MxMIndia

Tag: SetWet

  • This is your usual formula advertising. However, because they have used bird calls as the creative tool, the ad looks fresh and entertaining. Tells you how a simple device can lift an otherwise ordinary creative

    Debrief: SetWet: Quirky Cool

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The SetWet guys have released a quirky ad for their deodorant spray called SetWet Cool. Titled ‘Lovebirds’, a group of horny guys make bird sounds to attract the pretty ladies. Exactly like the birds do as their mating call. But our birds, oops, gals, don’t respond, though they seem to be enjoying all the attention. Then our hero arrives. The dude sprays SetWet on his hot bod, instead of making desperate bird calls, and naturally this trick works. He gets the chicks.

     

    It’s a typical before/after format, the sort we see in every other ad. Also, male deos have to show girls swooning, that’s part of the established template, and SetWet hasn’t deviated from it. In other words, this is your usual formula advertising. However, because they have used bird calls as the creative tool, the ad looks fresh and entertaining. Tells you how a simple device can lift an otherwise ordinary creative. And the bird call will help the brand get a distinctive personality, which is crucial in this noisy category.

     

    Still, one question remains: The models featured in the ad are all firangs. Wonder why this is the case. Surely Indians would connect better with fellow Indians. I can only hazard a guess. Perhaps the advertiser chickened out, fearing a backlash from desi feminists. However cool the idea might be, the situation does fall in the realm of eve teasing. And that is a very, very bad thingy in India these days.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyiBE9_Joeg[/youtube] 

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 3. Smart creative device helps the ad stand out.

     

  • Kotak Mahindra, the investment banker to the deal had also approached other personal care companies such as Godrej, Dabur and Marico for a potential transaction

    Shahs to drop Anchor’s oral care portfolio; Emami close to buying toothpaste brand

    By Kala Vijayraghavan & Sagar Malviya

     

    Mumbai-based consumer products Anchor Healthcare has had several rounds of discussions with the Kolkata-headquartered Emami to sell its oral care business, top officials close to the development said.

     

    Kotak Mahindra, the investment banker to the deal had also approached other personal care companies such as Godrej, Dabur and Marico for a potential transaction, added the officials.

     

    However, interest in Anchor’s only other brand outside of oral care, Dyna soap, was lacklustre, with buyers more interested in Anchor White toothpaste, Anchor Gel as well as a toothpowder and toothbrushes. When contacted, Atul Shah, promoter of Anchor, denied any sale plans. However, a senior executive at a domestic investment bank confirmed that the company has been sounding off various buyers.

     

    In early 2011, Business Standard had reported that the Shahs had plans to sell the entire consumer products business, lock, stock and Dyna. However, a banker privy to the proceedings pointed out that valuations of the business may have deterred the promoter family from selling in single transaction.

     

    The Shahs are expecting over Rs1,000 crore for the consumer business, added the banker. The company is estimated to have closed the year ended March 2012 with sales of Rs450-500 crore, said a research analyst covering the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

     

    Emami, for its part, has created a war-chest to fund acquisitions. In 2010, the board of the cosmetics and toiletries marketer had approved plans to raise long-term resources up to Rs2,000 crore through the issue of securities as well as to double the borrowing limit to Rs3,000 crore primarily to fund potential buys.

     

    In 2008, Emami had acquired Zandu Pharmaceuticals, but subsequently hasn’t had much luck with buyout attempts. Last year it lost out to Reckitt Benckiser in the race to buy Paras’ personal care business that includes brands such as Livon, Borosoft and SetWet. Early this year, Reckitt sold some of Paras’ personal brands to Marico in a deal that Emami too was keen on.

     

    “Emami will continue to explore avenues for inorganic growth, but we do not wish to comment on any speculations,” said NH Bhansali, CEO, finance, strategy & business development, Emami.

     

    In 1997, Anchor challenged multinational giants like Colgate and Hindustan Unilever by finding a unique proposition in a tough-to-differentiate category by launching a ‘vegetarian’ toothpaste. In the initial years, Anchor managed to grab a market share of close to 10 per cent in a highly-competitive market.

     

    In 2007, the Anchor group had sold an 80 per cent stake in the business of electricals to Japan’s Matsushita Electric Works – owners of the National and Panasonic brands – for Rs2,000 crore. Personal care became the family’s focus area. Soon after the sale of Anchor Electricals, the group bought Forhans, one of the country’s oldest toothpaste brands, from John Oak Remedies. However, the Shahs didn’t make much headway with Forhans, which does not figure amongst Anchor Healthcare’s brands on its website.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

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