In India there's generally a sharp divide between work that works and work that wins. There's the more routine advertising that's benefit-driven or promo-driven and the one-offs, usually created around December, to help an agency have something to show off at award ceremonies.
Perfetti is something of a trophy client in India — the Italian confectionery manufacturer routinely buys edgy scripts that other, more conservative clients would baulk at. Even so, the new campaign for Happydent is a bit of an anomaly; a strong theme-driven campaign in a category that is known for its reliance on tie-ins and promos.
The commercial is a surreal extension of a previous Happydent ad, in which a photographer uses the teeth of a gum-chewing punter in lieu of a flash.
In the current version, an entire town is lit by the glowing teeth of a community full of Happydent chewers, positioned on streetlights, car headlights and chandeliers. Prasoon Joshi, regional creative director — South and Southeast Asia, McCann Erickson, the agency behind the spot, says: "Perfetti has always looked for bold ideas. But while it was humorous in earlier cases, this is vichitra ras: a strange brew."
While conventional wisdom has indicated that the Indian customer prefers a more cut-and-dried approach to advertising, the Happydent commercial has gone down quite well, creating more than just favourable buzz in the marketplace. An enthused Joshi remarks: "New machines have been installed to meet production needs."
While unwilling to comment specifically on numbers or market shares, Sameer Suneja, head of marketing at Perfetti, says: "Initial indications are that it's doing very well for the brand. It's early days but volumes are beyond our expectations."
It's particularly interesting to note that thematic work, which is supposed to enhance overall equity, is driving immediate sales. Perfetti believes this to be true of its brands like Mentos and Center Fresh as well, while theme-based offers work harder in the case of bubble gum and specific kid-targeted candy. Suneja is clear that "thematic advertising is more effective. In the case of promos, it goes from one offer to another. But if you are able to build salience and a personality for the brand, it is far more enduring as a concept."
Joshi believes promos certainly do have a place and that often consumers end up remembering the brand even if a particular offer has a comparatively shorter lifespan. "Some people do not believe in thematic advertising at all; I don't agree with that. Even with promotions, offers need thematic values," he says.
However, effective thematic work is definitely more difficult to pull off, particularly in the case of a low involvement category like chewing gum.
Joshi notes: "There was no logic working there. We just wanted to make the ad top of mind and excite people. It's the reason I didn't take the logical route of the product benefit — clean teeth.
"In our country, oral hygiene is a low priority. You couldn't have convinced people through logic. Taking it to another dimension and dramatising the benefit worked in this case."
He believes the advertising campaign is likely to be extended overseas by Perfetti and may even be used with no modification, unlike the previous Happydent commercial which was re-shot to appeal to a global audience.