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Tag: Colgate Palmolive

  • Film conceptualised by conceptualized by Team WPP@CP

    Colgate-Palmolive relaunches Strong Teeth toothpaste

    By Our Staff

     

    Colgate-Palmolive rolls out new campaign for its Colgate Strong Teeth toothpaste. The campaign reiterates the brand’s long-standing commitment to promoting oral health and hygiene by providing teeth nourishment.

     

    Directed by the renowned filmmaker Amit Ravindernath Sharma and conceptualised by Team WPP@CP.

     

    Commenting on the relaunch, Gunjit Jain, Vice President Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive India said: “Be it eating your favourite snack lose Calcium from our teeth as they suffer wear and tear daily. With our new campaign “ Paste Hi Nahi, Daanton Ka Poshan Hai Ye”,  we aim to spotlight the need for nourishment of teeth and how  Colgate Strong Teeth , with its unique technology of Arginine + Calcium Boost, is an excellent toothpaste to nourish your teeth and hence make them 2X stronger. Our dadi in the film has amazingly portrayed that importance, leaving us with the message that everyone needs to strengthen their teeth, aiming to become the ‘cutting machine.”

     

    Added Harshad Rajadhyaksha and Kainaz Karmakarof WPP@CP: “The story of a toothless granny vouching for a toothpaste, is bound to catch attention. The film delivers on functionality and fun. Humour is such a strong tool to drive home hardcore messages that stay with the consumers. Add to that the superb casting and direction by Amit Sharma. Colgate is an iconic brand with the best benefits in its category. The trick is in picking the strongest benefit and communicating it memorably.”

     

  • The campaign ad film is conceptualized by RedFuse, WPP’s integrated communications partner to Colgate India, and is directed by director Vikramaditya Motwane

    Colgate’s new campaign showcases journey of elderly singles

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited has written to us about a new communication under its ‘Smile karo aur shuru ho jao’ campaign.

     

    Talking about the TVC, Arvind Chintamani, Vice President, Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, said: “While the pandemic has been a time of uncertainty and difficulty, it has also given people a chance to reflect and reassess their individual life journeys. One such opportunity for revaluation is the challenge of loneliness faced by elderly single people who often remain single burdened by the fear of social judgement in starting afresh and finding companionship. Our story, narrated wonderfully by Deepti Naval, encourages people to be positive and look beyond the worry of what society might say and celebrate their lives fully. We, at Colgate, strive to tell such stories to inspire hope and courage to reimagine a better future…and smile karo aur shuru ho jao.”

     

    The campaign ad film is conceptualized by RedFuse, WPP’s integrated communications partner to Colgate India, and is directed by director Vikramaditya Motwane.

     

    Said Delna Sethna, Executive Creative Director, RedFuse: “Since the beginning, Colgate’s Smile karo aur shuru ho jao campaign has narrated stories of confidence and courage. The latest ad film touches upon the topic of remarriage, which is known to be a sensitive topic in India, especially among women. We want to encourage conversation on this often taboo subject and try to normalize the culture of women in India remarrying, for whatever reason they deem worthy. The overall aim of the film is to encourage optimism and to look beyond the fear of judgement and act with the hope of a positive future.”

     

     

  • Is Unilever’s change of ‘Fair & Lovely’ to ‘Glow & Lovely’ merely cosmetic? And is the new name any good, asks Prabhakar Mundkur

    The Unfairness of It All

     

     

    By Prabhakar Mundkur

     

    When Hindustan Unilever announced its decision to rename its moneyspinner $500 million brand Fair & Lovely to Glow & Lovely, it was a classic case of doing too little too late.

     

    To imagine that the decision was perhaps based on the greatest upheaval of racist stereotyping of our time with the excruciating George Floyd pinned to the ground doesn’t say much for Hindustan Unilever’s decision. There is nothing to congratulate them about.  There can be no appeasement of public emotion. There can only be guilt and shame.

     

    Activists through the decades have objected to Unilever’s fairness cream but it needed a revolt as ugly as George Floyd’s death, for the great marketer to make this small move.  Not since Rosa Parks was denied a seat on a bus in Montgomery has the world been so affected by the colour bias of the human race.

     

    But how good is the new name Glow & Lovely? Decades of skin care research has shown that ‘Glow’ is a major benefit in for the skin care regimen. Just like ‘Shine’ is. a major benefit for hair. So, taking a benefit from research and planting it in a brand name is perhaps not the most creative way of configuring brand names. But then Unilever has not been particularly known for its creativity. That lesser brands like Emami had already pre-empted this thinking by naming their brands Glow & Handsome is a bit of a shame. After all, one expects leaders to show the way. Not follow in the footsteps of their smaller competitor in the FMCG business.

     

    But is Glow and Lovely a good name?

     

     There is a reason why Glow and Lovely doesn’t sound right given the vagaries of the English Language. The reason why it doesn’t roll of the tongue as easily as Fair and Lovely has to do with the English language. Both Fair and Lovely are adjectives. Glow on the other hand is either a verb or a noun depending on how you use it. Glowing & Beautiful would have sounded better in English. Because Glowing is an adjective. But it then lengthens the brand name. And Unilever might have decided they would stay close to the current syntax. Anyway to the large majority of Indians it would hardly matter. It’s just another name for Fair & Lovely. Fair and Glow are both four-letter words. But how the name changes the advertising need to be seen. Will the new ads have dark and glowing faces to make amends with the brand’s past? That is anybody’s guess.

     

    How Darkie changed its name

     

    It may interest people to know that the exact opposite of Fair & Lovely existed as a toothpaste in Asia many decades ago. A toothpaste called Darkie. Produced by Hawley and Hazel, the brand was very popular in Asia. The pack showed a smiling black performer. The brand was then acquired by Colgate Palmolive which faced a lot of racist flak on the brand. In 1989, Colgate Palmolive decided to change the brand name to Darlie.

     

    “It’s just plain wrong,” Reuben Mark, chairman and chief executive of Colgate-Palmolive, said about the toothpaste’s name and logotype. “It’s just offensive. The morally right thing dictated that we must change. What we have to do is find a way to change that is least damaging to the economic interests of our partners.”

     

    Seems like a shame that another global company had thought about this so deeply more than 30 years ago. So Unilever in many way is 30 years too late.

     

     What will posterity say about Fair & Lovely?

     

     But what this would mean for the generations to come is anybody’s guess.  Will Generation Alpha which may use the brand a few years from now warm up to the brand given its history? (Generation Alpha is the demographic cohort succeeding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 2010s as the starting birth years and the mid-2020s as the ending birth years.)

     

    How will these young people see our racist past? One piece of research showed that Generation Z are as racist as their millennial parents. But will this continue on to Generation Alpha? Technology is likely to change a lot of mindsets in the future. And that may change the fortune of the brand called Glow & Lovely.

     

    Prabhakar Mundkur is an advertising veteran, a lateral thinker, storyteller and musician. He has spent several years in advertising – in India and elsewhere in the world – including at JWT China where he headed the Unilever business, amongst other functions. In fact he worked on Unilever brands for a good 17 years… though never on F&S ;-). A prolific writer now, he was LinkedIn’s #1 Top Voice for 2016 and YourStory’s 100 Emerging Voices 2018. He writes frequently on MxMIndia.

  • The new win will be led by VMLY&R’s Mumbai office and will focus on equity creation and the entire portfolio of sub-brands of Colgate-Palmolive in India

    VMLY&R is digital AOR for Colgate-Palmolive

    By A Correspondent

     

    WPP-owned VMLY&R India has been appointed Agency-on-Record (AOR) for Colgate-Palmolive’s digital communication business. The agency’s scope will encompass digital campaign planning, creative thinking, social listening and establishing Colgate-Palmolive’s leadership position in the categories of Oral Care and Personal Hygiene in India, across  all digital platforms. WPP arm Red Fuse is an integrated global team dedicated to serving Colgate-Palmolive worldwide. Red Fuse operates with teams from VMLY&R, Wavemaker, Geometry and Ogilvy. Although the press release doesn’t mention Red Fuse, we guess it’s part of the same mandate.

     

    The new win will be led by VMLY&R’s Mumbai office and will focus on equity creation and the entire portfolio of sub-brands of Colgate-Palmolive in India. VMLY&R will be responsible for creating digital communication across a range of legacy and market leader brands; and will partner with Colgate-Palmolive as it ventures exciting new areas which will involve innovations, commerce and data-driven marketing.

     

    Said Arvind Chintamani, Vice President – Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive on the partnership: “We are very excited to have VMLY&R on board as our digital communications partner. Aside from the vast global expertise across various strategic, creative, digital dimensions, Anil and his team represent some of the best multi-functional talent and are perfectly suited to these times of unprecedented change.”

     

    Added Anil Nair, Chief Executive Officer, VMLY&R India: “Colgate-Palmolive is a dream mandate for any agency. This promises to be an exciting journey because of the impact our work can demonstrate on a brand that touches over half a billion Indians every day. Our vision is to take this brand love and translate it  on  new-age digital platforms, and create meaningful content and experiences for consumers.”

     

     

  • A 360-degree high decibel campaign targeted towards educating consumers on oral health's link to overall health

    Colgate highlights importance of oral health in new campaign for Colgate Vedshakti

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited has announced the “Mooh Swachh Toh Aap Healthy” campaign for its ayurvedic toothpaste Colgate Vedshakti.

     

    The campaign kickstarted with the launch of a TVC on March 4 in 10 regional languages including Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, and Tamil. It is being amplified further across mediums like print, digital and social media.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Arvind Chintamani, Vice President, Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited said: “At Colgate, we are committed to enable better Oral Health for all. With the launch of this campaign with Colgate Vedshakti, for the first time we are throwing light on the inherent connection between oral & overall health. Colgate Vedshakti brings together a unique combination of Ayurvedic ingredients to provide holistic oral care to ensure better overall health.”

     

    Created by Redfuse Communications, Delna Sethna, Executive Creative Director, Red Fuse added: “How do you communicate extremely logical, science-y facts in a way that even children would understand them? You get children to disseminate them for you. Their universe of make-believe opened so many avenues for us to explore. Their sincerity in delivering our message draws you in from the second one.”

     

     

  • Divyanshu, India's first visually impaired solo paragliding pilot’s inspiring story from Colgate’s ‘Smile Karo Aur Shuru Ho Jao’ campaign

    Colgate’s latest equity campaign highlights inspiring story

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colgate-Palmolive celebrates Divyanshu Ganatra’s inspiring story under its ‘Smile Karo Aur Shuru Ho Jao’ equity campaign. Ganatra was only 19 years in age when he lost his eyesight to glaucoma. As a child who dreamt of flying, his blindness couldn’t limit him from achieving what he wanted. He persevered to become not only India’s first visually impaired solo paragliding pilot but also a clinical psychologist, behavioral facilitator, and a self-made social entrepreneur.

     

    Commenting on the new TVC, Arvind Chintamani, Vice President, Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited said: “We truly believe that a Smile signifies optimism and our brand expression ‘Smile Karo Aur Shuru Ho Jao’ builds on the real-life stories of everyday people to inspire hope and start afresh. The story exemplifies Colgate’s message of overcoming adversity and life’s challenges with the positive power of a Smile. Such important stories of real people help us spread the message of conquering fears and our inhibitions with a smile.”

     

     

  • She assumed the role last month after having been President, Colgate Europe since 2016

    Exclusive: Prabha Parameswaran is Group President, Colgate-Palmolive

    By  A Correspondent

    Prabha Parameswaran
    Prabha Parameswaran

    There has been much reason to sport a Colgate smile this Ganesh Chaturthi with the news coming in that Prabha Parameswaran has been appointed Group President, Global Innovation Group & Africa-Eurasia. She assumed the role in August after having been President, Colgate Europe since 2016.

    Parameswaran joined Colgate-Palmolive in 1995 in India and progressed through a series of marketing positions in India, the global oral care and toothbrush divisions in Asia and Mexico. She next led Colgate’s business in India as Vice President & General Manager starting in 2012 and, in 2014, became President, Colgate Africa/Eurasia. Parameswaran has worked in advertising in India at HTA (later J Walter Thompson and now Wunderman Thompson) and Lintas India (now Lowe Lintas).

     

  • In 2013, he became the General Manager for the Latin America CIC, where he was instrumental in developing the platform-based innovation model

    Marketer Ram Raghavan is now MD, Colgate-Palmolive (India)

    By A Correspondent

     

    Yet another marketing honcho makes it to the corner office. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited announced the appointment of Ram Raghavan as Managing Director effective yesterday (August 1). Prior to this role, Raghavan served as Vice-President Marketing of Asia Pacific Division of Colgate-Palmolive.

     

    Raghavan joined Colgate India in 1997 and transitioned through a series of leadership roles across various divisions and subsidiaries of the FMCG major. In 2003, he moved to Hong Kong to join the Asia-Pacific Division. In 2004, he moved to Colgate China and sequentially managed the toothbrush and toothpaste businesses.

     

    In 2008, he became Marketing Director of Colgate Canada. In 2010, he returned to China as Marketing Director. In 2013, he became the General Manager for the Latin America CIC, where he was instrumental in developing the platform-based innovation model supporting Latin America organic growth.

     

    Now @ Colgate, it wouldn’t be out of place to say: Jai Shri Ram.

     

     

  • The campaign aims to create oral hygiene awareness and also ensure a safe visit for all pilgrims

    Colgate offers dental solutions at Kumbh Mela

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colgate-Palmolive has launched the ‘Kumbh Se Sampoorna Shuddhi, Colgate Vedshakti Se Sampoorna Suraksha‘ campaign at the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Allahabad.

     

    Said Issam Bachaalani, Managing Director, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited said: “At Colgate, we consistently work towards providing superior oral care and protection to all Indians, and towards caring for our communities. The Kumbh Mela gives us an opportunity to achieve both these objectives with our key target segments at an unprecedented scale.  Our theme at the Kumbh is Complete Protection or Sampoorna Suraksha, as part of which we are offering millions of visitors free samples of Colgate Vedshakti toothpaste that provides sampoorna suraksha to the mouth. But that’s not all – we are also extending to our consumers ways and means to ensure complete safety of their families, as they wade their way through the Kumbh Mela by handing out  suraksha ropes – for families to walk together, and suraksha wristbands – for children to have an emergency contact number on their wrist.”

     

     

  • In his previous role, Jadhav was head of media buying on Colgate Palmolive

    MEC elevates Rahul Jadhav to National Trading Head

    By A Correspondent

     

    MEC has announced the promotion of Rahul Jadhav to National Trading Head. In his new role, he will be responsible for media investments across platforms and will report to T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC, Sidharth Parashar, Head – Pricing and Investments, GroupM and to Michael Beecroft, Trading Head – MEC Asia Pacific.

     

    In his previous role, Jadhav was head of media buying on Colgate Palmolive. He has been with MEC since 2010 and will continue to be based in Mumbai.

     

    Announcing the development, T. Gangadhar, MD, MEC India said, “Trading is a massive differentiator for us and Rahul has the smarts to lead this critical function. He has an astute understanding of the media landscape and enjoys excellent relationships with our business partners. I wish him the very best in his new role”.

     

    Jadhav is a Bachelor in Engineering and holds an MBA degree from the University of Pune. Prior to joining MEC, he was Product Manager at Tata Motors. His career also includes a stint at Bajaj Tempo. He is an avid car enthusiast and a cricket fanatic.

     

  • The consumer goods companies said the next few quarters could be challenging if the monsoon is weak and the rupee continues to fall

    HUL, Dabur & Colgate Q1 sales up 20%, next few Qs challenging

    By A Correspondent

     

    Consumer goods companies Hindustan Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and Dabur said the next few quarters could be challenging if the monsoon is weak and the rupee continues to fall after reporting about 20 per cent jump in their first quarter sales.

     

    Hindustan Unilever, the country’s largest consumer goods company, whose presence in a range of daily consumption items such as soaps, shampoos and food makes its performance a good proxy for consumer sentiment, said it has not seen any evidence yet of customers trading down for cheaper products but delayed monsoon, weak rupee and volatile raw-material prices remain a concern.

     

    “When we look into the medium term, we believe that the growth drivers for FMCG are really positive,” said R Sridhar, chief financial officer at Hindustan Unilever. “But when we look at the next 2-3 quarters, clearly there are few challenges-the final shape of how monsoon distribution happens, rupee has depreciated quite significantly and inflation continues to be at a very high level,” he said.

     

    Dabur CEO Sunil Duggal too said: “As of now, we have not witnessed any slowdown in rural consumption, but there could be some amount of demand contraction this (July-September) quarter.”

     

    HUL’s total income rose 20 per cent to Rs6,378.7 crore in the April-June quarter from Rs5,323.6 crore in the year-ago period, outperforming the broader FMCG industry that grew 16 per cent during the quarter. Profit after tax before exceptional items at the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever rose 48 per cent to Rs855 crore in the three months to June. Exceptional items included sale of properties worth Rs607 crore.

     

    The company said it was able to increase its operating profit margins by 180 basis points. Its cost of goods sold during the period was 200 basis points lower than in the year-ago period.

     

    During the quarter, HUL’s sales of soaps and detergents-its largest business segment-rose 24 per cent to Rs3,163.05 crore, helped mainly by price increases. Double-digit volume growth drove up sales of personal care products by 17per cent  to Rs1,847.08 crore, while beverages sales were 7per cent  higher at Rs654.07 crore. New launches in brands such as Kwality Walls helped its packaged foods business grow 17 per cent to Rs436.98 crore.

     

    What pleased analysts the most about the results was the companies’ sustainable volume growth. HUL, Dabur and Colgate-Palmolive grew their volumes between 9-12 per cent as the makers of daily household products sold more goods despite increasing prices. “Across companies, margins have expanded and ad spends increased too. With sales of premium products growing, there isn’t even first signs of slowdown yet,” said Anand Mour of Ambit Capital. Colgate-Palmolive reported a 17 per cent jump in first quarter profit at Rs117 crore, while its sales grew 20 per cent at Rs736 crore. “In an inflationary environment, the company’s continuing efforts and focussed programs to enhance efficiencies and reduce costs continue to yield strong, positive results, helping to maintain margin and fund investments in building and strengthening brand equity and the business,” Colgate said in a statement. The company said prudent price increases and cost management helped it maintain its strong gross margin.

     

    Dabur reported 21 per cent jump in April-June sales at Rs1,461.9 crore, while net profit increased 17 per cent year-on-year to Rs149.4 crore, riding on categories like health supplements, shampoos and food. Faster network expansion in rural markets too helped the firm drive sales. Dabur CEO Duggal said the company was forecasting double-digit growth over the next two quarters although there could be some slowdown in demand.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • The world's largest retailer has recently hired consultancy firm KPMG to conduct due diligence on hundreds of existing vendors as well as potential future suppliers to ensure that they are not involved in any unethical or illegal activity

    Beware! Walmart will not do business with corrupt businesses!!!

    By Rasul Bailay

     

    Walmart Stores plans to snap ties with companies that supply products to its stores if they are involved in any kind of corrupt practices, making it the first retail company to undertake such a stringent initiative in India.

     

    Stung by the bribery scandal that surfaced recently in Mexico, the world’s largest retailer has recently hired consultancy firm KPMG to conduct due diligence on hundreds of existing vendors as well as potential future suppliers to ensure that they are not involved in any unethical or illegal activity.

     

    Bharti Walmart, the equal wholesale retailing joint venture between the US retail chain and New Delhi-based Bharti Enterprises, sources supplies from vendors ranging from multinationals such as Hindustan Unilever and Colgate Palmolive to hundreds of small and medium enterprises.

     

    As companies in India, like in Mexico, are susceptible to pay bribes at various levels to get reams of licences required to start and operate businesses, Walmart wants to make sure they do business with only those vendors who don’t indulge in such activities.

     

    This is second such anti-corruption initiative launched by Walmart in India in recent months. Earlier, as reported by ET, the world’s number one retailer mandated KPMG to educate and create awareness among the Bharti Walmart’s staff about anti-corruption practices.

     

    As an American multinational, Walmart is bound to abide by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a US law that prohibits companies registered in that country and its subsidiaries across the globe from indulging in any sort of corrupt practices.

     

    A company spokesperson said this move was part of its “previously announced” worldwide review of its anti-corruption programme that was initiated in March 2011. “This includes developing and implementing recommendations for FCPA training, anti-corruption safeguards, and internal controls,” said the spokesman.

     

    The latest initiatives by Bharti Walmart are the direct fallout of the bribery scandal in Mexico, a person with the direct knowledge of the situation said.

     

    Earlier this year, a scandal surfaced in Walmart’s Mexico unit accused the subsidiary of bribing government officials in almost all the provinces in that country where the Bentonville-based retailer has operations. The US Justice Department has started its own probe against Walmart over the allegations of the systematic bribery to obtain licences in Mexico.

     

    In India, KPMG will scrutinise the vendors and classify them in three categories of red, amber and green, the person quoted above said asking not to be named. Bharti Walmart will continue to do business with vendors rated ‘green” by KPMG while it will immediately snap ties with retailers rated ‘red’. It will be Bharti Walmart’s choice to engage with vendors that are placed in the ‘amber’ category by KPMG.

     

    A KPMG spokesman said the firm does not comment on “company-specific matters”.

     

    The head of one of Bharti Walmart’s local vendors said his company has already passed the KPMG test more than a month ago and he added that such a scrutiny has happened for the first time in the last few years that his company has done business with the cash-and-carry joint venture.

     

    “It’s a very good step. It will help the retail industry if more and more companies undertake such initiatives,” says Saloni Nangia, president, Technopak Advisors, a consultancy firm. “Supplying goods to modern retailers are a huge opportunity and the vendors will not jeopardise this opportunity with companies like Walmart by not complying.”

     

    After unsuccessfully lobbying with various Indian governments to open the country’s closed retail sector, Walmart finally entered the country in 2007 through a joint venture with Bharti in the cash-and-carry or wholesale retailing segment, an area where India allows fully-owned overseas ownership. So far, Bharti Walmart has opened 17 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in various cities, which sells multi-branded products, but only to other retailers and businesses.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved