<FONT COLOR="#FF0033"><B>Emvies 2006:</B></FONT> How chorus singing sessions helped build brand recall

The fact that TVC jingles are aired on radio as ad spots has been a matter of debate for as long as one can remember. One has always questioned whether it is a good practice to aid recall this way, or just someone being lazy and not feeling the need to think up an independent radio spot.

Well, in 2005, toothpaste brand Pepsodent tried the middle route. It used the TVC jingle on radio… and yet, it didn’t.

Over the years, Pepsodent had built its reputation as a trusted mother’s friend. A mother is constantly insecure about her child eating anything and everything, which leads to all sorts of tooth problems. That is where Pepsodent steps in, as the perfect answer to a mother’s insecurity.

Pepsodent’s communication in 2005 aimed to increase its consumption by highlighting the importance of brushing one’s teeth at night. The TVC featured mothers praying to God, in the form of a chorus ‘aarti’ (sung to the tune of Lord Ganesha’s ‘aarti’, ‘Jai Dev, Jai Dev’), about how their children eat all sorts of food and do not brush their teeth at night. The TVC concluded by saying that God had now answered the prayers of the mothers, as 12 lakh children now brush their teeth at night with Pepsodent.

The challenge before MindShare, which handles Pepsodent, was to leverage the familiarity of the tune on radio. The strategy? It was time to create some more allies for a mother and Pepsodent.

Key groups of society – such as parents, teachers and even ‘dabbawalas’ (tiffin suppliers) – were invited by several radio stations, including Red FM (in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai) and Radio One (earlier GO 92.5FM), to sing the jingle in a live chorus on the radio station, in a plea to children to brush their teeth at night.

The groups were made to rehearse the jingle in their homes and, on a particular day, they were made to sing it live on air. In fact, the plan went a step further and mothers and fathers were invited as a part of a contest to pen their own lyrics to the jingle tune and the ones with the best or most funny lyrics were made to sing the ‘aarti’ on air. Even kids sang their versions of the jingle on air.

In addition, GO 92.5FM’s popular show, ‘The Midday Show’, made the jingle its signature tune, asking people to watch the show, by singing it in a similar fashion.

As a result, the brand was recalled quite strongly and the MindShare team got to display how a TVC jingle can be used innovatively.

This work has been entered in the Best Media Innovation—Radio category for the Emvies 2006.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!