Cinthol takes a U-turn with Hrithik

Remember the old Cinthol ad with Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, which was the talk of the town. And later, with actor Vinod Khanna, who provided the brand the same masculine panache. For many years, Cinthol, a Godrej Consumer Products’ brand, had an alpha male positioning, but then it moved to families and then women. Recently, Cinthol took a U-turn and went back to its alpha male positioning with a new TVC featuring actor Hrithik Roshan.

The positioning of the brand has changed quite a few times in the last decade. V Suresh, vice-president, marketing, Godrej Consumer Products, defends the confused positioning, “Regardless of how the promise was articulated, Brand Cinthol has always stood for ‘confidence’. The new communication has a masculine tonality, but it is targeted at young adults who aspire to an active lifestyle.”

Xavier offers the rationale that it is important to try new things when a brand evolves. “But finally, when the brand needs to grow exponentially, it might go back to the core positioning and see if there is still any merit in it, instead of trying anything new. At the core of Cinthol was this alpha male who engaged himself actively in the outdoors and he is able to do all that because he has the Cinthol Deo confidence,” explains Xavier.

Cinthol has recently launched a racy, adventurous TV commercial which features its new brand ambassador, Hrithik Roshan, a new baseline and trendy new packaging for the range of soaps, deos and talcs. But with all these new elements, it has also taken Cinthol back to when its brand theme was masculinity and virility.

The TVC has been shot in Kuala Lumpur and shows Roshan indulging in extreme sports. It starts with a close-up of Roshan’s face; he says “Run” and runs through a forest. Suddenly, he says “Leap” and is seen leaping across the tops of building. In the next shot, he bungee jumps off a building and his voiceover says, “Fly”. Now he’s atop a cliff, he slowly stands up and says, “Rise”. The next shot is of him jet skiing and he says “Glide”. He is now getting drenched by a spray of water and says “Breathe”.

Next is a collage of shots where Roshan is seen riding a horse through a forest, canoeing through a rocky waterfall, and back to a shot of him on the cliff. The camera stops here, he says, “Jump”, and jumps off the cliff into the lake below. A male voiceover says, ‘Unleashing long-lasting freshness for 24-hour confidence. Cinthol.’ A collage of all the shots is seen again with all the verbs run, leap, fly, rise, glide, breathe. The final shot is of Roshan playing rugby, and he says, “Don’t stop.” The ad ends with the product range shown in its trendy new packaging. (Submit your opinion on this ad.)

The ad has been created by Orchard Advertising. Ajay Menon and Hemant Kumar of Orchard Mumbai worked on the creative idea and the script.

Cinthol’s earlier film had a tug of war situation, and the idea was to portray a day to day, real life situation. This time, the objective was to go larger than life.

“We thought of taking a celebrity and giving the idea of 24 hour confidence a more blockbuster kind of scale,” says Xavier.

Extreme sports were depicted because these are the embodiment of the confidence and excitement associated with an active lifestyle in a masculine and unique manner.

The brief given to the agency was that the TVC should reflect the aura of Brand Cinthol and appeal to the youth, engage them, and express the most prominent characteristic of the brand – its ability to create ‘Unstoppable Confidence’. So, the baseline, ‘Don’t Stop’, has been adopted.

Suresh says, “Our consumer research indicates that Cinthol is closely associated with ‘achiever’s confidence’ – achievers who move forward towards excellence despite trials and challenges. Brand Cinthol allows achievers to pursue an active lifestyle without compromise and lends them the confidence they need to succeed despite the demands of a modern lifestyle.”

The communication also showcases an avant garde packaging design for Brand Cinthol across the franchise, including soaps, talcs and deodorant sprays. The overall look and feel of the new range is modern and stylish in keeping with what consumers want from personal care and grooming today.

The campaign has been directed by Abhinay Deo of Ramesh Deo Productions. It was shot over a week in Kuala Lumpur, though some shots were taken in Mumbai. The music was composed by Ram Sampath.

The TVC will be on air for at least 12-18 months and the brand activation programme for Cinthol includes leveraging media such as outdoor, print, cinema and digital and in-store promotions. A website, www.cinthol.com, designed by Interactive Avenues welcomes visitors to the land of Cintholis, which resembles a forest. The site allows visitors to play games, get freshness tips and offer their own fresh ideas and thoughts.