HealthKart-owned HK Vitals has unveiled a new campaign for its drinkable collagen supplement featuring actor Yami Gautam.
While the commercial promotes collagen's role in supporting skin health, it has also generated discussion within advertising circles for its creative execution, which bears notable similarities to Tsuruya Co.'s award-winning 2016 Japanese commercial, Sticking Together, No Matter What.
The original Japanese campaign was widely recognised for using human actors to represent an invisible support system, transforming an abstract product benefit into a memorable visual narrative.
Familiar Storytelling, New Context The HK Vitals film opens with a muscular man returning home exhausted from work, declaring that he wants to retire because "nothing is working anymore." His equally muscular father offers him a collagen drink, after which he regains his energy and heads back to action.
The campaign attempts to visualise collagen's supportive role through exaggerated human characters, a storytelling device that has prompted comparisons with the earlier Japanese advertisement among creative observers.
A Campaign That Goes Beyond Product Messaging
As India's health and wellness category becomes increasingly crowded, brands are under pressure to simplify complex scientific propositions through distinctive storytelling. At the same time, growing global exposure means creative executions are scrutinised more closely than ever before, making originality an increasingly valuable asset.
For marketers, the conversation extends beyond product communication to creative differentiation and intellectual influence in advertising.
The Last Word
In a globally connected creative ecosystem, memorable storytelling can build brands—but originality remains the currency that sustains long-term credibility.