Chupa Chups unveils new campaign for Valentine's Day, tweaks product

Perfetti Van Melle owned confectionery brand Chupa Chups has rolled out a new campaign titled 'Do You Love Me?' for its limited edition lollipop range. Launched around Valentine's Day, it aims to engage consumers with specially stamped lollipops.

The brand has unveiled a range of lollipops with emoticons and short messages like 'Love You', 'BFF', 'Heart Break', 'Yes', 'No' and a good old smiley, all stamped on the lollipop itself.

The limited edition products by Chupa Chups will be supported by a dedicated TVC to promote and build awareness around the lollipop range. The ad film showcases a college setting where a bunch of teenagers play a game of 'loves me, loves me not'.

This is not the first time we've seen a confectionery brand tweak its product to engage with their target audience. Recently, Nestle Polo launched a campaign titled 'It's Cool to be Single'. The campaign flaunted Polo rings that carried special messages like 'Solo Trip', 'Game On', et cetera. Global confectionery brand Mentos had launched a limited edition Mentos range called 'Complimentos'. And of course, Cadbury Silk's special edition 'Say it with Silk' chocolates with a heart shaped chocolate crafted for Valentine's Day.

Modifying or altering products solely for a campaign or a limited edition franchise is something relatively new. Typically, it is a common sight to see a confectionery brand make a few changes here and there on the packaging. But a change in the product could have an impact on consumption patterns.

We got in touch with Chupa Chups to get more details on the campaign and to understand what a confectionery brand like Perfetti aims for by tweaking their product. Rohit Kapoor, head marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India, says, “The key discussion point in the storyboard was how to dovetail a concept like romance into the “Forever Fun” positioning of Chupa Chups. The DYLM design is based on the popular game 'he / she loves me / loves me not' which is used to test whether the other person is interested.”

He adds, “As a brand, Chupa Chups has been contextualised in the space of fun and friendship. Hence, the brief was to be true to the concept of DYLM, but still let it play out on the canvas of friendship.”

The campaign promotes a special edition Chupa Chups lollipop range. We wondered if the products were restricted to Valentine's Day. Kapoor clarifies, “The campaign starts just before Valentine's Day but extends for a full month.” Pointing out the target group, he adds, “The TG for Chupa Chups is 11 to 18 year olds and hence the brand always speaks to tweens and teens. The need state of 'Forever Fun' is a universal human insight and extends across demographics. We expect this message to resonate everywhere.”

Commenting on the tweaks made in the product itself rather than in the packaging, Kapoor says, “Perfetti has always believed in innovation. On top of that, Chupa Chups believes that we make the most playable confectionery in the world, inspiring everyone to keep childhood fun alive. We realised that there is nothing that will bring alive the concept better than the product itself. We decided to emboss our lollipops with emoticons.”

What are the brand's expectations from the campaign, we asked. Kapoor answers, “This involved substantial changes at the back end. We are ready with the new offering and it will serve to increase brand equity and trials.”