Hit by electricity bills? Orpat offers a solution

Here's an example of how a done-to-death advertising idea can still entertain, and be relevant too. This is about an advertising campaign by Mudra for Orpat Power Savers, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) from the Ajanta Group.

The ad, like many other campaigns before, shows how CFLs save energy by 80 per cent as opposed to normal light bulbs/lamps, which are notorious for consuming more electricity. However, even while the ad makes the oft-repeated point, it does it in an interesting manner.

The 60 seconder opens on a 450-year-old Portuguese villa, where a man in a coat and dhoti returns home from work. Before stepping in, he unscrews the bulb from the lamp hanging over his front porch. He uses the same bulb throughout the house, putting it into and removing it from lamps as he goes about his daily routine of bathing, eating, reading, feeding the fish and sleeping.

‘Bijli ka kharcha bachaney ke liye log kya-kya nahin kartey,' (To save power, people can go to any length), explains the voiceover. The voiceover continues, 'Offering a better solution - Orpat Power Saver. Ek bulb ke bijli ke kharch mein poore paanch Orpat power saver chale' (Five Orpat CFLs consume the same amount of electricity as that of a normal bulb).

The ad underscores the importance of CFLs vis-a-vis normal bulbs and why it makes more financial sense for people to use the former.

According to industry sources, there are about 50 crore bulbs manufactured in India every year as compared to only about 30 lakh CFLs. So, it's apparent that Orpat Power Saver, which is the market leader in CFLs with a 60 per cent share, needs to switch existing bulb users to the CFL category in order to grow. Acquiring users of other CFL brands do not make much sense as the base is too small, sources add.

Jaysukh Patel, managing director, Orpat says, "I want to replace every ordinary bulb in the country with an Orpat Power Saver. There is is tremendous potential in the CFL category since CFLs are perfect for an energy deficient (read electricity deficient) country like India.". He cites the example of China, where a complete shift has happened from bulbs to CFLs in the last four to five years, with active encouragement from the Chinese government.

When Mudra won the mandate, the agency obviously had to put forth the benefits of CFLs over ordinary bulbs. And, the first thought, that came to the agency, was to take a categorical stance.

"Unfortunately, the CFL category and also Orpat's biggest claim of 80 per cent-energy-savings looked like an over-used idea. Even this category insight was not new. Philips and GE were the first movers, who had over a period of 10 years, gradually moved from the 'energy-saving' platform to long-life and beautiful light. Even Osram, another CFL brand, had followed the same path over the years," points out Chandan Nath, executive vice-president, Mudra, Ahmedabad

Thus, energy-saving had become a mandatory factor in all communications but its presence shifted from the main idea to the product window and then limited to only the packaging. Therefore, instead of exploring newer dimensions in the category, Mudra decided to look deeper into the energy-saving issue "as it definitely deserved a second look".

"It took some deliberation on the agency's part because the category has been present for 10 years and 'energy-saving' as a platform could be seen to be offering only hygiene value to the consumers. However, we felt that the energy-saving aspect has not been given its due and there was merit in exploiting the untapped potential, especially when Ajanta does not have a bulb legacy to protect," Nath explains.

The agency started off with a clever branding idea. The lamps were branded as 'Power Savers' as consumers did not pick up the phrase 'CFLs' easily. "Consumers were not clearly interpreting 'energy-saving' as the end benefit because in India, the common lingo for electricity is ‘power'. That's why ‘Power Savers' was coined as the product descriptor and communicated for the first time in this category. These helped Orpat in going beyond the superficialities and barriers of the CFL category and connect with people across the country in a more relevant manner," explains Ashok Swamy, director-brand communications, Mudra, Ahmedabad.

As for the advertising campaign, Ryan S Menezes, national creative director, Mudra, who scripted the film, says, "I realised it was simpler and more relevant to the consumer to convey that one ordinary incandescent bulb has the same impact on your electricity bill as five Orpat Power Savers."

The idea for the film came from Menezes' personal experience. "I wanted to dramatise the lengths a person might go to in order to reduce his electricity expenses. When I recently moved into a new apartment, I realised, a bit too late at night, that there was only one bulb in the entire apartment. So I used the same bulb, in the kitchen, in the living room, in the bathroom, moving it from one holder to another. This was a situation I found very funny and I thought, if a person is really miserly, this would be an innovative way to reduce electricity expenses. The film practically wrote itself after that."

The film was shot in a dim, bulb-lit ambience in an old villa to emphasise the stark comparison with the white, soothing light of a CFL.

© 2004 agencyfaqs!