Limca: Water, water everywhere

Summer is here and so are the adverts for soft drinks. In a commercial for Limca, O&M has used an international locale to add to the aspirational freshness brand premise

There was a point in the history of Bollywood, not too long ago, when shooting at international locales was considered a sure-fire way of attracting viewers to movie halls. Well, the ad industry isn’t far behind on that presumption, as is proven by the latest Limca TVC, shot completely in picturesque Cape Town in South Africa, to add to the aspirational element.

“As far as I can remember, we haven’t shot a Limca ad internationally, and certainly nowhere near this scale,” says Debabrata Mukherjee, director, marketing, flavours and media, Coca-Cola India. He explains that this was done to give the brand a contemporary, vibrant, colourful, postcard-like feel.

In 2006, Limca got itself a new brand ambassador in actor Riya Sen (she was preceded by model Deepika Padukone). That ad had college kids passing the drink to each other and experiencing the freshness before it finally landed in Sen’s hands.

Riya Sen in the new Limca ad

Limca’s rendition of its freshness premise this year captures five friends in a retro convertible as they drive along and drink Limca. As soon as Riya Sen takes the first sip of Limca, they get transported to a water-world of sorts. Whatever they touch or pass leaps out at them in a burst of freshness. Showers burst out of street lamps and graffiti covered walls melt to gush water. At the end of the ad, all the friends spontaneously fall backwards onto what they think is lush green grass, but it turns out to be crystal clear water. A pack shot and super (‘Fresh Ho Jao’) complete the ad.

Conceptualised by Titus Upputuru, creative director, O&M, the film has been shot by filmmaker Ravi Udyawar over three days; Vishal Shekhar have composed the ‘Boondon Mein’ background track (the same track as last year, but jazzed up to make it more contemporary). It is learnt through sources in the know that the film’s production budget was about Rs 70 lakh.

Commenting on the creative idea, Upputuru of O&M says, “While Limca is known for its freshness positioning, our job was to add a new dimension to it by making it more energetic and buoyant.” This was done with the use of a simple idea, bringing water into situations and places where it ought not to be. “In a sense, Limca as a brand creates water-like freshness; no matter where a person consumes it, he experiences rejuvenation in his surroundings,” Upputuru adds.

According to a beverage industry expert, the soft drink pie in India is around Rs 6,000 crore (320 million unit cases). The cloudy lemon segment, in which Limca falls, constitutes Rs 800 crore (40 million unit cases).

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