In this new ad SRK dons the hat of a father who warns his children if they don’t brush, their teeth will turn from white to black. And in the process the father tries to convince the son to brush only for two minutes to see the results!! "Germ Free in 2 mins – Peposodent Gemi-check". Mind you this is a 35 seconds ad and at least 5 seconds would be wasted (oops I meant consumed) in this punch line!!
Given this background, let’s see how the toothpaste market is currently being played out in India. Colgate Palmolive leads the tally with over 50% market share. HUL with the combined artillery of close up (the famous pass aao jingle) and pepsodent is distant 2nd with 22%. Now the supposedly higher management of HUL believes the new ad which they have created will connect to children! I don’t understand how. The reason given is also very lame. “SRK is seen spending time with children”. This is surely a cover-up tactic.
The main reason is that everyone these days believes what Celina Jaitely once said - sex and SRK sells. For god’s sake the man gets ready for the show for anything - for money. SRK was selling HUL’s lux sometime back for ladies. (Although, in hindsight, I do believe that this tactic would go really well with middle class fan following of SRK).
In a desperate effort to bridge the gap between the two (HUL and Colgate), HUL has gone ahead and spent crores of rupees in rural marketing. But even money could not buy what they want.
Only thing that clicked for HUL was the fantabulous ad of “dishum dishum” which saw the market share of pepsodent increase from 10 to 13% in flat 6/8 months. The slogan cuts through and captures the essence of why toothpaste is used. To kill germs and the message was very well received by the Indian bourgeoisies. But everything that has a beginning comes and end. The ad was replaced by a non-sense called “bache jhooth nahin bolte”. The kind of ad which requires an IQ of over 170 to decipher the message that the brand was trying to deliver. And the typical higher management reply follows that “we are not changing our brand positioning, we are only changing the way of its execution.”
So what could have been done? Focus on rural areas. Close – up can do well in cities given the power of “pass aao” jingle.
- - Since childhood, I have been fascinated by man in uniform. I would prefer strong army men who would probably be brushing his teeth in his vests and the child looking at this honest and patriotic father in admiration, picks up the brush himself and ends with the “dishum dishum” message. Well, not exactly the same setup but I am just giving a hint of how it can be done!!
Why I feel this way?
- - Whatever be SRK’s twitter following, rural India unlike the urban populace is smart and is not going to spend money just because SRK is selling it for 35 secs?
- - Also, showing someone in urban 2 bedroom sized bathroom with 116 bathroom fitting is not going to appeal the psyche of the aam admi.
- - The ad will be cheaper without SRK. The money saved can be used in strengthening the rural distribution channels and strengthening the core message of using toothpaste.
