Fuel : Ignite the Fire

Brand : Fuel

Company : Elder Pharma

Brand Analysis Count : 405

Here is another men's deo launch. Elder Pharmaceuticals has recently launched its range of deos for men branded as Fuel. The deo is being launched in collaboration with VLCC.

The men's deo market was virtually untouched till recently . Axe was ruling the market with no powerful competitors except for some foreign imports. But the last few months saw a plethora of brands entering this segment.

My earlier blogpost was also about the Fa Xtreme and Denver both targeting the male segment.

Fuel deo is running a tvc across various channels

Watch the tvc here : Fuel Tvc

I have been writing about stereotypes in my post on Fa and Denver and here it is - another brand talking about the same stuff.

A deserted place

A hunk

A sexy lady

Deo

Seduction...

compare this with Denver and Fa or Wildstone commercials.

What difference is there between these brands ? Nothing.

What happened to all agencies and the clients ? Are they not watching televisions ? Are they not aware of differentiation ? Or is it that anything goes with regard to Indian consumers ?

All these brands may be good products with a nice fragrance and quality but how come all these brands talk the same crap ?

Compared to other brands, I think Fuel wants to be more adventurous . The brand wants to be more naughtier than the rest of the crowd. A look at the website ( fuelyourlife.in) will tell you that the brand wants to be the equivalent of Kamasutra in Deos.

The intention is Ok but the execution is pathetic . I don't think that Indian male will always fall for products that show a hunk and a sexy lady. We are living in an era where our ads are regarded as high quality, wins accolades across the globe and still manages to sell the product in the market.

Fuel has taken the tagline " Ignite the Fire " which is best suited for an aphrodisiac rather than the deo . The brand could have treaded some different path rather that toe the line of its counterparts.

Brand Update : Cadbury Dairy Milk

It is very difficult to imagine a campaign for Dairy Milk without Big B. Amitabh Bachchan had become the face of this brand and was instrumental in making the brand a darling of youngsters as well as not-so-young ones. Cadbury's was one of the brand that used the persona of Big B to the maximum.

For the past few months, the brand has been trying to break free from the dependence on this powerful celebrity. The brand earlier came out with the "Kenya " campaign without Big B 's presence.

Now Dairy Milk is running another campaign without Big B. The campaign known as the Pay Day campaign is something that we never expect out of this brand

Watch the TVC here : Dairy Milk Payday

The ad is a retro taking us back to the 60's era.The new ad takes the theme of enjoying Dairy Milk on the Pay Day ( When you get the salary). The company has given an interesting story about the idea and its execution. ( Read it Here).

Frankly speaking, i really liked the ad because it is very different and clutter breaking. I think rather than strategy, Dairy Milk wanted to break the clutter and reinforce the brand. And it has done it in style.

Marketing a brand like Dairy Milk is not an easy proposition. The brand have huge brand equity and its campaigns has to live upto the expectations of the consumer. Advertisements for iconic brands like Dairy Milk serve a long term objective of retaining the share of mind rather than immediate sales. The brand needs to remain fresh and relevant and its huge popularity should not become a liability that constraints the creativity. So the agency need to experiment with the campaigns while retaining the classic touch of Dairy Milk. It is no easy task.

Even with Amitabh Bachchan, the brand had to make sure that the personality of Big B should not shadow the brand. The brand was successful in effectively using Big B without drowning the brand.

The latest campaign is a welcome deviation from the brand's journey. The ad may not appeal to the younger ones but will catch the eye of those in their mid thirties and forties.

Kudos for the team

Related brand
Cadbury Dairy Milk

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