After chicks, buffaloes get addicted to Fevicol

What do buffaloes have to do with Fevicol? Exactly what an egg had to do with it.

The new commercial for the adhesive, which went on air on Wednesday, goes back to the familiar territory of hyperbole to drive home the point that the mere presence of the adhesive leads to the most bizarre (Comment on this ad) consequences. If an egg was rendered unbreakable because the hen was roosting on a can of Fevicol, this time a herd of buffaloes... well, let's look at what actually happens.

The ad opens in a dairy that could be anywhere in the interiors of the country.

A herd of buffaloes wait calmly as a group of milkmen arrive, buckets in hand. Confidently, they sit down to milk the cattle, their hands moving in perfect rhythm and in perfect harmony with each other. All this while, a truck in the vicinity is being readied for unloading.

Suddenly, the milk stops to flow. And, all hell breaks loose among the milkmen, who make bewildered noises trying to figure out what caused the accident. The answer lies in the jars of Fevicol SH (a variant commonly used by carpenters) that are being unloaded from the truck. The buffaloes, meanwhile, look on - presumably at the jars.

Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, and Abhijit Awasthi, senior creative director, O&M, scripted the film, which has been made by Corcoise Films.

It is a retracing of sorts for the brand communication. For sometime now, Fevicol's advertising has been about everyday situations where the adhesive, simply by being around, exerted its sticking power. Be it in the 'pakde rahna, chhodna nahin' commercial, the 'overloaded bus' or the 'day-dreaming husband on a train' commercials.

As a distinct departure from previous Fevicol campaigns, the last one featuring a young man trying to commit suicide was about the physical nature of bonding.

Says B.O. Mehta, senior vice-president, Pidilite Industries, "The last communication was about the sheer functionality of the product, reiterating the fact that Fevicol is good for wood. This was done simply because we felt the need for a change, after the series with the egg, the bus and the like.”

Agrees Abhijit Awasthi. "One can keep taking lateral leaps with the communication, but once in a while, it's important to get back to the core promise of the brand, which is essentially about its strength.” So, after making that point in the 'suicide' commercial, it is back to familiar territory for the brand and O&M.

"If the last communication was about the 'bonding' power of Fevicol, this time the focus is back on what we call 'euphoric hyperbolic' again,” says Meenakshi Bhalla, business director, O&M.

"Advertising for Fevicol has been a gangbuster success so far. And, we have seen that the target audience has loved it,” she says. The commercial reiterates the now-familiar Fevicol communication: "Its mere presence is enough”.

Prasoon Pandey of Corcoise Films chose a mill in Mumbai to shoot the film. With around 50 buffaloes on the set, it was a tough time for the team, he says. "I chose buffaloes because I wanted to play around with dark silhouettes. But it is difficult to manage these animals, because unlike cows, they are not too good at taking orders!” Pandey is "thrilled” with the ad, which has some interesting music by Ehsaan-Loy, and some innovative mouth-percussion by Taufiq Quereshi.

The new commercial has also been timed with the new print campaign which is about 'inspired by Fevicol' ideas that one comes across in daily life. The campaign features a marriage bureau that proudly calls itself Familicol and assures of 'lifelong bonds'. There's also a muhalla of a bone-setter, who plays around with the iconic logo to sell the idea of stronger bones. In fact, a script based on the idea preceded the print campaign. "This campaign concept may find its way to TV next year, but we wanted to seed the idea in print first,” reveals Awasthi.

Pidilite's Mehta is happy with the outcome. "Fevicol's advertising has always appealed both to the mass and the class. It shouldn't be any different this time,” he adds. A case of being glued to an idea that sells?

© 2004 agencyfaqs!