The joke’s on you!

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Humour cuts ice like nothing else can, and especially so in comparative advertising. When Coke was selected as the official drink for the cricket World Cup series, Pepsi came out with a campaign, which went like, “Nothing Official About It!” And it was perceived as really cool. The campaign was probably one of the most memorable ones on Indian turfs. Similarly, in America, when Michael Jackson (Pepsi’s endorser) fainted during one of his stage shows, Coke came up with an ad that said, “Dehydrated? Try Coke!” People smiled, and both Coke – and even Pepsi lovers – enjoyed the ads.

A word of caution though. Comparative advertising is not mudslinging. Tongue-in-cheek humour is acceptable, and in fact appreciable. However, when you poke fun at someone, it can well hold you in bad light, if the ad is distasteful. When Pepsi came out with an ad that was a spoof on Hrithik Roshan, it was not appreciated by many. There were so many Pepsi drinkers who were Hrithik Roshan fans, and it hurt them to see Pepsi poke fun at their heartthrob. To top it all, Pepsi was not only sued by Coke, but as well as by Hrithik Roshan. In much similar fashion, Hyundai had, in many of its previous ads, made it almost a strategy to hit its competitors below the belt. Against Ford Ikon, it came out with acceptable ads that went, “Santro ends Ikon’s Josh.” But when Hyundai saw the Matiz car brand in trouble during the time when rumours were adrift that Daewoo (the parent company) was in the process of closing down, the northern dealers of Hyundai came out with ads, which screamed quite distastefully and unpleasantly in Hindi, “Car ghar par, company sadak par!” (Car’s at your home, company’s on the road). Though Daewoo did sue Hyundai, the bigger loss Hyundai suffered was because of subsequent consumer response.

The Last Word

Comparative advertising is actually a service to the customers. If it’s truthful and not unpleasantly disparaging, it can actually help customers make more informed choices. As David Ogilvy said a long time back, “The customer isn’t a moron; she’s your wife!” So if your product is superior, don’t hesitate to compare it with the leader and surge ahead. Truly, only the strong & confident can indulge in & win the big fight.

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Guerilla warfare!

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A term made famous by the duo of Al Ries and Jack Trout, guerilla warfare signifies a tactic that can be quite beneficially used in advertisements by new players entering the market. Under this, if you really are offering a better deal, it’s best to attack the leader headlong. And the louder you are, the better!

When Whisper entered the market, it took its competitor Carefree (J&J) headlong in true guerilla style by vociferously showing how it was qualitatively superior to the market leader – and all this without once naming the product. “Expensive BAS***DS!” was the advertisement that the budget airline Ryanair came out with, indicating in not so subtle a way how BA – that is, British Airways – was more expensive than Ryanair. British Airways did try to take them to court, but the judge concluded that the average consumer would not see the price comparison as misleading, and in substance the advertisement was true! So not only did Ryanair win the case, they won a lot of customers too.

When Captain Cook first launched its salt in India, it made an extremely loud reference to Tata Salt by showing a package that looked exactly like the Tata product. The ad showed how Captain Cook was better than the competitor’s salt because it was the only “free flowing salt.” This was an attribute that Tata Salt lacked, and Captain Cook made its mark in the marketplace by highlighting this aspect.

At the guerilla extreme, Duracell showed two Bunnies racing in its commercial, where the bunny powered by Duracell battery won the race hands down, while the other bunny with a black battery lost the race. The voice-over at the end of the commercial dramatically stated, “While Duracell Alkaline keeps on running, Eveready Super Heavy Duty can’t keep up... With up to three times more power, Duracell always beats Eveready Super Heavy Duty.” How much further overt could one get? This Eveready damning ad ran on Australian TV; and even though Eveready sued Duracell, it was of no use since the court concluded that the ad was not showing anything that was untruthful.

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
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Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Comparative B’advertising

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Some classic examples have benchmarked the history of comparative advertising. And leading the fight club is the protagonist of this story, Pepsodent, which, in its advertisements, claimed, “New Pepsodent is 102% better than the leading toothpaste.” The ad showed two boys being asked the name of the toothpaste brand that they used. One happily exclaims Pepsodent, while the other’s disgruntled response, though muted, clearly points cynically towards Colgate (especially as a background jingle similar to the one in Colgate’s ads is used quite appropriately). Incidentally, at that time, Colgate toothpaste ruled the market with a massive 59% market share. Expectedly, Colgate took HLL (which owns Pepsodent) to court, and HLL had to withdraw its ads.

On the personal care front, HLL stirred another hornet’s nest when it came out with an advertisement that read, “The Truth, Not Just Promises.” The ad went on to explain how ‘Fair & Lovely’ was much more effective than ‘No Marks’. Ozone Ayurvedics, the owners of ‘No Marks’, did not take this lightly. They felt this was wrong & unethical. They got their facts in order, and claimed in return that No Marks had the highest content level of active ingredients – about 59.5% of their product’s total composition, compared to 0.66% in Fair & Lovely. With these and many more such shocking statistics, No Marks sure had a point to prove. HLL is surely getting cold feet on seeing a much stronger competitor; and if it continues like this, the faith of consumers might slowly get eroded.

Similarly, the Kiwi Liquid Wax Polish ad showed a squeamy and clearly unlikable liquid (polish) dripping from a bottle marked X, while no such liquid dripped from the Kiwi bottle (what else!). The shape of the bottle X left no doubt that it was Cherry Blossom. Amusingly, even the government body MRTP agreed so – and the ad was ruled a case of disparagement. Subsequently, Kiwi was asked to discontinue the same.

But poor Colgate, its cup full of woes continued from another front. When Vicco tooth powder (remember the inimitable Vajradanti!), in its ads showed an allegedly useless – and obviously unattractive – oval shaped tin of a competitor, though without any label, everyone could still identify the “useless tin” as a Colgate tooth powder can. Once again, MRTP noted that the advertisement created an impression in the viewers’ minds that the can was of Colgate, and they would be inclined to believe that the product was absolutely useless, which was not right.

As must be clear by now, though effective, comparative advertising should be used with extreme caution. Comparative advertising is most effective when it’s factual, and there are significant & meaningful points of differences that are highlighted.

Copyright © : Rajita Chaudhuri and Planman Media.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007

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4Ps B&M felicitates India’s 100 most valuable brands & top 30 automobile brands

There was a time when the number of brands in the Indian market place could be counted on one’s fingertips. No more! Liberalization and globalization have completely revolutionized the life and times of the Indian consumer, with a plethora of brands, both domestic and international, vying for shelf space. Recognizing the increasing power of brands in the Indian market place, 4Ps Business & Marketing (4Ps B&M), in association with The Indian Council of Market Research (ICMR), last year instituted the “India’s 100 Most Valuable Brands” award, published as an annual feature in a special issue of the magazine.

Like last year, this year too 4Ps B&M organized a special function on 24th August 2007, to give away the awards to the most deserving brands, which have made momentous efforts to endear themselves to consumers over the past one year. Awards were also given away for the ‘Top 30 Automobile Brands of India’ on the occasion, published in another special issue of the magazine.

The glittering awards ceremony, held at Hotel Intercontinental Eros in New Delhi saw the presence of the who’s who of corporate India, each looking to pick up their respective award. These awards have already become a much-coveted and popular yardstick to measure any brand’s accomplishments in the Indian milieu.

Among those present on the occasion were… Ranjivjit Singh, CMO, Microsoft India Corporation; Lakshmikant Gupta, CMO, LG EIL; Kaushik Roy, President- Brand Strategy & Mktg. Communications, Reliance Industries; Alok Bhardwarj, VP Canon India; Smeeta Chakrabarti, Head of Operations, NDTV Group; R.Chandraseker, VP-Brand & Media, Airtel; P.Sam, Head-Sales & Marketing; Yamaha Motor India Pvt; Mayank Pareek, CGM-Marketing, Maruti Udyog; Kaushik Roy, President, Brand Strategy, Reliance Industries; Tatsuya Tsuchida, MD, Daikin India; Shoaib M. Farooqi, COO–Madura Garments; Srivals Kumar, VP, Star India Private Limited, Gullu Sen-Chief Creative Officer & Vice-Chairman, Dentsu Marcom, amid a slew of other management and marketing honchos.


“In less than two years, 4Ps B&M has become a favourite of marketers, advertising professionals and communicators. I hope these awards will further strengthen the strong bond that is developing between us,” a beaming Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri, Editor-in-chief, Planman Media and Chairman, Planman Consulting, delightfully shared on the occasion. The celebration was accompanied by a breathtaking performance by the popular band, Channel V POPSTARS II, AASMA and was anchored by Nina Manuel.

The 4Ps B&M and ICMR methodology for selecting the winners, both for ‘India’s 100 Most Valuable Brands’ and the ‘Top 30 Automobile Brands of India’,was painstakingly elaborate and diligent. For the latter, ICMR and 4Ps B&M conducted a unique three staged research, including both four wheelers (passenger vehicles, utility vehicles & MPVs) and two wheelers. The survey lists the top brands in the automobile category based on the customer’s opinion and dealer’s feedback on various parameters. The research was conducted in the five major cities of India namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. Some prominent players amongst the four wheeler segment were Maruti Swift , Skoda Octavia, Mercedes C Class, Ford Fiesta, Honda Civic and Toyota Innova. The two wheeler segment on the other hand included Bajaj Pulsar DTS-i, Hero Honda Splendor, Honda Activa, TVS Apache, Bajaj Discover, Honda Eterno, Yamaha Gladiator and more.

For the survey on ‘India’s 100 Most Valuable Brands’, a comprehensive survey was conducted wherein virtually every major brand (across segments) in the country was considered and a list of 1057 brands was short listed. The selection was based on the growth, reach, demand and availability of the brand. Consumer preferences across five metros of India helped ICMR to take the survey to a final list of 150 brands. This was however not the end of the odyssey as these 150 brands were later analyzed based on the parameters of brand awareness, image & perception, brand loyalty, brand association and brand performance. Responses from over 6000 respondents across 9 cities were taken for the consideration and only then the final list of 100 brands was arrived at. Some of the brands that made it to the top were Maruti, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Nokia, Intel, Hero Honda, HP, Kingfisher Airlines and Microsoft , among others. The most coveted award for India’s most valuable brand, went to telecom major Airtel, which in a relatively short span of time, has made itself virtually a household name.

The event was sponsored by All Cargo Global Logistics, Yamaha Motor India, Canon, Daikin, ICMR and energy drink ‘Power Horse’.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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16 going on Sex-teen

Sex Education

Exclusive Survey: Sex and the city

How about ‘playing it safe’ too?
If correlation between school holidays and the number of calls to hotlines to end pregnancies in China is any indication, awareness in sexual healthis perhaps the most talked about yet the least practised phenomenon in the world today.

In the above case the callers, mostly high-school girls were not only unaware of birth control, some – believe it or not – were even pregnant.

Research suggests that teens who watch sexual content are more likely to have intercourse. But astonishingly, the content (written or visual) where characters merely talk about sex affects them just as much.

A leaf out of the recent campaign held in Britain to encourage teens to practice safer sex, can be taken. The modus operandi of the campaign that targeted 18-25 year olds included placing of posters with short direct messages in washrooms of pubs and clubs popular with teens and five radio advertisements especially developed to be broadcast during the Valentine week.

With research suggesting that judgmental behaviour from people only discourages the acceptability among teens and that humour is a far effective way to draw the target group’s attention, the messages were driven with liberal helpings of humour. The divided opinion of different schools of thought endorsing varied approaches for sex and relationship education, however, makes it a moot point whether abstinence-focused approach is more effective than spreading the safe-practice-awareness. 4Ps

Edit Bureau: Srinivas Chetan


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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