Surina Sayal | agencyfaqs! | Mumbai, April 30, 2008
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the old Cinthol ad with Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, which was the
talk of the town. And later, with actor Vinod Khanna, who provided the
brand the same masculine panache. For many years, Cinthol, a Godrej
Consumer Products’ brand, had an alpha male positioning, but then it
moved to families and then women. Recently, Cinthol took a U-turn and
went back to its alpha male positioning with a new TVC featuring actor
Hrithik Roshan.
The positioning of the brand has changed quite a
few times in the last decade. V Suresh, vice-president, marketing,
Godrej Consumer Products, defends the confused positioning, “Regardless
of how the promise was articulated, Brand Cinthol has always stood for
‘confidence’. The new communication has a masculine tonality, but it is
targeted at young adults who aspire to an active lifestyle.”
| | Run | | | Leap | | | Fly | | | Glide | | | Some more outdoors | | | More extreme sports | | | Cinthol Don't stop | | | New packaging Product shot | Thomas
Xavier, national creative director and managing director, Orchard
Advertising, says, “Alpha male was the classic Cinthol personality. It
is revisiting that aspect of its personality, but in a very
contemporary manner now.” Orchard handles the creative duties for
Cinthol.
Xavier offers the rationale that it is important to
try new things when a brand evolves. “But finally, when the brand needs
to grow exponentially, it might go back to the core positioning and see
if there is still any merit in it, instead of trying anything new. At
the core of Cinthol was this alpha male who engaged himself actively in
the outdoors and he is able to do all that because he has the Cinthol
Deo confidence,” explains Xavier.
Cinthol has recently
launched a racy, adventurous TV commercial which features its new brand
ambassador, Hrithik Roshan, a new baseline and trendy new packaging for
the range of soaps, deos and talcs. But with all these new elements, it
has also taken Cinthol back to when its brand theme was masculinity and
virility.
The TVC
has been shot in Kuala Lumpur and shows Roshan indulging in extreme
sports. It starts with a close-up of Roshan’s face; he says “Run” and
runs through a forest. Suddenly, he says “Leap” and is seen leaping
across the tops of building. In the next shot, he bungee jumps off a
building and his voiceover says, “Fly”. Now he’s atop a cliff, he
slowly stands up and says, “Rise”. The next shot is of him jet skiing
and he says “Glide”. He is now getting drenched by a spray of water and
says “Breathe”.
Next is a collage of shots where Roshan is
seen riding a horse through a forest, canoeing through a rocky
waterfall, and back to a shot of him on the cliff. The camera stops
here, he says, “Jump”, and jumps off the cliff into the lake below. A
male voiceover says, ‘Unleashing long-lasting freshness for 24-hour
confidence. Cinthol.’ A collage of all the shots is seen again with all
the verbs run, leap, fly, rise, glide, breathe. The final shot is of
Roshan playing rugby, and he says, “Don’t stop.” The ad ends with the
product range shown in its trendy new packaging. (Submit your opinion on this ad.)
The
ad has been created by Orchard Advertising. Ajay Menon and Hemant Kumar
of Orchard Mumbai worked on the creative idea and the script.
Cinthol’s
earlier film had a tug of war situation, and the idea was to portray a
day to day, real life situation. This time, the objective was to go
larger than life.
“We thought of taking a celebrity and giving the idea of 24 hour confidence a more blockbuster kind of scale,” says Xavier.
Extreme
sports were depicted because these are the embodiment of the confidence
and excitement associated with an active lifestyle in a masculine and
unique manner.
The brief given to the agency was that the TVC
should reflect the aura of Brand Cinthol and appeal to the youth,
engage them, and express the most prominent characteristic of the brand
– its ability to create ‘Unstoppable Confidence’. So, the baseline,
‘Don’t Stop’, has been adopted.
Suresh says, “Our consumer
research indicates that Cinthol is closely associated with ‘achiever’s
confidence’ – achievers who move forward towards excellence despite
trials and challenges. Brand Cinthol allows achievers to pursue an
active lifestyle without compromise and lends them the confidence they
need to succeed despite the demands of a modern lifestyle.”
The
communication also showcases an avant garde packaging design for Brand
Cinthol across the franchise, including soaps, talcs and deodorant
sprays. The overall look and feel of the new range is modern and
stylish in keeping with what consumers want from personal care and
grooming today.
The campaign has been directed by Abhinay Deo
of Ramesh Deo Productions. It was shot over a week in Kuala Lumpur,
though some shots were taken in Mumbai. The music was composed by Ram
Sampath.
The TVC will be on air for at least 12-18 months and
the brand activation programme for Cinthol includes leveraging media
such as outdoor, print, cinema and digital and in-store promotions. A
website, www.cinthol.com, designed by Interactive Avenues welcomes
visitors to the land of Cintholis, which resembles a forest. The site
allows visitors to play games, get freshness tips and offer their own
fresh ideas and thoughts.
© 2008 afaqs! filed by Surina Sayal |
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