Devina Joshi
Advertising

Harry Potter raises Bournvita’s cool quotient

An ad for Bournvita created by O&M aims to highlight the brand’s association with the value of ‘confidence’ in the backdrop of a Hogwarts-like academy

It’s every kid’s dream to go to a school similar to the one to which his favourite fiction character, Harry Potter, goes, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In fact, much has been said and written on how ‘cool’ it would be for kids to be a part of Harry Potter’s magical world.

Taking off from that, Digonta Bordoloi, Abhijit Avasthi and Manoj Shetty of O&M recently created a film for children’s health drink brand Bournvita. The film aims to bring out the ‘cool and confident’ positioning of the brand in the backdrop of a Bournvita Confidence Champions Academy, which looks suspiciously similar to Hogwarts.

O&M says the association was necessary. For as long as one can remember, Bournvita has been positioned on the ‘Tan ki Shakti, Man ki Shakti’ (Strong Body, Strong Mind) platform, while its competitors – Boost, for example – relied on cricketers to do the trick. According to Manoj Shetty, associate creative director, O&M, Mumbai, “While children think cricketers and film stars are cool, Bournvita needed to own a more tangible value in order to be regarded as a cool and happening drink.”

Thus emerged the need for the brand to go a step further. In 2003, Bournvita was revamped and positioned on the premise, ‘Bournvita Provides the Tan ki Shakti and Man ki Shakti which Makes Kids Confident’. The brand also associated itself with a quiz contest for children, the ‘Cadbury Bournvita Quiz Contest’, which took on the avatar of the ‘Cadbury Bournvita Confidence Champion’ show in the first half of 2006. This show encourages kids with proven skills in various physical and mental fields.

Following the launch of the show, O&M was faced with the job of bringing out the high confidence levels among Bournvita consumers in a cool and interesting way. “So, we thought, why not showcase these real-life champions from the show?” explains Shetty of O&M. The Hogwarts-like feel in the film is O&M’s answer to competing brands. “While the competition hires celebs to add to the cool quotient, it was rather difficult for us to make kids associate with the other kids in the ad and still make it look cool. Giving our film a Harry Potter-like feel is likely to make Bournvita cool and aspirational for modern-day children,” says Shetty.

The film opens on a shot of the Bournvita Confidence Champions Academy. The story unfolds in the backdrop of kids in a playground. A boy sips his Bournvita drink while he plays chess with his friend. Before he knows it, a girl on skates (Super: ‘Manasi Limaye, Skating Champion’) swings by and grabs the Bournvita sipper from him. Just as she is about to take a swig, the sipper gets taken out of her hands ‘magically’, only to land up with another boy dressed in a magician’s robes (Super: ‘Karun Krishna, Youngest Magician’).

Just as the magician is going to enjoy his drink, a boy riding a horse snatches the sipper from his hands (Super: ‘Nitin Bawa, Riding Champion’). His sip is interrupted by a young paraglider (Super: ‘Siddharth D, Paraglider’). But while trying to sip mid-air, the paraglider drops the sipper and it lands coincidentally at the same place where it had been originally: the chess player’s desk. The bewildered chess player looks at his opponent in surprise, as if he hadn’t noticed the sipper’s disappearance in the first place (Super: ‘Prachura P, Chess Champion’). A voiceover concludes: “Confidence Champions ko Chahiye Tan aur Man ki Shakti, Jo Bournvita se Milti Hai. Ab Naye Pack Mein (Confidence Champions need Strong Bodies and Strong Minds, Which Come from Bournvita. Now in a New Pack).” The five champs sign off, “Kya Tum Mein Hai Bournvita Confidence (Do You Have the Bournvita Confidence)?”

Says Sanjay Purohit, director, sales and marketing, Cadbury India, “This film was launched with the clear objective of strengthening Bournvita’s proposition in a modern and contemporary way to appeal to today’s kids, who have moved up to become decision makers in the purchase of health drinks. It also announces the launch of the new pack.”

Each of the five children in the ad is a real achiever in his/her respective field. O&M did its homework to find out with what parents and children associate confidence. It was discovered that children who are achievers in extra-curricular activities are perceived to be the epitome of confidence.

Purohit adds that kids today aspire to have skills in more than one field. “It is not enough to just be good at academics or sports,” he asserts. “This has been confirmed by mothers who believe that their kids must have multiple skills in both the mental and physical arenas to succeed today.” So, real achievers in fields other than only academics became the heroes for this commercial.

The film was shot in Kuala Lumpur by Farouk Aljoffrey of Planet Films over three days. An international location was chosen to add to the trendy feel that the brand is now trying to create around itself.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!

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