Bringing out the inner child

The new commercial for Creamfills Alpenliebe plays up the product differentiator -its cream filling-in a fun way by bringing out the inner child in all of us

Perfetti Van Melle India, which has a near 25 per cent share in the organised confectionary market in India, has launched a new brand campaign for its flagship product, Creamfills Alpenliebe. Since, its launch in the Indian market in December 1995, the product has been promoted with light-hearted and humour-laced brand campaigns. The current campaign takes forward that tradition.

The new campaign focuses on the mischievous and fun-seeking side of kids and adults, which is brought alive in the 'Naagin' television commercial. The ad stays true to the core idea that Alpenliebe is a brand that brings out the child in everyone. The film builds on the insight that most of us have some hidden talent, some aspect of personality that is not known to the world at large.

According to Mandar Keskar, category head, marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India, research indicated that consumers really appreciated the rich, creamy filling in the product. "Given this, our plan was to play up this key product attribute. One option was to develop a product demonstration film. But we thought that in an increasingly cluttered environment, it was critical to develop content that not only stood out but was also relatable."

The new campaign has two children and a grandfather as the central characters. The TVC shows one of them asking the other why his grandfather was always so serious? The boy gave his friend an amused look and went on to establish that far from being serious, his dadaji was actually a fun person. As he makes a sound that resembles the notes of a snake-charmer's flute, his dadaji breaks into a dance. The dance routine resembles one that we have seen in umpteen Hindi movies that centre on naags and naagins (snakes). Meanwhile, dadaji climbs onto the stage and continues with his gig in front of the huge gathering. The boy explains to his friend that a naagin resides in his dadaji, which purportedly comes out when he hears his favourite tune, just like the rich creamy filling in Creamfills Alpenliebe, which comes out when you pop one candy into your mouth.

The campaign has been conceptualised and executed by McCann at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore. The media mix for the campaign includes TV and digital. Out of the total budget, digital will account for about 10 per cent of the spends.

Talking about the use of humour in the film, Kapil Batra, executive creative director, McCann, says, "Consumer research has indicated that the rich, creamy filling has been greatly appreciated by consumers. It has also differentiated Creamfills distinctly from competition." He adds, "So the core idea of the film resides in the fact that we all have another personality hidden within ourselves. This unseen side is usually quirky in nature and humour is the best way to bring out that side of one's personality."

The new brand campaign launched by Perfetti Van Melle India aims to establish Creamfills Alpenliebe as an undisputed category leader in the confectionary market.

Given that there is little leeway in terms of fighting on price, what are the key attributes that differentiates the brand in a low-involvement category? Keskar, says, "The two major differentiators for any product are innovation and brand strength. PVM is known for bringing innovation to the market and many of our products were completely unique when they hit the market. The second is brand strength which is built over time by consistency of message, raising the bar for creative standards continuously by collaborating with all our creative partners."