Polo: From lateral to literal

In an attempt to connect with a mass-based audience, the latest TV campaign for Polo departs from lateral communication, and shows mental refreshment in a more literal sense

Ever since its launch in India in the mid-nineties, Polo's advertising has always hovered in the upper strata of creativity, with an accent on lateral communication. Correction. Not always. The first-ever Indian commercial for the confectionery brand (old man dances with teenagers) was quite direct in the way it communicated what happens when people pop Polo. But that commercial apart, all Polo advertising has been quite lateral.

Which is why the latest set of commercials for Polo, created by Lowe Lintas & Partners, surprises. Take the ‘railway station' spot. A young woman walks onto the platform of a railway station and surveys her surroundings. People lounging around, waiting for the train. The mood is decidedly languorous… bored. The woman shrugs, reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pack of Polo. She selects one and is about to pop it, when she stops and peers through the hole in the Polo.

What a transformation on the platform! The waiting passengers and railway staff are dancing, the atmosphere very upbeat. Of course, it's only an illusion. But Polo has done the trick for the woman, who is suitably refreshed. The 'nurses'ad follows the same logic - guy in hospital sees his drab nurses transform into seductresses. Life. And life through Polo.

In both the ads, the way the product benefit has been communicated is very literal. But before analyzing the reasons for this change in tack, it's important to understand Mudra Communications' (Polo's previous agency) reasoning when it tailored the old communication for the brand. Polo, by product nature, is a freshener. And Mudra's communication strategy stemmed from the belief that if Polo freshens the mind, it's advertising too should do the same. That is, lateral advertising that snaps the viewer out of TV commercial-induced ennui.

So why this shift towards a more direct approach? "The communication had to reach out to the masses," says Vikas Verma, vice-president, Lowe Lintas. "The advertising had to broadbase the appeal of the brand. Polo was getting stuck in a communication mould which was too evolved, too elitist. The advertising was very SEC A-specific. Now, to grow the brand, it is imperative that Polo gets out of that mould. The idea here is to ensure that Polo talks to the other SECs too."

For Polo, the need to talk to the other SECs is dictated by the dynamics of the confectionery market. Although Lintas claims that Polo has done "record tonnages over the last few months", the fact is that the confectionery market is not growing at a huge pace, and minus fresh initiative, ‘record tonnages' may not be sustainable over long periods. Add to this the rising competition - from both the organized and unorganized players. And it doesn't help any that the consumer appears quite indifferent to the ‘brand' factor, and is easily swayed by pricing (something that the unorganized sector has tapped with great skill).

Incidentally, the change in Polo's communication goes in tandem with a new distribution structure, whereby the brand is being taken to the hinterland. And according to the market, Nestle is also working on smaller pack sizes, in an effort to crack the Re 1 price barrier.

"Keeping in mind the fact that we have to appeal to the masses, we did a well-thought-out strategy where simplicity of communication was the key," says Verma. "Polo stands for wit, humour and lighthearted social interaction," adds Jigisha Chawla, senior brand services manager, Lowe Lintas. "What we have done is altered the tone and style in a way that it appeals to a wider audience. There is refreshment and there is the hole. We've merged the two. The mental refreshment part is in keeping with the old strategy. Polo is a ‘hole' new refreshing point of view for the consumer."

Of course, comparisons to Smirnoff abound. But Verma defends it thus: "The creative device is the same, but it's not been used for the heck of it. It fits with the brand and the idea."

The challenge for Lintas is to steer clear of predictable situations or contexts of boredom. The trick is to find and portray some really zany, unimagined situations on the other side of the hole. It's no fun for the viewer if she can guess what the likely outcome of peeking through that hole would be.

Agency : Lowe Lintas & Partners, Delhi

The Team:

Creative : Benny Thomas, Sudipta Banwar, Indroneel Dhar, Alok Bose

Servicing : Guneet Singh Lehl, Trivikram Thakore, Jigisha Chawla

Filmmaker : Sanjeev Khamgaonkar

Production House : Looking Glass

Model : Fleur, Dino Morea

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