Cobra launches with 'true strength' promise

The 30-second TV spot is aimed at young working adults to give them a boost in their daily routine. The campaign will run until the middle of the year. Agnes Dioso, client service director of Euro RSCG, said: “To the working-class Filipino, what matters is to have a sense of control and individuality - this is an attitude that increasingly influences his choices in his day-to-day achievements. For him to achieve more, he needs energy to face his daily struggles.

“The key challenge was to drive consumers to try this new energy drink, to build brand loyalty, and inspire them to experience its unique brand essence that differentiates it from other energy drinks.”

In the spot, the drink’s tagline, ‘Tunay na Lakas’ (‘true strength’), is brought to life by the energy drink running through the mind and veins of a well-muscled man.

According to the narrator, people need more than just intelligence and an impressive physique. The brand’s logo races to the heart of the ad’s hero, who thumps his chest and exclaims that with Cobra, he can’t lose in life. “We avoided explicit mention of product benefits in the ad,” said Dioso. “We wanted to introduce the brand to the market by what it stands for — that to win in the game of life, you need ‘true energy or strength’. This is a very different approach from how other energy drinks are being advertised.”

Cobra will compete with Extra Joss, which leads the US$50 million Philippine energy drink market with 39 per cent share. PepsiCo has also introduced Sting, its energy drink offering, to compete in this category.
 

Cobra is distributed by Interbev, a subsidiary of Asia Brewery, second only to San Miguel Corporation as the largest brewer and producer of bottled-water in the Philippines.

Last year, Interbev introduced 100 Plus to challenge the lead of Gatorade (produced by PepsiCo) in the soft drinks market, which last year was worth $1.2 billion.