Company: JK Ansell
Agency: Ambience
Brand Count: 218
Kamasutra condoms popularly known as KS is a disruptive brand in the Rs 110 crore condoms market in India. Launched in 1991 by JK chemicals,,KS shot into prominence by 
differentiating through breakaway positioning. In 1996, the brand was transferred to JK Ansell which is a joint venture between Ansell International and Raymond Group.
Kamasutra was the first brand to position this product category away from family planning. The brand broke the lazy lull marketing in this category by becoming bold and controversial. All the campaigns for this brands were different, memorable and clutter breaking.
Traditionally condom were marketed as a family planning product. The market is divided into
a.Free condoms
b.Subsidised
c.Popular
d. Premium
The brand broke into the scene with a controversial campaign featuring Pooja Bedi and Marc Robinson. The ads became an instant hit as well as a controversy because of the sensual visuals. The so called Moral police brigade cried foul. The ads were instant hit and the sales soared. Consumers used the acronym KS for this brand. The ads gave lessons of Kamasutra postures and customers loved it. But the campaign had its fair share of problems. The tvc was not allowed in National channel and the campaign was restricted to print.
Watch the Pooja Bedi campaign here : Pooja
For a bold brand
like KS, the opportunity to create waves in the market was immense. The brand was aiming the target segment of youngsters below 25 ( unmarried) ,College students and young professionals. That TG was a risky proposition at that era because Sex was a taboo... But the brand was able to become relevant to the TG with its boldness and iconoclastic stands.
The Pooja Bedi campaign was followed by campaign featuring famouse models like Anu Agarval and Viveka Babajee. The brand used the tagline " For the Pleasure of Making Love" emphasizing the brand as an enhancer of pleasure ( emotional ) rather than a family planning tool ( rational)
Later the brand became lazy with no promotions for more than 2 years. There was no need to, because company were flush with orders from government and other NGOs so why waste money building the brand?
The brand took a different mode during 2003. It is a kind of repositioning where the brand shifted gear from sensuality to suggestive humour. According to reports, KS was running on the magic of Pooja Bedi and slowly the brand was becoming stale.And the competitors were imitating the sensuous imagery thus differentiation of KS based on visual imagery becomes irrelevant. Since the TG was youth, humour was the right way to get into their frame of mind, especially regarding the subject of sex. Thus came a series of ads with the new tagline " What are You Thinking Of?"
You can watch the ad here : Clinic, Waiting Room and Executive Lunch
The campaigns are much bolder than the previous ones and I have a feeling that the TG has changed from youth below 25 to much older audience ( and married) .
What ever be the campaigns, still this category is in the closet bought ,secretively with only a fraction of customers experimenting the variants or for that matter discussing this category even with their friends.
But the potential for this category is huge and that too in the premium segment. KS has shown the way to build a different brand...
differentiating through breakaway positioning. In 1996, the brand was transferred to JK Ansell which is a joint venture between Ansell International and Raymond Group.Kamasutra was the first brand to position this product category away from family planning. The brand broke the lazy lull marketing in this category by becoming bold and controversial. All the campaigns for this brands were different, memorable and clutter breaking.
Traditionally condom were marketed as a family planning product. The market is divided into
a.Free condoms
b.Subsidised
c.Popular
d. Premium
The brand broke into the scene with a controversial campaign featuring Pooja Bedi and Marc Robinson. The ads became an instant hit as well as a controversy because of the sensual visuals. The so called Moral police brigade cried foul. The ads were instant hit and the sales soared. Consumers used the acronym KS for this brand. The ads gave lessons of Kamasutra postures and customers loved it. But the campaign had its fair share of problems. The tvc was not allowed in National channel and the campaign was restricted to print.
Watch the Pooja Bedi campaign here : Pooja
For a bold brand
like KS, the opportunity to create waves in the market was immense. The brand was aiming the target segment of youngsters below 25 ( unmarried) ,College students and young professionals. That TG was a risky proposition at that era because Sex was a taboo... But the brand was able to become relevant to the TG with its boldness and iconoclastic stands.The Pooja Bedi campaign was followed by campaign featuring famouse models like Anu Agarval and Viveka Babajee. The brand used the tagline " For the Pleasure of Making Love" emphasizing the brand as an enhancer of pleasure ( emotional ) rather than a family planning tool ( rational)
Later the brand became lazy with no promotions for more than 2 years. There was no need to, because company were flush with orders from government and other NGOs so why waste money building the brand?
The brand took a different mode during 2003. It is a kind of repositioning where the brand shifted gear from sensuality to suggestive humour. According to reports, KS was running on the magic of Pooja Bedi and slowly the brand was becoming stale.And the competitors were imitating the sensuous imagery thus differentiation of KS based on visual imagery becomes irrelevant. Since the TG was youth, humour was the right way to get into their frame of mind, especially regarding the subject of sex. Thus came a series of ads with the new tagline " What are You Thinking Of?"
You can watch the ad here : Clinic, Waiting Room and Executive Lunch
The ads were funny and gave the brand a fair share of mind. The ad is based on the insight that
men will always have sex playing in their minds... These thoughts are triggered by simple visuals or sights and this insights was bought in a perfect way by these ads.
2006 again saw the brand changing its communication . The brand adopted the tagline " What do you want to be Tonight?". The ads talks about couple playing out their fantasies .. another extension of the initial positioning platform.
Watch the ad here: Detective and Lifeguard, men will always have sex playing in their minds... These thoughts are triggered by simple visuals or sights and this insights was bought in a perfect way by these ads.
2006 again saw the brand changing its communication . The brand adopted the tagline " What do you want to be Tonight?". The ads talks about couple playing out their fantasies .. another extension of the initial positioning platform.
The campaigns are much bolder than the previous ones and I have a feeling that the TG has changed from youth below 25 to much older audience ( and married) .
What ever be the campaigns, still this category is in the closet bought ,secretively with only a fraction of customers experimenting the variants or for that matter discussing this category even with their friends.
But the potential for this category is huge and that too in the premium segment. KS has shown the way to build a different brand...
Related brand
Moods
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