Cadbury's advertising has always been incredibly powerful: CMO KFC India

Which is your favourite campaign and why?
 
Cadbury’s advertising has always been incredibly powerful, with the campaigns “Asli swaad zindagi ka” and “Kuchh meetha ho jaaye” examples of standout advertising backed by powerful cultural insights.
 
On what parameters did you base your decision?
 
Beyond the surface level rational takeaways, I look for how it makes me feel – and the Cadbury’s work connected with me emotionally and culturally as an Indian.
 
What do you think was the key idea the campaign was trying to drive home?
 
In my understanding, both campaigns sought to drive a fundamental re-evaluation (in te­rms of associations and usage) related to the chocolate category and the Cadbury’s the brand; and succeeded famously.
 
What are the key takeaways for you from the campaign?
 
The first campaign is etched in the minds of many Indians —the powerful image of the girl dancing into the cricket ground in absolute unabashed glee and I am guessing appeals to the child in all of us. “Meetha” of course took chocolate into the everyday life through some beautiful occasion-based storytelling. While the category of chocolate isn’t very similar to quick service restaurants, the Cadbury’s campaigns are best in class examples of using cultu­ral relevance as a backbone to building your category and brand.

Moksh Chopra, KFC India

 
Cadbury’s Dairy Milk ads have won many awards. Do you think ad awards are important? What purpose do they really serve?
 
Everybody is inspired by recognition, especially if it comes from a credible source. Credible forums, chaired by ex­perienced industry experts, can help provi­de direction and be motivating bo­th to the agencies and the bra­nd teams. If I remember correctly, the “Asli swaad zindagi ka” campaign went onto win “The Campaign Of The Century” at one of the most recognised forums. Having said that, awards aren’t really a substitute for marketing and business results.
 
So what is more important — an ad’s creativity or effectiveness?
 
I would say a good creative, ba­cked by strong cultural in­sights, is more likely to be effective, than not. Creativity, by it­self, certainly helps break the clutter and build a distinct recall for the brand, in an otherwise over-exposed advertising space — but that’s not the end goal. The impact of the advertisement is just as important: Has it stirred your emotions or brought a smile to your face? And has it moved you closer to the brand? The end result could be an increase in sales or revenue, or an increase in brand salience.
 
Sometimes because of the emotional element in a campaign, there is greater recall for the story than the product or service advertised. Do you feel that was the case with this campaign?
 
That risk is very real. In this case though, the product was we­av­ed seamlessly into the story and the campaign taglines as well as creative style carried forward across multiple creatives — which made it unmistakably Cadbury’s. The answer, I suppose, lies in the product role and the campaign consistency.
 
Do you remember any name who worked on the campaign?
 
I do recall a team of Ogilvy stalwarts were behind this campaign – from the legend Piyush Pandey, Madhukar Sabnavis, Hepzibah Pathak.
 
What else could have been done to make the campaign better?
 
No suggestions, really. I loved the work and enjoyed it, both as a marketer and an Indian consumer.