Why FritoLay converted its brand ambassadors into sweepers

In FritoLay’s largest ever brand portfolio promotion, ambassadors Saif Ali Khan, Juhi Chawla and MS Dhoni will be seen doing some, er, rather regular household chores

FritoLay India is out with Chala Change ka Chakkar – its largest ever brand promotion initiative. Encompassing all of its five flagship brands – Lay’s, Kurkure, Cheetos, Uncle Chipps and Lehar, the promotion will be led by brand endorsers, Juhi Chawla (Kurkure) and Saif Ali Khan (Lay’s) as well as FritoLay’s new member aboard, MS Dhoni.

According to Gautham Mukkavilli, managing director, FritoLay India, this promotion is an ode to the empowered Indian consumer, who truly believes that he is in control of his own destiny. “So, from material objects that can change his life, to money-can’t-buy experiences, this promotion squarely places the remote for change in the consumer’s hands,” he says. The promotion comes at a time when FritoLay is poised to reinvigorate its portfolio in 2008, with new flavours and promotions in store.

Saif Ali Khan and Juhi Chawla
announcing the FritoLay promotion

One of the aspects of this promotion is to allow regular consumers to swap places with their favourite celebrity (out of FritoLay’s trio) for one day. A television campaign comprising four ads will support this promotion. The first ad in the series is a general announcement of the promotion, giving consumers a larger than life feel. Next in the series is one ad each featuring Dhoni, Chawla and Khan respectively. The ads, created by JWT, show these celebs doing mundane household chores such as buying groceries or sweeping floors (and making a mess of it), while regular consumers are seen having a blast in exchange, living the celeb’s life.

The media mix also includes radio, print and online advertising. Each pack of FritoLay’s products has an assured prize printed inside the pack and some of the prizes to be won include Honda Civic Cars, Sangini Diamond Jewellery, Sony Vaio Laptops, Apple I-Pods, Moto Razr mobile phones and Levi’s Sykes Apparel, while the mega prize is the exchange of one day in the life of three consumers with their favourite celebrity. According to Anuja Chauhan, ECD and V-P, JWT, this is a way for the brand to bring its consumers closer to the brand endorser.

The celebrity swapping will also be developed into a reality series on television, for which talks are on with various channels. The three half-hour episodes will capture both perspectives of the swap – that of the celebrity living the everyday life of the winner including grocery shopping, ordering the lunch menu, or even dropping kids to school, as well as that of the winner tasting a bit of stardom as he lives Khan’s, Chawla’s or Dhoni’s life.

Elaborating on the promotion, Deepika Warrier, marketing director, FritoLay, remarks, “With promotions becoming increasingly undifferentiated our objective was to find a consumer proposition that is unique and exciting. We have coined a core proposition of ‘Zindagi Badal Lo’, which has been presented with the cheekiness and fun factor that brands like Lays and Kurkure are loved for.” The aim is to take this promo beyond the usual celebrity meet and greet, wherein a person merely gets a handshake/photo-opportunity or dinner dates with stars.

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