Fragrances make an animated entry

Reckitt Benckiser has launched five TV commercials for its newly launched air freshener brand, Air Wick. The striking feature of the TVCs is that they are loaded with animation

Do not be surprised if Mrs Raccoon, Mrs Octopus, Mrs Kangaroo or Mrs Squirrel come into your living room and tell you why they use Air Wick, Reckitt Benckiser’s newly launched global air freshener brand. The brand recall is likely to be so strong that you might end up asking for Air Wick at your neighbourhood ‘kirana’ store.

Largely unorganised and mostly powered by the likes of Godrej Sara Lee and Balsara, the Indian air fragrance market is still in its infancy. Organised blocks, aerosols and car fresheners collectively form a market estimated to be worth Rs 75 crore – a small market, limited to basic formats and largely traditional fragrances. The various brands in this segment at present include Ambipur and Odonil.

Globally, Air Wick is worth Rs 6,000 crore. No wonder Reckitt Benckiser has high expectations of it and aims to use it to revolutionise the Indian air freshener market.

Chander Mohan Sethi

Chander Mohan Sethi, chairman and managing director, Reckitt Benckiser, says, “In India, the local air freshener market is still in its infancy with very low penetration.

All this is going to change. We’ve put together a great range of products and fragrances, most suited for and liked by Indian consumers, in line with their needs. And we plan to invest heavily in the brand. We have a 360 degree communication plan to bring alive the brand theme, ‘It’s good to be home’.”

Air Wick comes in several fragrances and three formats: the Air Wick Electrical Diffuser, the Air Wick Aerosol Spray and the Air Wick Freshmatic Automatic Spray.

But back to the animal families: To promote Air Wick, Reckitt Benckiser has launched a TV campaign featuring animated characters Mrs Octopus, Mrs Raccoon, Mrs Kangaroo and Mrs Squirrel. The five TV spots are based on real life consumer insights about smells, communicated through testimonials by the animated animal characters. Even as they portray the key benefits of the product, the animated animals generate appeal and empathy for Air Wick in an engaging manner. The company claims this is the first time that Indian audiences will be exposed to advertising in this genre. (Submit your opinion on this ad.)

The campaign has been created by Euro RSCG Malaysia and the animation has been created by MFX Kuala Lumpur.

Reckitt Benckiser delivered five powerful consumer insights to the agency, each highlighting a different aspect of the consumer’s life, but all focusing on the need for freshening the air: smaller homes, attached toilets, inadequate ventilation, no sunlight penetration, and lack of outdoor spaces to dry clothes, especially during the monsoon, thereby leading to musty smells. The insights revolved around the fact that there is an increasing need to use fragrance in homes in the changing urban scenario.

The Rs 1,200 crore Reckitt Benckiser, earlier known as Reckitt & Colman (India), has several successful brands such as Dettol, Harpic, Mortein, Lizol, Cherry Blossom, Vanish, Easy Off Bang, Veet, Colin, Disprin, Strepsils and Clearasil in its portfolio. It has a major presence in the segments of home and personal care, surface care, fabric care, pest control and health care. It spends close to 15 per cent of its revenue on advertising campaigns.

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