Know Thy Breaks
Posts tagged Parle products
Frooti & Its Fans Going Gaga Over Gags
Apr 27th
Tag line: Juicy Mango Surprise
Client: Parle Agro Pvt Ltd.
Creative Agency: Creativeland Asia
Creative Director: Sajan Raj Kurup
Director: Prakash Varma
Production house: Nirvana Films
Duration: 50secs
Year: 2010
Story: From its rhythmic ‘Mango Frooti, Fresh and Juicy’ days to the current attitude-loaded ‘Why grow up’, the brand has come a long way. This time the brand experimented by catching regular passers-by on camera by dropping a gigantic mango on them and capturing their reactions. Seems it has started off with trying to think of the various ways in which the brand could own the word ‘mango’.
Idea & Execution: We’ve seen campaigns featuring giant eyeballs, giant vegetables, giant noses and giant footballs. So at a concept level, a giant mango isn’t as new as, say, a talking mango or a mango that can do math. The creative idea, Juicy mango surprise, is admittedly fertile but doesn’t contain insight. The treatment, however, stays true to the ‘candid’ style. The casting is spot on. Everything looks realistic, including the giant mango. (****)
Freshness: The idea of candid camera for an ad is nice. But, frankly, 10 years ago this would have been fresh as an execution. Today one has seen too much of these kind of gags on Pogo & Chhupa Rustam type of shows. So why is everyone raving about its originality? Let’s enjoy and move on. The other problem here with candid camera is ‘canned’ laughter. Indians don’t like anything canned, be it food or emotions. In India, we’re used to hearing stories ‘visually’ & for us to truly enjoy the laughter, we need to see the source. (***)
Verdict: Does the ad do justice to the brand’s iconic stature? When it was launched, Frooti was insanely different from its competitors. And the communication was packed with almost as much ‘juice’ as a mango itself. It had music, lots of energy (in the characters as well as the camera movements) and highly appetizing mango shots. The current ad is an exercise in minimalism. The mood is laid-back, realistic sound in place of music and zero ‘appetite shots’. The earlier communication (ad) was like a spontaneous outburst, this looks like a guarded assault on the mind of the thirsty consumer. Our verdict is: More YouTube hits but there might be more misses than hits on the hearts of consumers.
Maybe Creativeland Asia should add a disclaimer to the advert: ‘No citizens were hurt in the making of these ads’ 
Toh Ab Obesity Gayi Teil Lene
Apr 13th
Tag line: You Will Need It
Client: Parle Products
Creative Agency: Thoughtshop
Creative Director: Vipin Dhyani
Music: Samiruddin
Director: Amit Sharma
Production House: Chrome Pictures
Duration: 60 secs
Year: 2009
There exists a gap with snacks which are ‘fun’ to eat and ‘healthy’ to eat. Today’s consumers are health conscious and most of the products available in the market are not healthy. People indulge into these because most of the ‘healthy snacks’ do not taste as good. Smart Chips, a part of the Parle Monaco’s brand expansion plans to provide foodies with an option of a healthy snack that satiates their taste buds too. It capitalized on the high recall value of the brand, Monaco.
This Monaco Smart Chips ad has Aamir Khan handing out over-sized T-shirts to some people. Stating that if you eat fried snacks, you will need them. The campaign uses humour to avoid sounding therapeutic and preachy.
This is probably one of the best health food ads made in India. After reels & reels of education on good cholesterol & bad cholesterol, saturated fat & unsaturated fat, wives concerned about husband’s food habits, & water droplets on oily abs, this one comes as a pleasant surprise. Thank God. Insights are great, but the ideas should be simple. Like this one. If you eat unhealthy, you might soon need to wear XL. That’s so simple & beautiful, isn’t it?
While the Smart Chips idea is great, maybe the choice of media is not. It would rather should be that they had done it as an on-ground activation. Have Aamir Khan drop by out of the blue to give T-shirts to people eating chips at various places. Just for one day. Thinking of logistics? Don’t. Think of the impact.
Talking of the endorser… well I thought it was Akshay Kumar or Saif. Jumping from building to building in a black outfit. Haven’t we seen it before? The opening sequence appears to be lifted from the Thums Up tvc… 
Shayad iss baat ka ‘Dhyani’ nahi diya? To my mind, the idea didn’t need such stunts… at no point, though, does he overshadow the brand in the commercial.
The fact that Monaco Smart Chips are baked and therefore healthier comes out loud and clear. The high energy levels in the ad also cue in some amount of healthiness. The commercial ends with a teenager munching on the Smart Chips to illustrate that the product is also appealing to a segment that tends to be more choosy.
Parle’s well-baked Hippo-crispy Spot
Apr 3rd
Tag line: Fight Hunger, Fight Evil
Creative agency: Creativeland Asia
Chief creative officer: Sajan Raj Kurup
Executive creative director: Vikram Gaikwad
Creative director: Anu Joseph
Production house: Equinox Films
Director: Ram Madhvani
Background: Till now, the brand’s marketing strategy has been focused on distribution & retail visibility. Having completed a nationwide rollout, Hippo has come up with its first television commercial that takes a fresh look at the role snacks can play in society. The TVC is seen through the hippo’s (brand mascot) view as he goes to every scene of crime, war or conflict, offering each of the involved parties some Hippo chips. Everybody happily obliges and takes a bite, and this is shown to resolve all issues. As the series continues, the voiceover goes on to say that the root cause of all evil in the world is hunger. “So please, don’t be hungry,” it appeals. The song ‘Pyaar baat te chalo’ (Keep spreading the love) which doubles up as the background music, plays a pivotal role in helping the TVC communicate its message. More >
