The Chlor-mint experience – bizarre, isn’t it?

We all know what happened to the guy who dared to ask the ‘paanwala’ why one ate Chlor-mint (Log Chlor-mint Kyun Khate Hai?). Someone even tried asking the same question in China, and his experience was no different.

This time, it’s Miss Pappi who’s doing the asking, and she gets turned into a poster for her pains.

We are talking about the Chlor-mint TVCs, which have always been quite bizarre. According to Prasoon Joshi, creative head of McCann-Erickson, the agency behind the TVCs, “The bizarre incidents in these commercials do not have any logic – not even the consumers try to find cause and effect before having a Chlor-mint.”

Joshi says, “This suspension of logic is the language and grammar of the brand.”

Trying to explain that the bizarre incidents depicted in the ads are also somewhat real, Joshi says, “We have borrowed these ideas from what already exists around us.”

He explains, “Our mythology is full of surrealism and people believe in it. Likewise, Bollywood, which is a big influencer, is also full of bizarre incidents. I mean isn’t it unheard of – people dancing around trees when they fall in love? There is no logic, but they have worked with people for so many years.”

In fact, most of the ads in the category itself have been absurd. And as such products are bought on impulse, it become very necessary for the brands to be on top of the mind recall among consumers.

Sameer Suneja, head, marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India, says, “This is why we needed to give a fresh approach to the advertising communication for Chlor-mint.”

He adds, “The latest TVC takes the existing brand idea of ‘Log Chlor-mint Kyun Khate Hai’ further from the ‘Paan’ and ‘China’ commercials.”

“The ‘Dobara Mat Poochhna’ idea emanated from the brand positioning statement that ‘you do not need a reason’ to have a Chlor-mint. This positioning has helped the brand grow significantly as an anytime candy. The current commercial carries on with the earlier theme that asking ‘the’ question generates a violent response. And the fact that you do not need a reason to have a Chlor-mint has evolved so much that even inanimate objects have started responding. This execution surely takes the brand to a much higher level. The buzz the ad has created is testimony to that,” says Suneja.

The latest TVC treads the same path of suspension of logic with the tagline of ‘Dobara Mat Poochhna’. So we have a Miss Pappi, who is vain to the hilt and obsessed with her looks. She is engrossed in getting every bit of her make-up right and admiring herself in front of the mirror, never mind that her family is waiting for her in a taxi, repeatedly calling for her. “They don’t know anything,” she sniffs, as she finally puts on her ‘dupatta’. “Posters of me will be put up soon in every household.”

Between admiring herself and finally walking to the lift, Pappi sings a song to herself and adds theatrics to it with her expressions and gestures. When she gets into the lift, she chances upon a Chlor-mint and blurts out: “Log Chlor-mint kyun khaate hain?” All hell breaks loose when she utters the question and she is pressed between the sides of the lift. When the door opens, she falls out in the form of a flat poster. Looking at the disaster that is now his daughter, her father covers his face and says, “Naak katwa di”, and leaves the place. The TVC is accompanied by a ‘thumri’ that goes: ‘Roop ki dhani hoon main, prem kali bani hoon main.”

Joshi informs agencyfaqs! that he intentionally juxtaposed the serious ‘thumri’ with an out and out comic situation. Shubha Joshi, the legendary ‘thumri’ singer, was flummoxed when she heard the lyrics and even a little uncomfortable initially. Prasoon Joshi had to really convince her to render the lines in her usual ‘thumri’ style.

Joshi was also sure that only Pappi would be a caricature – all the other characters would be true to life. And the picture of the girl was very clear in his mind – a narcissist, dressed up to the nines and full of exaggerated posturing.

When asked if it was time to move on from the ‘Dobara Mat Poochhna’ communication strategy, Suneja clarifies, “‘Dobara Mat Poochhna’ is still the most recalled and most salient communication among the TG. While we will need to refresh our strategy one day, we feel that there is a lot of life still left in ‘Dobara Mat Poochhna’. What we do need to do regularly is to refresh the communication to keep the brand relevant among the consumers. That is the immediate challenge.”

© 2006 agencyfaqs!