MxMIndia

Category: PRODUCTS

  • Everest Brand Solutions has elevated Samir Chonkar to head its creative function in Mumbai

    Everest elevates Samir Chonkar to head creative function in Mumbai

    Samir Chonkar

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rahul Jauhari, Chief Creative Officer, Rediffusion Y&R and Everest said: “Samir’s contribution to the growth of Everest has been phenomenal. In addition to being a pillar of my team over the past few years, Samir has created work that has not just won, but also added immense value to our clients. His down-to-earth demeanor and relentless pursuit for perfection is respected by clients and colleagues alike. He steps into a role he has earned, in every sense of the word.”

     

    Rahul Jauhari
    Dhunji S. Wadia

    Dhunji Wadia, President, Rediffusion Y&R said: “Samir has a proven reputation as a creative leader and is held with enormous regard both internally and his clients. Samir’s passion for our agency, his integrity and intellectual curiosity, along with his deep collaborative way of working will make a difference to our clients and to our agency.”

     

    In his 20 plus years of experience in the industry, Samir has helped build iconic brands like Parle-G, Hide & Seek, Monaco, Milano, Amul, Tata Indicom, TCS, Tata Housing, Frooti, Bailey, Bagpiper Whisky, Tortoise Mosquito Coils, Hitachi, Onida, ING Mutual Fund, LIC, Franklin Templeton, Bajaj Allianz, Castrol, Jet Airways, Emirates Airlines and more.

     

  • MenInKitchen is a progressive thought and can be seen as a new tradition

    Parampara unveils new campaign #MenInKitchen

    By A Correspondent

     

    General Mills’ Parampara, a brand which was operating in the ready-to-cook category has launched a range of Masala mix(es) which includes the first-of-its-kind Omelette Masala with a ‘Masala Masti’ twist. This new product has been introduced along with an exciting campaign #MenInKitchen, which highlights how the Parampara Expert Masala Mix makes it so easy to prepare a complicated dish that even men can take over the kitchen and make it perfect every time.

     

    MenInKitchen is a progressive thought and can be seen as a new tradition. Gender roles in India are changing. Women entrepreneurs and workforce have registered good growths and there is an increase in dual income homes. This also means that the load of household chores and cooking is equally shared. Cooking is no longer seen as a woman’s responsibility – almost 40 per cent of young brides on matrimonial sites expect their husbands to know to cook and help with household chores.

     

    Speaking about this initiative, Salil Murthy, Marketing Director, General Mills India said, “Parampara is a brand that promises authentic, delicious taste for the modern Indian family. We started by putting the consumer first and learnt that while she loves dishes like Paneer Butter Masala and Butter Chicken, she was never sure of exactly how it would turn out because there’s just so much ‘andaaz’ involved in cooking the perfect dish. Parampara takes this uncertainty out of the equation. It has the exact blend of masalas pre mixed that guarantees her the perfect taste for the dish that she’s making. The advertising takes it a step further – these dishes are now so simple to make that we are inviting the men of the house to try and make it – #MeninKitchen. And that’s the brand philosophy of progressive, modern thought – why should the woman be charged with cooking all the time? There are literally no excuses for the man now to not share a hand in the kitchen!”

     

    Josy Paul

    Elaborating on the nuances of the campaign, Josy Paul, Chief Creative Officer, BBDO said, “#MenInKitchen challenges the existing stereotype of only women doing all the cooking at home. The idea was born from the brand’s unique offering – expert masala mixes where you don’t need to add any extra masalas. So, now even men can cook. That’s so liberating!! ‘Men in Kitchen’ questions traditional thinking and kickstarts a new ‘Parampara’ – a new world order. It’s encouraging to see the brand taking sides – and going all out and aligning itself with a more progressive social agenda. It is about leading consumers to a higher plane.”

     

  • Account to be handled out of DDB Mudra West

    Jyothy Labs hands creative duties of Margo to DDB Mudra Group

    By A Correspondent

     

    DDB Mudra West has recently won the creative mandate for Margo (beauty soap) following a multi-agency pitch.

     

    In India, Neem and skin care have gone hand in hand for generations. If there’s one brand that is the very essence of Neem, that’s Margo. The legendary 95-year old brand has stood the test of time.

     

    Margo has revamped itself to appeal to the preferences and aspirations of India’s dynamic youth while retaining its core Neem benefits.

     

    Over the years, the brand has expanded the product range to include the Margo Glycerine soap and Margo Face wash offering a larger portfolio of Neem based products for skin.

     

    Quoting on the appointment of the agency, M.R Jyothy, Executive Director, Jyothy Laboratories said, “The brief was to bring in a fresh perspective to communicate the core benefits of Neem leading to brand trials amongst non-users. DDB Mudra’s creative strategy appealed the most as it was a logical build up to the last brand campaign. The creative routes were fresh and in sync with what we believe our TG will relate to. We hope that DDB Mudra’s talent pool and experience in diverse categories will help us meet our marketing goals.”

     

    Rajiv Sabnis

    Quoting on the account win, Rajiv Sabnis, President, DDB Mudra West said, “Margo is the original Neem soap. The brand has some strong loyalists but we need to broad-base the loyal franchise to younger audiences and pan-India. The need is to make the power of Neem relevant to a larger set of young adults who know of the efficacy of Neem, but haven’t experienced it yet through Margo. In a day and age when young people want to experience the world up close, Margo is just the right partner to ensure that you are ready to face the world. The communication is true to this insight and should connect well with young Indians. We look forward to further building this brand with the team at Jyothy.”

     

  • Universal Law Publishing has been publishing legal books and legislation for legal professionals, academics and students in the Indian market for five decades

    LexisNexis India acquires Universal Law Publishing titles

    By A Correspondent

     

    LexisNexis, a leading publisher and online solutions provider for legal, tax, academic, and test-prep, announced the acquisition of the Universal Law Publishing titles. Universal Law Publishing has been publishing legal books and legislation for legal professionals, academics and students in the Indian market for five decades.

     

    Over the years, Universal has published popular works from eminent authors like PM Bakshi, HM Seervai, KD Gaur, Justice VR Krishna Iyer, Justice PN Bhagwati, Justice Michael Kirby, Soli J Sorabjee and Arun Jaitley to name a few. The Universal Law Publishing brand has a strong connection with Indian customers, and LexisNexis is proud to continue serving the marketplace with the high quality content customers have come to expect.

     

    Mohan Ramaswamy, Managing Director, India, LexisNexis Legal & Professional said, “Universal Law Publishing perfectly complements our existing range of offerings in the legal market. Their presence in the bare act space expands our reach to a large set of legal practitioners.  And soon, we expect to make Universal’s content available on our Indian online legal research solution – Lexis®India – providing even more content to our customers.”

     

    “LexisNexis India is one of the leading publishers and online solutions providers with many good authors and titles. This combination gives our authors an opportunity to work with superior editorial and product development systems with higher quality benchmarks that provide greater value to customers. Under the aegis of LexisNexis Editorial and supported by their strong Marketing and Sales teams, Universal Law Publishing titles will now be accessible in more markets,” said MG Arora, Chairman ULP and Sanjeev Arora, Pradeep Arora, and Manish Arora, the Directors at Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.

     

    “This is great news for the Indian market and customers. LexisNexis is committed to India, and we will continue to make the right investments to help our customers become more effective, efficient, and productive in their professions. We will continue to partner with those interested in advancing the Rule of Law further through their quality of works, actions, and innovation,” said TJ Viljoen, CEO Asia Pacific, LexisNexis Legal & Professional.

     

  • "I have not received any notice yet. So I cannot make any comment. If it (notice) is received, my lawyers shall attend to it. It would be inappropriate to comment on a matter that is subjudice," said Amitabh Bachchan

    Is it right to indict celebs for endorsing FDA-approved products?

    By Nandini Raghavendra & Ravi Teja Sharma

     

    With a Bihar court directing police to file an FIR against Maggi brand ambassadors Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta, celebrity endorsers are in a tizzy.

     

    Many celebrities refused to comment on record, but said that they have become a soft target in this fiasco. “It’s sad and true that known faces get targeted for the wrong reasons and agendas just to seek attention. It’s unfortunate because it becomes like a cry wolf syndrome; the day there will actually be someone with a justified reason and cause, it will not be given the importance it possibly deserves,” said actor Arjun Kapoor, who recently faced public ire over his participation in the AIB Roast. “Fame is a double-edged sword,” said actor and singer Ayushmann Khurrana.

     

    Madhuri Dixit’s lawyer Anand Desai, who is managing partner at DSK Legal, said the actor had not received any Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notice. Asked if a star could be arrested for such an offence, Desai said that an arrest is made only to prevent a star from not co-operating or not perpetuating the crime further. Custodial investigation definitely reveals more than non-custodial, but what are the stars going to contribute here, he asked.

     

    “I have not received any notice yet. So I cannot make any comment. If it (notice) is received, my lawyers shall attend to it. It would be inappropriate to comment on a matter that is subjudice,” said Amitabh Bachchan.

     

    So have stars really become soft targets? The fact that such a big MNC has been accused does not seem as important to people as discussing the brand association with film stars, said social commentator Santosh Desai. “The primary responsibility lies with the FDA, who have still not been able to figure out what is wrong. Then how do you expect the stars to do it?” he asked.

     

     

    “If a product has been passed by the FDA, why would a celebrity not believe that all is in place? Yes, it merits an investigation but in the case of anything being amiss, the primary responsibility lies with the FDA not the stars. It is a completely irrelevant fact, it is just that everyone feels important by association with the stars,” Desai added.

     

    “Celebrities are protected by their contracts,” said Indranil Das Blah of celebrity and sports management firm Kwan. He found the situation grossly unfair. “You cannot hold a celebrity responsible or liable for something that’s not in their hands, they are not in charge of the product development in the first place. They are not going to get into the R&D of a product or the brand promises that it makes,” said Blah.

     

    Bunty Sajdeh, CEO of Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment said that it is unfair and opportunistic and the stars are being targeted just because they are celebrities. “If it’s a reputed brand, if it is FDA approved, legally approved and legally in the market, we will take it on its face value. Besides, we protect our celebrities very stringently in our contracts, wherein we are completely indemnified from any such untoward incidences and we also have the right to terminate,” says Sajdeh.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The tweaking of brand position has been an outcome of consumer insights gained through extensive research conducted by IMRB for Gulf Oil

    MSD endorses new ‘power’ feature for Gulf Pride 4T Plus

    By A Correspondent

     

    Gulf Oil, a Hinduja Group company has released a TV commercial featuring brand ambassador Mahendra Singh Dhoni for their motorcycle engine oil - Gulf Pride 4T Plus. The company intends to gain market share in the motorcycle engine oil segment by re-positioning their product offering. The tweaking of brand position has been an outcome of consumer insights gained through extensive research conducted by IMRB for Gulf Oil.

     

    For 2-wheeler respondents surveyed ‘performance’ is an attribute they sought for most. A measure of performance in biker’s mind is the ability of vehicle to gain instant acceleration when he/she needs it, commonly referred as instant pick up. Gulf Oil has incorporated this fresh insight into their new campaign, currently on TV as well as digital platforms.

     

    The new TVC focuses on the more relevant proposition of ‘power when you need it’. The new product proposition talks about life boosting Oxy-bitors that keeps engine clean and controls oil thickening and that facilitates faster pick-up and sustained power through the oil life. While the brand continues to retain its long drain prowess the main communication will hence forth be on the lines of “Insta Pick-Up”.

     

    Managing Director Ravi Chawla, Gulf Oil Lubricants, commented, “We are the fastest growing major lubricants brand in terms of volume. We are also constantly innovating with new product technologies and communication strategies. In the new TVC we have put our consumers at the heart of the communication ensuring that their desire of performance via Pick-Up is delivered through superior quality products”

     

    The TVC revolves around influential personalities from different walks of life coming together through their burning passion for bikes. Brand ambassador Mahendra Singh Dhoni is seen in a rugged biker avatar which will certainly delight his fans. The brand message of ‘Insta-Pick-Up’ rendered via the line ‘Pick-Up Your Ride’ is aimed at creating resonance and acceptance with the young and enthusiastic youth.

     

  • Culture Machine'sBeing Indian has been roped in to turbo charge theVodafone 3G Campaign with viral content for greater reach

    Maxus ESP initiates project with Culture Machine for Vodafone

    By A Correspondent

     

    Maxus ESP has initiated a brand new content project partnering digital video entertainment company Culture Machine with Vodafone for its 3G campaign ‘Speed is Good’. They roped inYoutube star ‘Being Indian’ whointelligently placed them for content on fast internet in a video titled ‘Mumbai on #SpeedisGood’. This co-branded video has already garnered half a million views in a week.

     

    The Vodafone 3G campaign which was rolled out during the IPL has already struck a popular chord with the audiences looking for high speed uninterrupted internet availability.

     

    The ‘Speed is Good’ campaign aims at articulating speed with the benefit of the fastest 3G network substantiated with hard functional claims basis an analysis of OoklaSpeedtest data during the period September 2014 to February 2015. The Vodafone network was adjudged to allow 22 per cent faster download and 43 per cent faster upload experience with its 3G data network as compared to the next best operator.

     

    Shailja Saraswati, Regional Director- Content (South East Asia & South Asia), Maxus ESP said, “We are looking to amplify the connection between speed and Vodafone through digital content to bring out the concept of ‘Speed is Good’. Given the popularity of the YouTube sensation—Being Indian, we have designed the campaign to reach out to a wider audience. It must be mentioned that we also collaborated with BIG FM and helped to create the “SPEED IS GOOD” philosophy using the programming framework of the radio station. There was a spike in participation when the radio campaign went live and it was attributed as one of the many factors for success. With the campaign now taking a digital course, the Vodafone 3G SPEED IS GOOD Campaign is all set to capture more hearts”.

     

    Ronita Mitra, Senior Vice-President, Brand Communications and Insights, Vodafone India added, “For Vodafone, youth is a significant component of our target audience. For this generation, their smartphones and mobile internet are their primary source of content consumption. The YouTube Stars are very popular and command a huge fan following. As part of our 360 degree campaign for Speed is Good, we co-created content with Being Indian, a very popular YouTube channel to connect with the Youth.”

     

  • Nestle is one of the biggest advertisers in India, spending over Rs 400 crore on advertising a year. Its ad spend on Maggi brand alone is estimated at over Rs 150 crore, according to industry insiders

    Nestle replaces Maggi ads with Nescafe & KitKat commercials, to lose about Rs 10 crore

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta & Shramana Ganguly

     

    Nestle India stands to lose advertising inventory of about  Rs 10 crore due to Maggi recall despite its move to air commercials of Nescafe or KitKat in all advertisement slots booked for the instant noodles brand, broadcasters and media planners say.

     

    “The channels have been told to subtly replace Maggi ads with Nescafe and KitKat commercials,” a senior media planner said. “But despite this attempt to recover as much inventory possible, Nestle will have to let go of advertising inventory worth  Rs 8-10 crore,” the person said on the condition of anonymity.

     

    On Saturday, Nestle notified broadcasters and other media houses in India to stop publishing Maggi ads from Sunday. While the Swiss company has stopped digital advertising for the brand as well, it is using various social media platforms liberally to sell its side of the story to Indian consumers.

     

    A Nestle India spokesperson said that while the firm has taken action to stop Maggi ads, “you may see a few since changing the programming pipeline could take a little longer”.

     

    Nestle is one of the biggest advertisers in India, spending over  Rs 400 crore on advertising a year. Its ad spend on Maggi brand alone is estimated at over Rs 150 crore, according to industry insiders.

     

    Publicis Worldwide is Maggi’s creative agency, while Zenith-Optimedia handles the brand’s media buying and selling activities. The digital mandate of Maggi is handled by GroupM’s Maxus. Sources in these agencies said that Nestle stopped airing Maggi Oat Masala noodle commercial featuring actor Madhuri Dixit right after the scandal broke.

     

    In February, Maggi had launched a campaign, ‘Khushiyon Ki Recipe’, which was on air till Saturday despite Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) dismissal of Nestle’s defence about the brand embroiled in controversy over excessive lead content and mislabelling on MSG.

     

    Nestle has now instructed channels to take these commercials off air.

     

    Meanwhile, Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education Research Centre (CERC) is contemplating legal action to push Nestle to do corrective advertising across print and television space.

     

    “Considering Nestle advertisements have been misleading the consumers, they ought to engage in corrective advertising to tell the consumer in as many words about what is factually correct,” said Pritee Shah, chief general manager at CERC and a member of an inter-ministerial monitoring committee for misleading advertisements under the ministry of consumer affairs.

     

    G Gurucharan, additional secretary (consumer affairs), too, had recently stated that Nestle could be asked to put out corrective advertisements.

     

    Shah said that considering Nestle has been misleading the consumer about the health aspect of Maggi, it should redo its commercials. In addition to lead and MSG, the firm needs to clarify that one helping of Maggi is not equivalent to three chapatis as claimed by one of its ads, he said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The ad illustrates how their business can grow from local to national by selling on the platform

    ShopClues unveils ad directed towards merchants

    By A Correspondent

     

    ShopClues has unveiled its new TV ad campaign, targetted at merchants across the nation. Conceptualised and created by Enormous Brands, Mumbai, the TVC aptly highlights the benefits of selling on the platform with its high reach and immense popularity. It makes a robust call-to-action and encourages local merchants to become national-level sellers by signing up on the site.

     

    Radhika Aggarwal, Co-Founder and Chief Business officer at ShopClues.com said, “Our new TV merchant ad campaign aims at bringing new sellers on board, on a journey of mutual growth at a stellar pace. India is a land of traders with innumerable small businesses across the country with wide variety of great products. They are however, rarely able to expand beyond their immediate geographical area because of the high distribution costs and other impediments. With this campaign, we aim to show them how they can achieve the pride of being national sellers and also help them discover the ease of selling online.”

     

    “Shopclues has a reach that cuts across geographies and across socio economic profiles. With crores of people shopping at the platform every month, it is the best way for a manufacturer or trader of quality goods to in an instant expand his footprint of operations. Shopclues with its easy registrations also makes it simple for people to access this vast set of consumers. The commercial highlights the fact that a particular trader may not have a footprint that would go beyond his immediate vicinity. However with shopclues.com, the entire country is viably his playground.” said Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner at Enormous Brands.

     

    The ad film opens with a young boy breaking a lamp with his cricket bat, followed by a dog, a heavy breeze, an angry wife, a careless maid and several other regular occurrences causing lamps in different homes to shatter. The next shot focusses on a shopkeeper in a small town who ends up selling all his lamp shades within seconds. The Voice Over highlights how he has achieved this success: Dhanda khulke muskurayega jab woh shopclues.com pe aayega. (Your business will shine when it is listed on ShopClues). This is followed by appearances of several small traders on screen who witness quick turnarounds of their business. Eventually we find out that all of them are actually operating out of the ShopClues website and this is how they are so successful.

     

    The TVC is specifically in a mix of Hindi and English with a very light-hearted character to appeal to the local merchant. Its tone is direct and conversational to engage effectively with its target audience. The target group comprises smaller businessmen across geographies in India who are selling low-ticket items, unstructured product categories, regional products that are unique and highly sought-after and those who have scale of production but not adequate reach. The objective is to show them that ShopClues.com offers a hassle-free on-boarding process and will enable them to sell in the 25,000 cities it serves and to its over 50 million monthly visitors.

     

  • Micromax Unite was first launched in May 2014 with a TVC which brought forth the happiness of using your mother tongue

    Language of love takes a new spin with Micromax Unite 3

    By A Correspondent

     

    Language will no longer be a communication barrier on ones mobile phone as one can express oneself in the language that they are most comfortable in while browsing or chatting as Micromax recently announced the launch of Micromax Unite 3 with 10 regional languages and the feature of transliteration and translation with just a swipe.

     

    Micromax Unite was first launched in May 2014 with a TVC which brought forth the happiness of using your mother tongue. This was depicted metaphorically by showing individuals from different parts of the country, proudly displaying flags in their regional language. Unite series has been the highest selling devices of Micromax.

     

    Taking the same legacy forward, Lowe Lintas and Partners along with Micromax has conceptualized the campaign for Micromax Unite 3. Micromax Unite 3 comes with a unique feature which helps you translate and share your language. The basis of the communication is that the sweetest language of all is your own mother tongue. And Micromax now encourages you to share that sweetness with everyone around. Therefore, various sweets particular to a specific region was used as an analogy for different Indian languages specific. We see people celebrating the sweetness of their language by eating and sharing sweets of their own native region with each other.

     

    Shubhajit Sen, Chief Marketing Officer, Micromax said, “We are excited with the launch of Unite 3 the latest model of our most successful phone- Unite 2 that sold over 2 million units. We have a full marketing program for Unite 3 to make it an even bigger success. This program includes a TVC that is built on the premise that consumers express their feelings best in the sweetest of languages-mother tongue, but the unique translation feature of Unite 3 allows them to share their thoughts with the world in English with just a swipe. With the launch of Unite 3, our aim is to take localization of language to the next level by serving the unique needs of the Indian consumers across multiple markets, creating a powerful medium for them to interact and engage in their preferred language.”

     

    Shayondeep Pal – Executive Creative Director, Lowe Lintas said, “Every Indian language is sweet. The idea, therefore, was how we can celebrate the sweetness of our language through physical demonstration of people enjoying Mithai. When you eat sweets, the words that you speak reflect the sweetness of the language you speak. And how we can spread this “mithaas” by sharing sweets of our region with others.”

     

    The TVC is held together by a beautiful song, the lyrics of which celebrate the sweetness of each and every regional language

     

  • The communication campaign features a series of eight unique creatives shot by the photographer and videographer Cheryl Dunn

    Ray Ban unveils its new campaign #Campaign4change

    By A Correspondent

     

    Luxottica Group – a leader in premium eyewear and owner of iconic sunglasses brand Ray-Ban – has announced the latest in the brand’s Never Hide communications platform – Never Hide #Campaign4change.

     

    The communication campaign features a series of eight unique creatives shot by the photographer and videographer Cheryl Dunn and showcase the iconoclastic, Never Hide spirit that lies at the heart of the Ray-Ban brand, bringing to life inspirational individuals as pioneers, trailblazers and rule breakers in their everyday lives, ready for a change. The protagonists of these shots are telling their first #Campaign4change stories. Designed for those who want to celebrate their individuality, stand apart from the crowd and show what you really believe in, the latest collection fuses classic styles with a contemporary attitude for lovers of Ray-Ban yesterday, today and tomorrow.

     

    This #Campaign4change is also the hero of a consumer activation. Users are invited to visit ray-ban.com, join the Order of Never Hide – Ray-Ban “secret but not secret” community – create and share their #campaign4change. The Order will help people to get their change messages out to the world. Winners will be celebrated at an exclusive Ray-Ban party in New York in October and their #campaign4changes will be projected at Time Square during the same day.

     

  • HDFC Bank has a comprehensive nationwide distribution network covering 2,464 towns and cities with 4,014 Branches

    Vizeum is named media AoR for HDFC Bank

    By A Correspondent

     

    After adding various businesses like Hindware, Jet Privilege, VGP Universal Kingdom in quick succession over the last 2 months, Vizeum, the media agency from the Dentsu Aegis Network stable, has announced their appointment as the media AoR for HDFC Bank.

     

    HDFC Bank has a comprehensive nationwide distribution network covering 2,464 towns and cities with 4,014 Branches and 11,633 ATMs. With its customer centric focus, HDFC Bank has been constantly innovating in many areas and is looking at many new offerings and future growth. The appointment of Vizeum is seen to be in line with this.

     

    S Yesudas

    Commenting on the win, S Yesudas, Managing Director Indian Subcontinent, Vizeum said, “We are delighted with this win.  In a market cluttered with many “big” names, we launched Vizeum 5 years ago. We work with our undying spirit, passion and commitment on each of our clients who trust us with their precious resources. This I believe attracts others to us.  There cant be a better proof of our pudding.  Our clients are truly our ambassadors.  We are delighted with our partnership with HDFC Bank and will strive to add them to that list within a very short span. This business will be handled out of our Mumbai office by Samarjit Rajkumar, EVP, Vizeum and his able team”