There’s more to Peter England than ‘honesty’

Peter England – the honest shirt. For ten long years, Peter England has carried this tag of honesty or being an affordable shirt. But there is a very thin line between being affordable and being cheap. After a while, consumers, especially those of the younger generation, possibly started looking on the brand as a cheap one.

But now it seems that the brand is trying shed its honest tag and be cooler, trendier, corporate and yet very affordable.

“For the last ten years, Peter England was positioned as a value for money shirt for somebody who could do nothing wrong. But now the need was to bring in a new flavour to the brand and give it a new look,” says Jagdish Acharya, creative head, Mudra, South, the creative agency behind the campaign. The team that worked with Acharya at Mudra comprised creative directors Pavi Krishnan (art) and Murli (copy).

R Satyajeet, strategic business unit head, Madura Garments, adds, “Through our earlier ads, we had managed to be popular among the older audience (30 years and above). We wanted a communication that would position Peter England as a brand that is dynamic, aspirational and yet retains the core values associated with the brand. This way we are primarily aiming at a younger audience,” he explains.

And how do they make this statement? With a TVC (television commercial) that sums up the brand offerings in their entirety.

The commercial shows a young man (model Keith) pronouncing his philosophy about what people want in life and why they fret over small problems. He asserts proudly, ‘Main kabhi tension nahin leta (I never worry about things).” And wonders why people expect so much from life. He then lists some of the ‘simple’ things that he wants from life.

What follows is a sarcastic outline of his desires and ambitions. He wants a ‘chhota sa ghar’ (a small house), but the accompanying visual is that of a huge palace.

He says ‘ek gaadi’ (a car) and the visual shows five cars in a circle. Next is ‘ek steady girlfriend’ (one steady girlfriend), and he is seen hanging out with four skimpily clad girls. He desires to have some fame (chota mota naam) and you see him getting red carpet treatment while receiving an award.

He ends: “Bas (that’s it)!”

The tagline says, ‘More is Less’. What an antithesis! But the moral of the story is that when you can get so much from Peter England, then why not from life?

The ad, according to Acharya, reflects the mindset of the youth of today who expect a lot from life, but also know that it is not right to do so. But Peter England offers them so many things like international styling, European designs and honest prices that one can’t help but think that more is indeed less.

Shot entirely in Bangkok, the commercial was produced and directed by the trio at Chrome Pictures, Hemant Jain, Aleya Sen and Amit Sharma. They have earlier produced an award winning campaign for UTI.

“Our task was to change the look of Peter England and add some spark to the brand, unlike its sober image,” says Sharma. “To portray the variety that Peter England has today, we shot separate pictures of the guy in various formals and casuals.”

Meanwhile, Peter England has become a complete apparel brand from just a mere shirt brand; now, the company has around 25 retail outlets all over India.

Satyajeet claims that the commercial has brought the brand great success. He says, “We have got phenomenal response in terms of foot-falls in our showrooms. Youngsters are associating themselves with our brand. Our research shows that the ad has been taken seriously.”

But when the brand was ready to don a new look, did it think of using a celebrity? “Using a celebrity would have contradicted the brand’s message. Peter England stands for the common man.”

“Our brand is the ambassador,” Satyajeet quips. Now that was quite honest.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!