Cadbury 5-Star: Chocolate wrapped in a public service message

If you get lost after biting into a bar of Cadbury 5-Star, be sure you would be taken care of. At least that's what the new television commercial by the brand exhorts good citizens to do.

Steps in filmmaker Gajraj Rao, as the thief's guru. Rebuking the thief for putting his guru’s teaching to shame, Rao makes it clear to him that 5-Star eaters need citizens’ help, as they get lost after consuming the chocolate. He adds that trying to rob such people is against the dignity of thieves. Rao is kind enough to put the boy back into position to let him continue eating his chocolate.

The vanishing act

Kawal Shoor, president, strategic planning, O&M, sees the insight as a very simple one, purely based on the product experience. “5-Star is not a background eat. It is not a munch-and-chat product. It consumes you, as much as you consume it. Eating a 5- Star is a very involving, enjoyable experience. We just wanted to bring this truth to life.”

“While the earlier two renditions had people actually getting lost, this one is about 5-Star eaters becoming vulnerable. There are other people who take advantage of this vulnerability, but good citizens don't. With the tongue-in-cheek public service message style, we decided to go different this time,” he explains.

Avasthi also sees longevity in the ‘Jo Khaaye Kho Jaaye’ proposition of the brand. Shoor seconds Avasthi about the previous commercials for ‘Jo Khaaye Kho Jaaye’ being “literal”, while these are more “lateral”.

“Goading people to help those who're lost in the 5-Star taste is a charming way to once again remind India about how good a chocolate 5-Star is,” Shoor believes.

The television commercial has been supported by radio commercials and outdoor, including bus shelters and hoardings.

Outdoor and radio were extensively used in three markets - Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Outdoor hoardings, with the message - 5-Star khaanewaalo ko road cross karvayein - have a publice service message inclination of evoking consumers to assist the consumers of the chocolate.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are big markets for the brand.

Ad peers: A strong premise

“However, laddering it further to the space that people should be considerate to someone having a 5-Star is too much of a contrived situation. It makes the 5-Star consumer look like one loser, who needs to be looked after. Frankly, it takes away from the product story, rather than adding to it,” she feels.

Kumud feels that ‘Jo Khaaye Kho Jaaye’ is a strong premise and brings forth the product story well. However, the subsequent move to the ‘public service message’ dilutes the impact of the thought.

Juju Basu, creative director, Saatchi & Satchi, Mumbai, too, thinks that the idea of people lost to the point of being in a trance, because of the flavour of a 5-Star, is a great route. “Asking people to help fellow citizens in this predicament is a good idea as well.”

But he has his own reservations, “The commercial, however, isn't doing justice to it. Especially Gajraj and the pickpocket breaking into a product window really kill it.”

Kumud feels that the earlier creatives worked harder for the brand, because there was a distinct high point in the ad, which coincided with the 5-Star being consumed – the whacky disappearance act which worked well for an impulse category. In fact, the commercial even had an angle on ‘Don’t share your 5-Star’ to address depth of consumption.

Basu is in favour of the brand's consistent presence in the space with ‘Jo Khaaye Kho Jaaye’. He considers it a good positioning to do great ads in the future.