LG Golden Eye: Playing the health card

Attention Mothers: You days of worry are over! LG has arrived.

The company's Golden Eye technology-driven television sets are good for the kid's eye. So promises the company in its recent ad campaign promoting the LG Golden Eye TV brand. Created by Lowe, Delhi, the ad hopes to win the mother's trust with the assurance that LG is concerned about the health of the kid.

It's just not a brand promise; but an assurance, says the agency.

The latest Golden Eye TV commercial opens with the shot of a harried woman looking out of the door, waiting for someone. The wall-clock announces it's four in the evening. Unable to bear the agony of the prolonged wait, she rushes out into the streets. She enquires about the whereabouts of her son from a bunch of kids. They are clueless. The mother rushes to the school. No trace of him.

Just about to cross a road, she spots her son watching television running in a TV showroom. "Yahaan kya kar rahe ho?" (What are you doing here?), she asks anxiously. The bespectacled boy complaints, "Aap ghar pe TV nahi dekhne deti na!" (You do not let me watch TV at home.) With tears in her eyes she explains, "Tumhari aankon ke liye hi na!" (Because of your eyes.) Problem!

Solution: LG's Golden Eye TV. The MVO assures the viewer, "Sirf LG TV mein hain anokhi Golden Eye technology, jo aankon ko de aaram. Kyonki aankein hain anmol." (Only LG TV has the unique Golden Eye technology that does not strain the eye. Because eyes are precious.)

This ad is a sequel to an earlier one where the same boy with thick lenses is seen caught in a jam. He stands helpless in his class unable to answer questions raised by his teacher. The reason? He is not allowed to watch TV at home.

His classmate who seems to have all the answers on his fingertips suggests he buys an LG Golden Eye TV. Next day at school, when the teacher asks a question, almost all the kids raise their hands excitedly. The boy wonders whether all of them have LG TVs at home.

The current campaign is significant because it is a clear break from LG's earlier advertising, which have been very product-centric in their rendition. "Our research as well as shop observations have shown that CTV purchase decision is no longer the domain of the male wage earner. The children and the lady of the house are active participants in the purchase process. Also parents' fears that TV viewing may result in eye-related problems in their kids had to be dispelled. Thus the need was to say that watching TV is perfectly safe with LG Golden Eye and that it is imperative because it enhances the kids' general knowledge," says Ganesh Mahalingam, general manager, marketing, LG Electronics India.

Taking the problem-solution route in a category like consumer durables is a clever idea indeed. For one Pratap Suthan, associate vice-president, Grey Worldwide, Delhi, finds the communication insightful. "If the promise is true that Golden Eye TV is gentle on the eyes, then it is a damn good positioning. The rub-off of this assurance is the same as Volvo's positioning on safety." Agrees Mehernosh Shapoorjee, creative director, FCB-Ulka Advertising, Delhi, "It sets the context by stating a common belief that TV spoils the eyes and then introduces LG's product advantage in this light." However, he has his doubts whether the idea is compelling enough. "It's just a claim after all."

Interestingly, Nandu Narasimhan, associate vice-president, creative, Contract, Delhi, describes the LG Golden Eye TV as the "Chyawanprash of televisions.' Arvind Mohan, strategic planner, McCann-Erickson, Delhi, on the other hand finds the mother's character anachronistic. "She has been depicted as the archetypal Hindi movie mother from the seventies. Repressive. Today's mothers are more indulgent and smart. The language in the ad is very inconsistent with the LG brand idea." Retorts Mahalingam, "The mother is very convincing in the ad. Tell me how would a mother react if she feels that her child is lost?"

One thing is clear. In its new advertising stance - be it refrigerator or television - LG is treading a new course. As Grey's Suthan puts it, "Koreans are learning that Indians are an emotional lot. The earlier ad - with the couch-potato putting slices of cucumber on his eyelids to rest his eyes - did not connect with the Indian consumer." The emotional bonding was absent, perhaps. "The shift is indeed positive," says McCann-Erickson's Mohan. © 2002 agencyfaqs!