Devina Joshi
Advertising

Boroplus - Skin-deep, and deeper

Boroplus did something rather unheard of in the cream segment early last year: no celebrity presence, no pretty face testimonials, no visuals of 'bad' skin becoming 'good' – the Boroplus’ commercial for its body lotion in January 2010 was all about celebration of good skin and, what’s more, the tale was narrated by a group of boys at a loss for words on how skin gets soft with the product.

Boroplus did something rather unheard of in the cream segment early last year: no celebrity presence, no pretty face testimonials, no visuals of 'bad' skin becoming 'good' - the Boroplus' commercial for its body lotion in January 2010 was all about celebration of good skin and, what's more, the tale was narrated by a group of boys at a loss for words on how skin gets soft with the product.

Boroplus - Skin-deep, and deeper
Thus far, Boroplus' advertising had been largely functional in nature, dominated with product shots and usage demonstration, the 'jal jaaye, chill jaaye' kind. Amitabh Bachchan has been Boroplus' brand endorser for the last eight years (actor Kareena Kapoor also endorses the brand). Among the last few ads was one where Bachchan is a 'pundit', and talks about the cream's various benefits; while another ad had Kapoor cast in a typical wedding day girl-boy love story, where the cream helps save the day.

Boroplus decided to shift focus just the antiseptic cream to the larger skincare domain. So, the campaign in January for its body lotion had men talking of how they go 'baawra' - or crazy - about women using Boroplus, and use gestures to bring out their awe which borders on reverence.

In the summer, Boroplus cashed in on the movie 3 Idiots and released an ad called 'Aal izz well' for its prickly heat powder featuring Kapoor, who was also recalled for a winter fairness cream ad (featuring three Kareenas stressing on how only moisturisation isn't enough).

In October, the brand took a leadership role of sorts with its 'Boroplus ka safed teeka' campaign featuring Bachchan. It showed people across cultures putting a white dot of Boroplus cream (safed teeka) on their faces symbolic of the Indian custom of protection against the evil eye. This campaign, instead of talking of specific benefits, took on the larger task of stressing that Boroplus is the trusted name for skincare for 50 crore people in India.

This stand also paved the way for new launches including the recently launched Healthy & Fair winter fairness cream and Intensive therapy cream (for specific areas such as knees and elbows and ankles, with the creative idea being that the cream makes these areas look as good as facial skin). Boroplus Sunscreen Lotion is currently in the stage of test marketing.

Boroplus also tied up with the Bollywood film Tees Maar Khan and launched a co-branded ad with the famous item song 'Sheila ki jawaani' in it. Apparently, Emami earmarked around Rs 2 crore to promote its winter-care product Boroplus Advanced Moisturising Lotion and pain reliever Fast Relief in a co-branding exercise with Tees Maar Khan.

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