The Hindu Business Line : `Breakthrough' ad helps Lowe bag HLL award

BREAKING a norm, that was probably what did it for Lowe, which won the Gold at the HLL Brand Communications Awards recently for its Surf Excel `Water' campaign. The ad showed how the detergent actually saved two buckets of water for the user.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Pranesh Misra, President and Chief Operating Officer of Lowe, said that the prospect of saving water in a water-intensive activity such as washing clothes struck a chord in the consumers' minds. "The water-saving aspect was the breakthrough," he said, adding that water was not usually the focus in detergent advertising. Consumers also appreciated the product technology, which led to valuable savings of a different kind.

Generally, Indian consumers perceive rich lather as a sign of good cleaning but the ad managed to attract attention despite the fact that lesser water produced lesser foam, Mr Misra said, adding that a disadvantage was turned into a positive aspect with the water-saving aspect brought to the fore.

The annual award from HLL goes to the campaign that delivers outstanding business results. This is the fourth consecutive year that Lowe has won this award. The other agencies in the running were JWT and O&M.

Mr Misra attributed the agency's success this quarter to its focus on identifying what works in the marketplace. This factor is given much weightage in the judging process, he said. Earlier, Lowe won the Gold for its advertisements for Fair & Lovely (the airhostess and cricket commentator TVCs), Pepsodent (the dishoom dishoom ad) and Lifebuoy (the TVC in which it is repositioned as a family soap).

The Surf Excel campaign was rolled out in the second half of 2004 in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, featuring actor Revathi. "It created history by posting a strong and sustained double-digit volume growth in an otherwise gloomy category," said a press release. This ad resulted in high sales volume growth in both the States. Based on the success achieved over an eight-month period in these two States, the advertisement featuring actor and activist Shabana Azmi was extended across the country in May this year.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Singapore Tourism Board bid to draw more film-makers

Ifra meet to focus on improving ad revenue

`Breakthrough' ad helps Lowe bag HLL award

Titan expected to clock advertising spend of Rs 100 cr

IA launches `Easy Fares' scheme

Walt Disney launches promos to woo kids

Reliance WebWorld launches 3-week `Digital Olympiad'

For Reliance, entertainment means serious business — Post-Adlabs takeover plans DTH, radio foray

M&M rolls out new pick-up vehicle

Jabra Bluetooth handsets launched