Frito-Lay India had a great thing going in it’s favour ever since the announcement of Aliva – their new cracker brand: expectations. Be it the new format, taste or range of flavours, the advertising & marketing community was curious to know what will be delivered. The PR machinery created a nice build up too. When I saw the brand on the shelf, I was impressed with the visibility levels and even picked 4-5 packs. Even though it was priced on the higher side (limited period price of Rs.12/- for a 60gm pack), trials were high among friends. They also announced the launch of the positioning platform ‘thodi shararat, thodi sharafat’ through trade media and signed up Chitrangada Singh as the brand ambassador.
So, a great build up, a product that induced trials and a level of anticipation rarely seen in this category. Does the launch TVC live up to the promise and expectations?
A husband who is whiling away time gossiping with his friends in office, does a double take and rushes back home when the wife conjures up a story about meeting a new ‘friend’ who is more fit and interesting than him. As far as the TVC is concerned, you know exactly what’s going to happen the moment wife says she has a friend and the pack is revealed. Did it do justice to the unique format, taste & flavours? Or to the ‘goodness with a twist’ platform?
4 Comments
Healthful foods are a notoriously difficult category to advertise. I’d reckon there are a few insights out there that move the debate beyond the diatribe of taste vs. health. Also, I might be a bit more generous to the good folks at Thompson’s who’ve attempted to weave a story on film- could’ve upped the ante a bit, idea wise. But don’t you think health consciousness is better handled via PR & surround, the way they seem to have handled it?
Harshal, thanks for the comment. There was a lot of new news about the product – brand name, baked product, health, taste, range of flavours – so the ‘thodi si…’ thought expressed the oft-used ‘taste & health’ well. What would be insights out there?
In fact, thank you for including the rest of us in this conversation on your lucid blog. Having once thought through this problem, can’t publicly comment on the insights, but here’s a gander; why are the propositions so double-edged? (taste & health) Are we directly translating the marketing brief into the creative product? It’s not like that hasn’t happened before.
LOL.. I don’t think my partner would rush home for a snack.. A more romantic, candle-lit, healthy dinner could have been a better prospect!!