Brand Update : Fa

Fa has launched its range of deos for men branded Fa Xtreme. The brand has roped in the hollywood diva Bipasha Basu as the brand ambassador. The brand is running its first tvc across various channels.

Watch the TVC here : Fa Xtreme

Well.. Just like the brand Denver, Fa has also fallen into the stereotype trap. The theme is predictable and the execution is nothing but lousy.I wonder whether the creative and strategy guys of the agency had gone on a vacation entrusting this job to a school kid.

And the way Bipasha embrace the hunk looks as if she is acting in a Kamasutra movie..

Another issue is the core brand proposition of Fa. Fa is positioned on the platform of Freshness. It has the tagline " Feel Good Freshness ".

But look at the positioning of its line extension. Fa Xtreme is not complementing the core brand manthra of Fa . Instead it is moving in the direction of brands like Axe and Setwet . This is the main issue with extensions. If the extension is not in sync with the parent brand, there is bound to be brand dilution.

Fa could have used the same " freshness " platform for its men's range. No deo brand has taken the freshness platform ( except Cinthol ). Hence Fa Xtreme could have easily created a distinct place in the men's grooming category if it had followed its parent brand's positioning.

For a consumer (men) of deo, freshness is an important attribute. Guys use deos not just to seduce girls ( pun intended) but also to feel fresh . Most working guys slog in the field and deo is an absolute must for them to feel and look fresh.
It is a sad to see reputed agencies and brands failing to dig deep into consumer's mind and settling for mediocre insights and work.

Related Brand
Denver

Denver : Ride Your Luck

Brand : Denver
Company : Vanesa

Brand Analysis Count : 404

Denver is a brand from Vanesa - which is a Delhi based company.I presume that this is a new brand launched recently. Not much information is available in the public domain about the history of the brand or the company.

Male grooming market is witnessing a lot of action in the recent past. Most of the cosmetics and personal care majors are eying this segment. The market size for male grooming products is estimated to be around Rs 600- 800 crores ( figures vary from source to source)

Denver is a new brand in this category. The brand has a range of personal care products ranging from Deos , skin care products and perfumes.

The brand has been very active in the media space with regular TVCs and sponsoring programs like Splitsvilla ( MTV)

Denver has many positive aspects going for it. The name "Denver " gives an international image to the brand. The company has done a good job in getting the packaging right although there is a striking resemblance with the Axe packaging. The brand has attractive design elements going for it. The brand is also reasonably priced at Rs 120 per can.

But the greatest let down is its positioning and advertisement campaign. The brand is currently running a tvc in many national channels.

Watch the ad here : Denver

By looking at the positioning of the brand, one can see that the brand has fallen into the stereotyping trap. The theme of girls falling for a man ( who use the deo) is a much "raped " theme. Every brand has used such a theme and for a consumer, watching such a theme based ad is a nauseating experience.

Brands fall into stereotyping because it is the easiest option. You get a girl , little clothes, a dude and a motorcycle and bingo the advertising is ready.

By following the much used path, Denver has forgone a wonderful opportunity to build a space of its own. There is no difference between what Denver, Axe, Wildstone, Setwet are saying. And these brands are spending whole loads of money to bore the consumers to death.

Denver has taken the tagline " Ride Your Luck " but fails to connect the brand with the positioning statement. It takes courage and wisdom to tread the path less traveled. But seldom brands take that big leap.

Brand Update : Horlicks Vs Complan

The fight between Complan and Horlicks has become more intense. Yesterday I saw the new ad for Horlicks and was shocked at the message. The ad started with a scene inside the classroom where the teacher is taking the attendance. The teacher calls out " Calcium" then a group of students raise their hands, then she calls out " Iron " another group raises their hands. Then the voice over talks about the deficiency of nutrients seen in kids.

Then comes the critical part, a Doctor ( model) comes to the picture and talks about 23 vital nutrients that is necessary for the growth and claims that these nutrients are present in HORLICKS....!!!!

This is one of the classic cases of brands trying to establish their competitive points of parity . Horlicks is trying to negate the core differentiation of Complan . Complan since its inception has been harping on the 23 vital nutrients. Now Horlicks is trying to create parity by claiming the same property. Complan has never been so aggressive and blunt.

Remember that Complan has been trying to negate the claim of Horlicks ( Stronger,sharper,Taller) through aggressive campaigns .


So what is the fall out of this fight.

I think the possible outcome of this fight is that media and the ad agency will make a lot of money. Complan will be the gainer in this fight and Horlicks may run the risk of losing its core brand identity because it is trying to become Complan.

What do you think ??

Related Brands

Horlicks Vs Complan Fight

Dollops : RIP (1989-1995)

Brand : Dollops
Company : Cadbury/HLL


Brand Analysis : 403

Dollops is another MNC brand that bite the dust in Indian market. This much hyped brand was launched in India in 1989 by Cadbury's in association with Brooke Bond. Dollops was one of the first high profile MNC brands to enter the Indian market.

Dollops gained instant consumer interest because of the endorsement from Cadbury's. The brand was positioned as a premium icecream and was able to make a significant hype during the launch.

Ice cream business at that time was dominated by local players and powerful brands like Kwality. Cadbury later found that the market was not as juicy as it thought to be. During 1993, Cadbury began the process of focusing more on its confectionery business.

This lead to the hiving off the unrelated businesses like ice creams. It was around that time Hindustan Lever Ltd began to aggressively pursue their interest in ice cream market. In an acquisition spree, HLL acquired Kwality and Dollops. Cadbury sold Dollops to HLL in 1993.

Typically, HLL played around with the brands it had acquired. HLL had its international Wall's brand which it was planning to launch along with Kwality and Dollops. HLL found that Kwality had a huge equity in the market and decided to keep that brand .

Dollops could not be fit into the planned portfolio strategy of HLL and had to be killed.By around 1995, Dollops was slowly eased out from the market.

Dollops had only a short life in the Indian market. Dollops shot into limelight only because of the Cadbury's brand endorsement. The brand was in a tough market which had even humbled the mighty HLL. For Cadbury's, Dollops became a liability when it chose to concentrate on its core business. For HLL, it was a costly exercise of killing a competing brand.

Dollops is a brand that failed not because of any product related reasons. Some of the flavors of Dollops were a hit with the consumers. It failed because of company related factors.

Picture courtsey : Business Line

Brand Update : Chlormint

Chlormint is back in the media space with a new campaign. There are two interesting things about the new campaign.

First is that, the brand has now a celebrity endorser ( infact two !) . Chlormint has signed up Bollywood Actor Salman Khan as the brand ambassador. The new tvc features Salman and his brother Sohail Khan.

Watch the Tvc Here : Chlormint Airplane Ad

The second most important development about this brand is the tagline. The brand has brought back the old famous tagline " Dobara Mat Poochna " . Chlormint had earlier changed the tagline to " Khao Kabhi Bhi ". I had criticized about the unnecessary change in the tagline in my earlier update about the brand. I had argued that the new tagline does not have lasting power and dumping " Dobara Mat Poochna " was a mistake.

The brand has made some changes in the tagline. The new tagline is " Bina Tayaari ke Dobara mat poochna " meaning " Don't Ask with out taking adequate preparation ". It is good that Chlormint decided to bring back the tagline that made this brand famous. It was a beautiful tagline with lot of room for creativity. The tagline also became a much used phrase by the youngsters.

I am little surprised by the brand's move to rope in a celebrity endorser. The question is whether Chlormint really need the support of a brand ambassador ? My personal opinion is that Chlormint have the strength to survive on its own. Any brand ambassador will only dilute the strength of this brand.

One reason for taking a celebrity is the category competitor Orbit taking Deepika as the brand ambassador. May be Chlormint felt threatened by this move.

The new TVC featuring Salman and Sohail is a pathetic one . The agency could have used this duo better. There is nothing funny or remarkable about the new TVC.

The brand could have fared better if it had concentrated on itself rather than on the celebrity.




Related Brand

Chlormint

Picture courtesy
Tarik Jilai Flickr Photostream

Brand Update : Lays

Lay's is on a repositioning mode again. The brand is currently running a new campaign with a new tagline " Be a little Dillogical ".

Dillogical is the new manthra for the brand. The newly coined term represents the logic of the heart ( I think So !). The new campaign with the new tagline how ever does not speak much about the new positioning.

Ever since the brand dropped its famous " No one can eat just one " tagline, Lays has never really caught the consumer's share of mind. None of the campaign with the tagline " Har Program Ka Main Food " really was as effective as the previous campaigns.

In my last post about this brand, I had criticized about the decision to change a famous tagline just for the sake of change . I think the brand never found its soul in the " program ka main food " tagline. This may have created the need for a new tagline.

I don't think that the Dillogical tagline is going to be any better than the last one. Pepsi is obsessed with Hinglish words , the recent one being Youngisthan.

In sheer share of voice and creativity, Bingo has clearly outsmarted Lays. The campaigns of Bingo has always been clutter- breaking and funny. Lays never was able to bring out a classy campaign after its repositioning.

Related Brand
Lays