Greenlam: Making a durable promise

Getting the consumer's attention is increasingly becoming a challenge for marketers and their ad agencies. Tell a product story that is too bland with too much of product-speak, and nothing registers. Tell a story that is too round about and doesn't get to the point fast enough, and the consumer loses interest. And when communication is time bound (as in the case of a television commercial), but has much to say about the product without ending up as a blind spot, there really is no time for detailed storytelling and such niceties. The only way out is to come straight to the point, yet make the point in as engaging a way as possible. This is what the latest commercial for wood laminate brand Greenlam does. No building up of a story, no elaborate preparations for a denouement, no frills. Only a vivid demonstration of the brand proposition.

The ad opens on a man strolling inside his house, reading a book held in one hand. The other hand wields a small round table in the manner of a shield. Cut to a shot of a steaming coffee pot being held by a woman. The woman, presumably the man's wife, hurls the pot at the man, who quickly shields himself with the little table. The pot smashes against the table, its boiling contents splash all around, but the man is unhurt. Unmindful of what has just happened, the husband continues to read. His wife, frustrated, then throws a flowerpot at her husband. Again the table comes to his rescue, and he emerges unscathed, his eyes fixed on the book. Spitting fire, the wife, dressed in a fireproof suit, directs a spurt of flame at her husband. The flames lick the table, but not a patch of it burns. The man continues reading merrily.

But hubby dear is soon in for a nasty surprise. Gripping the very table that he recently used to effectively nullify her repeated attacks, the wife steals up behind him purposefully, murder in her eyes… The film concludes with the shot of Greenlam laminate and talks about the brand's end-user benefits - boiling-water proof, fire proof and scratch proof laminates.

The sharp focus on the brand attributes - where every scene in the ad reveals one element of the brand promise - is driven purely by the single-minded agency brief. Elaborates Alex Joseph, brand manager, Greenply, "Laminates have been in existence for some time, however, even today, the end user is not very clear about the product and its benefits. He usually goes by the recommendation of his carpenter or architect when it comes to surfacing options for his woodwork or furniture. Moreover, currently, the application of laminates is largely in commercial areas such as offices, showrooms and restaurants. So clearly, the idea was to establish a direct relationship with the end-consumer, as laminates are the most versatile surface application options, valued mainly for their durability, design features, versatility and ease-of-use and maintenance. Thus, the brief was to clearly demonstrate the key attributes - boiling-water proof, fire proof and scratch proof - of the laminate. And thereby, bring out the durability of the brand."

At the creative level, the challenge was to bring out the durability of the brand through a clutter-busting idea. "The budget was not earth-shattering," says Anil Thakraney, creative head, Lowe, Delhi. "And the medium to be used was the highly cluttered national news channels. The key task for the creative, therefore, was not only to communicate the message unambiguously, but also to do so in a clutter-breaking manner. So we stayed away from the usual imagery of lovely homes and lovely interiors - a done-to-death route when it comes to decorative products - and instead used communication of satire and drama to make the point."

And the dramatic execution of the ad, where each brand attribute is given hyperbolic expression, does make the ad noticeable. "We had to give the brand (literally) a bigger bang for a relatively smaller buck. The dramatic treatment also helps the communication cut to the chase… It drives the point home quite single-mindedly," says Thakraney. Besides the aim of making a direct relationship with the end consumer, part of the objective is also to target interior decorators and carpenters. "The communication targets not just the end users. It also talks to the interior decorators and carpenters, lest it be confused with wood or another substance. That too was very simply achieved." © 2004 agencyfaqs!