Priyanka Chanana
Advertising

Chlormint Freshfills: The power of liquid energy

Perfetti’s latest offering – Chlormint Freshfills – takes the mother brand’s core thought (‘Dobaara Mat Poochna’) a step ahead

Perfetti van Melle (PvM) India may well have made the Chlormint slogan 'Dobaara mat poochna' a slug used in daily lives, but it will be worth watching whether the company can taste success 'dobaara' with the launch of the brand's second variant,Chlormint Freshfills.

Chlormint Freshfills: The power of liquid energy
Nikhil Sharma
The candy that was introduced in May 2008, according to Nikhil Sharma, marketing manager, PVM India, has a “pleasing mint liquid inside”. The company has come up with a TV commercial to highlight the product proposition. The baseline for the variant does not stick to ‘Ab Dobara Mat Poochhna’ (the line that made the mother brand, Chlormint, famous), but that thought is subtly incorporated in the TVC.

The TVC opens in a house: Two boys are walking down the stairs, ready to go to school. The aunt, standing on the first floor, cries out to the elder boy, “Subbu, teeka lagvana bhool gaya, wapas aa.” Subbu replies theatrically, “No, Chachi, ab oopar mat chadwao.” The aunt warns him that if he doesn’t get the auspicious mark on his forehead, he’ll fail again in the exams. Subbu looks at his younger brother, who passes him a Chlormint Freshfills candy. As soon as Subbu pops the candy into his mouth, his head protrudes up to the first floor, with a fountain of liquid supporting his neck. The aunt hurriedly marks his forehead with the ‘teeka’ and the boy warns her, “Ab dobara mat bulana.” The TVC ends with the baseline, “Sambhal ke zara, liquid hai bhara.”

Chlormint Freshfills: The power of liquid energy
Since it is a new brand, the idea, according to Sharma, was “to generate awareness and trials. We wanted to clearly communicate the distinctive feature of the liquid inside in a manner that would immediately catch the attention of the audience.” That was also the brief given to the agency that handles the account, McCann Erickson India.

The target audience, according to Sharma, are kids and the young, particularly males. “Chlormint Freshfills is a mild mint which, I think, will appeal to both genders because of its innovative format.”

The TVC is currently being aired on all leading national and regional channels. The company prefers to restrict the campaign to TV in the first phase. It will be extended into a 360 degree campaign, including more TVCs, in the second phase.

Prianka Sihota, brand leader, McCann Ericsson India, says, “Since confectionery is a low involvement category, our endeavour is always to stay on top of mind and continuously keep the brand active. We are working on a 360 degree plan.”

While past campaigns for Chlormint were aimed at sustaining the brand, this one is for the launch of a new product, which is why the agency chose the medium of exaggeration. Sihota says, “The communication exploits the device of extreme exaggeration where the unique ‘liquid inside’ feature of the product is amplified in a manner to communicate the brand proposition, ‘Sambhal Ke Zara’...”

However, Sharma disagrees that the ad is exaggerated. “I don’t think the ad is exaggerated because different humour treatments are given to different ads to make the consumer laugh at the end. The fountain scene is just to add that humour,” he says.

The creative team for the TVC consisted of Prasoon Joshi and Ashish Chakravarty. The film was produced by Ramesh Deo Productions and directed by Anand Iyer.

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