Despite being populated with innumerous product categories, the Indian FMCG sector has invested dramatically in promoting creativity to ensure a distinct brand imagery that has broken the clutter
It was an irksome Wednesday afternoon. Mrs. Kathuria, a housewife, had just switched on the TV to calm down her foul mood. Her son, Rohan, who was hitherto quite excited about rescuing his best buddy in school from a bunch of bullies, had just been scolded by his mother for ruining his uniform, which was now completely mud-soiled. And suddenly, in the background, starts the jingle, ‘Agar daag lagne se kuch acha hota hai, toh daag ache hain!’ A scene right out of a TV advertisement? Wrong! What we described is actually verbatim how the mother of a truant school going kid (aren’t all of them) in one fine South Delhi household explained to us the moments preceding the jingle (which had started in the background during the break in the afternoon soap serial). But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is what she told us further on. “The moment I heard the jingle, my fury reduced immensely and I, in a way, felt less angry at my son – well, the coincidence between what the ad was showing and what was happening every day in front of me could not be ignored,” exclaimed Mrs. Kathuria. So what’s the dope we’re pushing here?
Creativity! Compare any standard (say) American FMCG advertisement to a standard Indian FMCG advertisement, and the difference would hit you fantastically hard. Comedy, shock, surrealism – Indian advertisements score miles ahead of Western advertisements in ensuring that the brand is recalled like nobody’s business by the consumers. Think about it. If we were to ask you to fill in the blanks in the punch line, “xxxx ki safedi,” a majority Indians would bang on hit the right target!
To some extent, Surf (and of course, ‘washing powder Nirma’) was amongst the first ones, daring to be different at a time when the advertising of detergent powders a few years back showed the same run-of-the-mill commercials promising greater whiteness, gentle on clothes proposition, floral fragrances, et al. And this in fact was true for most of the product categories in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) category? How many TVCs of toothpastes, soaps, creams, et al, of different companies could were differentiated from one another? Hardly. Didn’t all toothpastes promise fresh breath and white teeth just a few years back? Didn’t one-third shampoos promise Zero Dandruff, another third promise Zero Hair Fall and remaining guarantee shine and strength (in fact, don’t they do so even now)? Clearly, even in India, till just a few years back FMCG products, in most categories, were unable to create a unique brand promise!
It was an irksome Wednesday afternoon. Mrs. Kathuria, a housewife, had just switched on the TV to calm down her foul mood. Her son, Rohan, who was hitherto quite excited about rescuing his best buddy in school from a bunch of bullies, had just been scolded by his mother for ruining his uniform, which was now completely mud-soiled. And suddenly, in the background, starts the jingle, ‘Agar daag lagne se kuch acha hota hai, toh daag ache hain!’ A scene right out of a TV advertisement? Wrong! What we described is actually verbatim how the mother of a truant school going kid (aren’t all of them) in one fine South Delhi household explained to us the moments preceding the jingle (which had started in the background during the break in the afternoon soap serial). But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is what she told us further on. “The moment I heard the jingle, my fury reduced immensely and I, in a way, felt less angry at my son – well, the coincidence between what the ad was showing and what was happening every day in front of me could not be ignored,” exclaimed Mrs. Kathuria. So what’s the dope we’re pushing here?
Creativity! Compare any standard (say) American FMCG advertisement to a standard Indian FMCG advertisement, and the difference would hit you fantastically hard. Comedy, shock, surrealism – Indian advertisements score miles ahead of Western advertisements in ensuring that the brand is recalled like nobody’s business by the consumers. Think about it. If we were to ask you to fill in the blanks in the punch line, “xxxx ki safedi,” a majority Indians would bang on hit the right target!
To some extent, Surf (and of course, ‘washing powder Nirma’) was amongst the first ones, daring to be different at a time when the advertising of detergent powders a few years back showed the same run-of-the-mill commercials promising greater whiteness, gentle on clothes proposition, floral fragrances, et al. And this in fact was true for most of the product categories in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) category? How many TVCs of toothpastes, soaps, creams, et al, of different companies could were differentiated from one another? Hardly. Didn’t all toothpastes promise fresh breath and white teeth just a few years back? Didn’t one-third shampoos promise Zero Dandruff, another third promise Zero Hair Fall and remaining guarantee shine and strength (in fact, don’t they do so even now)? Clearly, even in India, till just a few years back FMCG products, in most categories, were unable to create a unique brand promise!
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
Arindam Chaudhuri – Everything is not in our hands
Planman Technologies – IT Solutions at your finger tips
Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
