Mentos tweaks packaging in its latest campaign

Perfetti Van Melle India (PVMI) owned candy brand, Mentos has rolled out its latest campaign titled 'CompliMentos'. The campaign is in promotion of the brand's limited edition candy range that sports compliments for consumers on the packaging. A part of the global brand proposition, 'Who says no to Mentos?’, the campaign will be active in India in the months of November and December.

The brand has chosen a series of one liners as compliments, pre-printed on the limited edition Mentos rolls. Some of these ‘CompliMentos', subtle puns, include — 'You and I are Mint to be', 'You are the sweetest part of my heart', 'You fill me with excite-Mint', among others. Aiming to spark conversations amongst consumers, the campaign tells the consumers to share a 'complimentos'. Intriguingly, the brand also offers a chance to personalise these messages on the packages. Consumers can go to the Mentos website and request one liners they want to see on their custom Mentos package.

Tweaking the packaging and manipulating it in a bid to engage consumers has been on the rise lately. Not so long ago, we saw Lay's roll out their #SmileDekeDekho campaign that featured influencer faces on the chips’ packaging.

Typically, Mentos campaigns are decorated with humour and wittiness. Consumers have come to recognise the brand for its comic 'Dimaag ki batti' or 'Mentos Life' campaigns that depicted ordinary life versus Mentos-powered high IQ life.

However, the CompliMentos campaign is promoted through a global ad film that features a foreign setting and cast. The campaign aims to spark conversations within consumers through light-hearted compliments, as depicted in the film.

We spoke to Rohit Kapoor, head of marketing, Perfetti Van Melle, India about the campaign.

Commenting on the conception of the idea of 'CompliMentos', he says, “In 2017, the Mentos brand moved to the global positioning of ‘Who Says No to Mentos?’ with the brand playing the role of being a conversation starter… Hence the idea of CompliMentos comes from the brand being a conversation starter. The CompliMentos campaign builds on the insight that sharing compliments is a great way to connect on a one-on-one level.”

Pointing out the TG for the campaign, Kapoor mentions, “The TG for the campaign is the same as our product core TG, which is audiences in the age group of 18 to 24 years. Gen Z and millennials are definitely a large part of the target ambit. However, the proposition is making its way into the hearts of audiences beyond the core TG.”

But why go with a global ad film instead of a revised Indian edition as Mentos has done for various other campaigns in the past, we wondered. Kapoor responds, “The CompliMentos campaign is designed for audiences across the globe, irrespective of geographic boundaries. Therefore, it was only natural for us to introduce this campaign in India.”

Kartik Smetacek, executive creative director, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, suggests that confectionery brands need to constantly find ways to engage their customers. On the subject of the campaign, he says, “It is different from the usual freshness or flavour pitch, so it could get noticed and engage customers more deeply.” Pointing out the campaign's resemblance with another campaign, he adds, “This reminds me a bit of Coca-Cola’s 'Share a Coke' campaign, which also used words on the bottle as a device to get people to connect.”

Commenting on the brand's choice of running an international ad film for the campaign, Smetacek opines, “It would have been better to customise the communication for India, especially in this case where the messages could have been made colloquial. I'd imagine the TG for a brand such as Mentos is collegians, so something cheekier and more fun like the earlier Mentos ads would have worked better.” Regarding the campaign's facet of letting customers personalise the packaging, Smetacek suggests that it is a great way to connect with the audience. “...it gives them a reason to buy the brand beyond just flavours, which is smart marketing,” he says. What could be the challenges in doing so, we asked. Smetacek answers, “The challenge of course is ensuring people genuinely engage with it. Often activities like this run into the biggest obstacle of all, customer lethargy. Which means they don't translate to actual sales.”

Navin Kansal, chief creative officer, 21N78E Creative Labs, who has worked with the brand in the past, suggests that the campaign is not just about consumer participation, it is also about amplifying consumption. “The participation in this case is not just to energise social media assets, it's a means to an end, which is to increase opportunities for consumption via gifting. When consumers can own it in a way that's not just personalised but can make the recipient feel good, why not?”

Speaking on the ad film and its international make up, Kansal reckons, “I have always looked forward to a new take of Aam Zindagi versus Mentos Zindagi… I would have definitely liked to see an Indian take on 'CompliMentos' and given that we tend to be people who love to put others on a pedestal as much as we don't balk in bringing them down, maybe there was something there. But from a TG perspective they are looking at Gen Z or maybe the younger lot of millennials who may not be so fussed about nationality as long as it’s an activity they would like to indulge in.”