Perking up the lighter side of life

Cadbury Perk isn’t taking its communication lightly in 2009. The brand has swiftly signed on film actor, Genelia D’Souza to endorse Perk, Ulta Perk and a new variant called Poppers. This comes shortly after Genelia delivered her first Bollywood hit, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na in 2008, and went on to score an instantaneous fan following among the youth. She was also recently signed on by Fanta Apple.

The new ad for Perk will follow its existing positioning of ‘Take it lightly’, and is expected to hit TV screens soon. The commercial will centre on the need to relax and chill out when things don’t fall in place.

This positioning was introduced in 2008 with a campaign featuring Sharman Joshi. Incidentally, this was the first time a male celebrity was used to promote the brand, although not as an endorser. A spokesperson from Cadbury India tells afaqs!, “This was a first-time move and for some reason, it didn’t seem to work with our consumers. Hence, the brand moved back to using a female ambassador.”

Munching down memory lane

Film actor and singer, Raageshwari featured in one of the earliest commercials for Cadbury Perk, during its launch in 1996. With the tagline – ‘Thodi si pet pooja’ – the brand wanted to target teenagers and their hunger pangs. Gayatri Joshi of Swades fame and Amrita Rao also featured in the Perk commercials, soon after Raageshwari.

After that, Preity Zinta was roped in as the first ambassador, as she personified the brand qualities of being bubbly and vivacious. By 2000, the brand progressed to being an ideal snack, with the tagline, ‘Kabhi bhi kaise bhi.’

In 2004, the brand moved to yet another positioning – ‘Baaki sab Bhula de’, with the insight that consuming Perk is an experience that makes you forget everything else. Along with that, new packaging and some changes to the taste of the chocolate were introduced. Zinta endorsed the brand till 2007.

New kid on the choco-block

One can recall that Ulta Perk was launched with a yellow wrapper, while Perk had a yellow and purple wrapper. The chocolate in the Perk bar has also been increased and that has been shown on the wrapper as well.

In an official communiqué, Sanjay Purohit, director – marketing, Cadbury India, says, “Genelia's connect with the youth and the fact that she has grown up on Cadbury Perk made the task of identifying a new face easier. She embodies youthfulness and connects with the brand in a unique and powerful manner.”

“Also, a little know fact is that Cadbury Perk has been a launch pad for Bollywood stars. All our Cadbury Perk brand ambassadors have subsequently made it big on cinema screens,” he can’t help but add.