney+ Hotstar:

Shah Rukh Khan has a reputation for being competitive and believes he is the best in the world.

I love how Hotstar has played on SRK’s competitive nature to show the OTT platform’s wide catalog, leading to Siway Shah Rukh and Thoda Rukh Shah Rukh series.

Bold Care:

You ask Indians about porn, and I’d be surprised if Johnny Sins doesn’t come up. The name Sins has got brand recall for porn and good sex.

Bold Care flips this reputation with parody ads of Indian serials and medical programs. They showed if someone like Johnny finds it difficult to perform in bed, it’s normal for others as well. Thus, offering their sexual wellness products.

Not to forget, there’s Ranveer Singh in the ad as well, who is known for verbally promoting sexual health and wellness.

2. Integrations

If you’ve been a Cognition reader for some time, you know I will create my own terminology to make things simpler for me.

I define Integrations as combining two distinct personality traits, celebrities, or events that you’ve never imagined together - You will only know it’s fun when you see these two distinctions together in a single space.

While playing with public perceptions brings in the reliability factor, Integrations surprise the viewers and keep them engaged/entertained.

Few examples include:

Subway

They’ve got Vishwanathan Anand and integrated his genius chess mind with ordering on Subway: The legend who could plan a hundred moves ahead in multiple permutations and combinations is unable to figure out what to order on Subway.

How cool is that?

Tell you what, I have been to Subway, and it’s kinda messy with the number of options available. But I love how the brand didn’t show off its options, but handled objections around ‘how to choose what to eat?’ with their hotsellers plug.

CRED

CRED’s entire Great for Good campaign is based on crazy integrations you have never imagined. Be it Rahul Dravid’s anger issues, Kumar Sanu selling insurance, 90s cricketers in a boy band, Kapil Dev acting like Ranveer Singh, or Jackie Shroff loving Zumba, the brand never failed to surprise you with your favorite stars doing the unimaginable.

Fire-Boltt

Again, two distinct personalities, MS Dhoni and MC Stan, get together to promote a smartwatch. Any mutuals wouldn’t have wildly imagined both of them sharing screen.

The integration itself keeps viewers hooked to the ad, and before you know it, you will find yourself watching MSD talking about the smartwatch.

3. Large Markets

I have said this before: Relatability fuels virality. Paradoxically, if you want to go viral, a large audience needs to be interested in your product category.

If you have noticed, most brands Moonshot has worked with have large markets for the products. In other words, more people could relate to the brand category.

Examples:

• Lenskart: 6/10 Indians wear specs

• Bold Care: Everyone *potentially* can improve sexual health and wellness

• CRED: Large population of salaried employees using credit cards

• Smallcase: As per BSE, on February 9th, 2024, the number of registered investors stood at nearly 161 million

• Meesho: Who is not up for shopping?

• Shark Tank S3: Season 1 had 150m viewers

• Fire-Boltt: Gen Z exploring affordable smartwatches to track health and stay digital

• Subway: Come on, it’s food! And you know how crazy people are about eating healthy lately

I am not saying Moonshot works only with brands with larger markets, but it’s safe to say you can thrive on virality if a larger population finds the product category relatable.

So yep, that’s my breakdown on how I think Moonshot makes ads - and the patterns associated with them! I hope it was useful.

We are not done yet!!

If you remember the Baskin Robbins copy, I told you it’s not about the breakdown but understanding the concepts at an elemental level so you can build something on your own if you have to work for the same brand.

I did it for Baskin Robbins by writing an alternate copy. Since I don’t write ads, I thought of throwing some ideas that would fit the way Moonshot creates.

Ready?

1. Dhoni as a vlogger: MS is completely off social media, and no one knows what he is up to when he’s not playing cricket or doing interviews. It’d be fun to see a person like him vlog all day and keep posting IG stories.

2. Amitabh Bachchan as a KBC contestant: For years, the Big B hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati. I wonder how it feels if he’s on the opposite chair, answering questions, phoning a friend (a celeb, of course), and getting tensed if his answer is right.

3. Arnab Goswami in a spiritual atmosphere: If you’ve seen any of Arnab’s prime-time debates, you know how loud and energetic he is. Now imagine him in an ashram-like atmosphere, speaking gently like a monk.

Content Exercise for you:

• What do you think of the ideas I mentioned?

• Would you approve of these?

• What would you do if you worked with Moonshot?

More From my Private Notes:

I am sharing my research notes here, just in case you wanna peek in

That’s my time!

It took me 12 hours to write this issue. If you find this insightful, please share it on your socials and ask your friends to subscribe to the newsletter. That’s all I can ask from you.

Thank you and hugs in advance!!

See you soon!