Cinthol : Get Ready, Get Close

Brand : Cinthol
Company: Godrej consumer products ltd
Agency ; Orchard Advertising

Cinthol is a 54 year old soap brand from Godrej Consumer products ltd. This brand features in the Interbrand;s Super Brand 2004-05. This is a brand that has withstood the so-called MNC onslaught. This very own Indian brand has been carefully nurtured by the company and owns a special place in the Indian consumer’s mind.

Cinthol was launched in the year 1952. The original Cinthol comes with a red pack (still the old Cinthol is available in the market) and the unique Fougere perfume became a big hit during its launch itself. Cinthol have a market share of about 2.5% in value terms. The brand is contemporary and positioned as a masculine soap with USP of protection from body odor.


Godrej have always tried to experiment with this product, trying out new things and coming out with different variants. This has enabled the product be in tune with the changing consumer trends.

Cinthol heavily promoted the product using celebrities of the likes of Vinod Khanna and Imran Khan in 1986 . In 1989 Cinthol tried to catch the lime freshness trend using Cinthol Lime which was a big hit. During 1992 it came out with Cologne. The brand went for a major overhaul in 1993-1995 with a new pack. But there was a customer outcry for the old Cinthol. Eventually the company had to relaunch the original Cinthol and the new range was branded as Cinthol International.

Original Cinthol have the usp of deo + complexion is said to be the first of its kind in India. Cinthol is also made of vegetable oils and not animal fats and was popular for this quality. Cinthol name is derived from SYNTHetic + phenol ( SYNTHOL)
In 2004, the brand embarked on a new positioning of “ Get Ready ,Get Close” The brand also have extensions like Talcum powder and Deo but these extensions were not as successful as this brand.

Cinthol was promoted using smart ads and the product quality was perceived to be excellent. But now Cinthol is lying low with virtually no advertisements. This is a great brand with huge potential. I feel that Cinthol Deo if promoted heavily can easily beat the likes of AXE. But these products are seldom available in the stores.

Cinthol have to Get Ready to Get Close with the new Generation.

Sprite : Ban Gaya Bakwaas !

Brand : Sprite
Company: Coca Cola
Agency : O&M

Sprite is one of the fastest growing brand in the 7000 crore carbonated soft drink (CSD) market in India. Taking the place of the erstwhile Limca, the brand is positioned as a basic thirst quencher. The brand in India is competing with Mountain Dew.

Sprite was launched in India in 1999 has caught the attention of Indian consumer by positioning itself as a plain soft drink. The initial baseline have rightly captured the essence of Sprite as “ Bujaye only pyas, Baki All Bakwas “. The protagonist in the campaigns also have that “ cool “ attitude thus breaking clutter of high decibel Cola ads. While Mountain Dew which have a cult status in the west so far did not achieve such a status in India. Analysts say that the protagonists in Mountain Dew does not have the mass appeal as that of Sprite. Mountain Dew world wide is positioned as an icon blaster. In India, Coca Cola was able to capitalize on that positioning better with Sprite.

With the war in this segment hotting up , Dew tried to directly attack the Sprite by portraying the protagonist as a dumbass. But not with much success.

Sprite changed the baseline of “ Baki all Bakwaas “ to “ No gyan only Sprite” and tried to further build on the successful positioning. But some of the ads went too far with the protagonist portraying a larger than life image. Then again the baseline changed to “ Clear Hai “ .
I feel that the baseline “ Baki all Bakwaas “ was changed too soon because it had immense potential for further communication and clearly states the brand’s essence. The subsequent baseline had to be scrapped because it offered limited substance to the creative team to work on. The latest baseline is also have limited flexibility compared to the Bakwaas baseline.

It is evident that the brand is going to lose its soul by having a celebrity endorsement in the form of Sania Mirza. I have no idea why a brand that is positioned as a plain thirst quencher, promoted as an icon blaster, go after a celebrity? By using the celebrity, the brand has diluted what ever equity it had created over these years. Just think about a consumer who have used Sprite because he is bored by all the hype of colas ( they are the defined TG of Sprite isn’t it?) by seeing the brand towing the same line as the other brands, will he be impressed?

Now Mountain Dew is serving for match point….

Sprite : Ban Gaya Bakwaas

Frooti : Fresh N Juicy

Brand : Frooti
Company: Parle Agro foods
Agency: Grey worldwide

Frooti is the first tetrapak fruit juice in India. Launched in 1984, Frooti still holds a dominant position in the Rs300 crore tetrapak fruit juice (TFJ) market.
Frooti over these years have carved out a niche for itself in the market. Frooti instantly caught the fancy of Indian consumer with its tetrapak and some smart campaigns. Initially the drink was positioned as a kids drink. The product was perceived as a healthy fruit drink by the mothers . So within a short span of time ,the brand was an alternative to the “unhealthy” colas. The tetrapak had other benefits also . Fruit juice is a perishable product and tetrapak have extended the shelf life of Frooti because tetrapaks have 2 layers of paper and a plastic coating that ensured tamper proof and enhanced shelf life.

Lured by the success of Frooti, there was a lot of new launches in the TFJ market. Players like Godrej with Jumpin, kissan etc tried their luck in this market but failed to dislodge Frooti.

Frooti was positioned as a mango drink that is “Fresh-n-juicy” For over a 7 years, the company promoted the product using that famous baseline. The product have tried to create excitement in the market through a series of new variants and packing. But in late ninetees the brand was facing stagnated sales. The company tried to excite the market with an orange and pineapple variant but both the variant bombed. The came the experiment with packaging . The YO! Frooti variant came with a slim paper can aimed at the college going youth.

Worried by the stagnating sales, Parle tried to reposition the brand to appeal to youth aged between 16-21. The positioning changed to be more fun based. The package also changed. The old green color of the bottle changed to more bright mango color with lot of graphics added to it.

One of the most famous marketing campaigns India have witnessed took place during the repositioning. The campaign is the famous “ Digen Verma “ campaign. This campaign was considered as one of the most successful teaser campaigns in India. The campaign lasted for 15 days started in February 2001. The campaign was about a faceless person Digen Verma. There were posters and outdoors all across the markets that had messages like “ Who is Digen verma” “ Digen Verma was here” etc. This created lot of excitement in the market and “Digen Verma “became the most talked about faceless name at that time. The campaign was executed by Everest communication. But the campaign was not followed up and the hype was not translated to long term brand building.

Frooti is basically a nectar based drink so it is not 100% fruit juice, it also have some preservatives added to increase the shelf life. Although Frooti did not face much competition in the category it created, competition came from a slightly different category, 100% fruit juices. Parle saw the emergence of the “ 100% fruit drink market and launched “Njoy” brand but it did not clicked. Parle could have extended Frooti to this market also .The brand Real from Dabur is the main player in this category. Real effectively positioned itself as a premium healthy drink for adults. Frooti was not able to appeal to adults and was considered as a mango drink while Real is not restricted to any flavour. Frooti also changed its positioning statement from ‘ Fresh-N-juicy” to “ Juice Up your life” which have not clicked with the customers.

Although Frooti enjoys a commanding (75%) market share , Frooti is facing stagnation. May be some serious steps should be taken to increase the usage of the product. The launch of PET bottle Frooti is a step in this direction. Recently Frooti also launched a “Green mango” variant just to create some hype in the market. Frooti may have to reposition itself again to appeal to cola drinkers.

Peter England : Honestly Impressive

Brand : Peter England
Company: Madura Garments
Agency: Mudra

Can you sell a product without any marketing gimmick, no film actors telling you that the brand is his secret of success, no hypes or hoopla or in other words can you sell a product honestly?

Peter England is a brand that tries to do just that and that too successfully. Launched in the year 1997, this brand has captured the Indian middle class mind. That too honestly.
Peter England as a brand has a rich heritage. It began in the year 1885 when foundation was struck for 5 storied building in Ireland. In 1888 Peter England factory came in to being. It was during 1889-1902 that the company expanded when it got the order for outfits for British soldiers for the Boer war. The order was large and it demanded quality merchandise at Honest –to- goodness price.

The brand came to India in 1997. During that period there was a huge potential for a mid segment shirts in the 60mn pieces Indian shirt market. The industry was dominated by in store brands and the consumers have to painstakingly check for the right shirt. The then owners of Peter England (Indian Rayon) wanted to tap this segment. Thus evolved the idea of a brand that aims to shorten the buying process of the consumer.

Research also revealed that the consumers perceived premium shirts as overpriced and there was a need for such a national brand. Also another insight was that the market had a perception that good things happen to people who wear good clothes.

Peter England was initially positioned as an “Honest Shirt”. It was a very precise campaign that categorically told the TG that the brand is of good quality and honest- to – goodness price. The strategy clicked and has to click because the product was very good and the price was excellent. It just fit in to ones budget. The TG for the brand was the 24-28 ambitious and career oriented youth.
In order to make sure that the excitement remains, Peter England came out with various ranges and varieties of shirts. The brand also extended to trousers with the same positioning. Although some of the variants like English Cottons compromised on quality , the brand still enjoys a good equity in the TG’s mind.

In 2002 the brand made a slight makeover. The positioning changed to “Honestly Impressive”. The aim is to make the brand more than just value for money proposition but also as a lifestyle brand. It has maintained its value proposition unchanged.

Peter England is a brand that clearly shows a marketer that it is possible to sell... Honestly.

Margo:lost in the Neem trees !

Brand : Margo
Company: Henkel
Agency: FCB Ulka


Margo is one of the oldest herbal soaps in India. The brand which is more than 85 years old is famous for its neem content. The product although famous for its positive effects to the skin is nowhere in the market. This is a brand which never changed with the customer. During its launch, the product had dedicated customer base and since the product was unique due to its medicinal value , customers tend to be loyal. The whole brand was having Neem as its core identity.

But Margo failed to understand the changing dynamics of Indian consumers, more and more choices began to unfold before the consumer and Margo was becoming a niche brand. Margo was positioned as a "complete skin care soap". When market became fragmented with lot of products positioning at different attributes, Margo was sidelined as a medicinal soap.

The product has inherent negatives, the fragrant was not attractive nor the shape. It was also less lathering compared to its competitors. Margo changed hands from Shaw Wallace to Henkel. Although Margo was relaunched in 2003 with a new fragrance and shape , it has not excited the market so far. The new positioning is " Margo skin clear skin". The brand had a following in AP, Tamilnadu and West Bengal ( am not sure about its present status). The single mistake the brand made was to miss the new generation. It failed to attract the young users.

With Lifebouy herbal variant and other established brands taking in the "neem" content away from Margo, this brand needs a hell lot of money to rejuvenate itself. May be a high decibel big celebrity endorsement may help this brand ( try Aishwarya for a change) . Can it change its avatar and fight lifebuoy in the health platform?

This is a brand that failed to change with the customer or changed very late.

Thums Up : Taste The Thunder

Brand : Thums Up
Company: Coca Cola
Agency:Leo Burnett

What will you do after buying a brand which has a market share of 60 % for 120 crore?

a. Build it further
b. Consolidate the position
c. Extend the brand equity
d. Kill it

Well a company took the choice ( d) .

A company known for its marketing prowess, owner of an iconic brand which is considered to be the most valued brand in the world. Does this choice seem totally … idiotic?

That was what Coca-Cola Company tries to do with Thums Up…

Thums Up was launched in India in 1977 when the multi national giants coke and Pepsi were asked to leave the country. Thums up ruled the Indian market for 16 years . A brand owned by Ramesh Chauhan of Parle was a carefully built icon. It could withstand the competition from Pepsi and was a market leader.
With the Cola war hotting up with the reentry of Coke into the Indian market in 1992, a very unusual event happened. Ramesh Chauhan sold Thums Up to Coke for 120 crores.

There after we saw a very unusual happening, an event very rare in Marketing history, a company killing a market leader bought for 120 crores to launch its global brand. In marketing this never makes sense. Why should you kill a leading brand for launching your own brand? Are you so smart ? Over confident?

History proved other wise….


Thums up even after 13 years sells more than coke and Pepsi. The brand is so strong that it has refused to die. After 1985 “ New Coke” failure, this is the greatest marketing blunder that Coke made.

Thums Up was our very own Indian brand. Launched as a very masculine brand with the baseline “ Taste the Thunder” stole the heart of millions of Indian youth. Thums UP is a strong tasting cola targeting at young adults. It has the highest carbonation among the cola brands which appealed to the palate of Indians. The brand is very popular in Andhra Pradesh , Maharashtra Gujarat, UP , West Bengal, and Karnataka with Andhra contributing 30% of the sales.

The brand personifies victory,achievement and celebration.

With Thums Up; the largest selling cola at its fold, Coca Cola initially tried to kill the brand to pave the entry of Coke. But they found that only Pepsi will benefit with the withdrawal of Thums Up and retracted the strategy. The new owners tried to reposition Thums Up as a manly brand. The famous tagline “Taste the Thunder “was changed to “I want my Thunder” But that change was a flop and the company retracted the old tagline. Later they again changed the baseline to “ Grow Up to Thums up” in tune with the strategy of blind taste campaign depicting Pepsi as a sweeter brand , hence not for men. It is said that the campaign was successful.

Right now Thums Up is degraded as a flanking brand for Coke. Coke is using it just to bash Pepsi. Coke has been using all macho film personalities like Akshay , Salman and Sunil Shetty to position this brand as a macho brand . We see sporadic bursts of promotions of this brand but one can see the dilemma of Coke about this brand. Full scale promotion of the brand can take away the share of coke which they cannot afford to do. Taking this brand away will help Pepsi. So he only choice is to push it along till it dies on its own.

Coke was never fully into the promotion of the brand. Half heartedly they tried to market the brand making all sort of repositioning and experiments. Even after all these messing up, the brand is strong. May be the consumers are not willing to let go the brand. This is a classic case of a brand getting an iconic status. A case where the customers take the ownership of the brand. Now Coke no longer owns the brand , consumers own it.

Had Coke promoted the brand, Pepsi did not have a chance in Indian cola market. By looking inwardly and taking a blind eye towards the consumer, Coke has compromised on the basic principles of marketing. Coke could have ruled the Indian market with Thums Up. But they could not stand the thought of Coca cola playing a supporting role to another brand.

Coke is trying to create a separate market for Thums Up. It is playing the regional game and in areas where coke is strong, slowly Thums Up is withdrawn. As a marketer I don’t see a future in this brand. This icon is going to fade into the annals of History of Brands

Thums Up: Lost its thunder.