It is not just students who are sweating it out during exam time but also FMCG brands. Keeping the upcoming examination season in mind — the biggest worry of young adults at the moment — brands and marketers are targeting stressed out students.
So from memory pills to ready-to-drink beverages and even handwash makers, all are targeting students in a bid to increase their brand equity, and using the all-pervading fear of exams to push their products.
Horlicks' high-decibel media blitzkrieg, ‘are you exam ready' has found many takers. Dabur and Himalaya are also hopping onto the examination bandwagon. The Reckitt-owned Dettol hand wash advertisement even came up for scrutiny for its alleged misleading claims.
“The changing season is typically when we see a surge in illnesses. Incidentally, this also coincides with the time when a lot of students are either writing exams or preparing for them. So, we have launched a campaign which talks about how just two spoons of Dabur Chyawanprash every day can boost your immunity, make it three times stronger and help keep illnesses away,” said Mr Rajeev John, Dabur India's marketing head for health supplements.
Under the CBSE board alone, 11 lakh students will be appearing for exams starting next month.
Mr Puneet Das, General Manager, Horlicks, GlaxoSmithkline said, “We always look for opportunities to engage with children. During exams children often tend to skip their meals and this affects their performance in a big way but they don't realise it. The main objective of Horlicks Mission Exams is to enable children strike a good balance between mind and body. So, we empower the students with exam tips, nutrition advice and confidence building techniques, and also guide the teachers and the parents on how to be better mentors during this time.” But the marketers' high-pitched campaigns have met with some censure. Last week, BJP MP, Mr Tarun Vijay, approached the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) complaining against Dettol. He said the advertisement, extolling the virtues of getting 100 per cent marks, would put additional stress on students to prove they are good.
Increasingly, FMCG firms are finding themselves in the firing line on their advertising claims. Last fortnight, there were reports that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had pulled up makers of multigrain noodles, including Maggi and Top Ramen, digestive biscuits and beverage makers like Horlicks and Bournvita asking them to justify their health claims in their ads.
Mr Safir Anand of IP law firm, Anand & Anand, who also advises companies on ad appropriateness said, “Law allows you to puff up your brands. Companies are allowed to do it and it is legally accepted. However, you are not allowed to make misleading claims which can be proved to be statistically incorrect.”
Misleading ads
ASCI too notes that the complaints on misleading advertisements have been increasing. ASCI Secretary-General, Mr Alan Collaco, said, “Previously we used to receive about 150 complaints against 125 companies. Last year, there was huge surge in complaints where we got 777 complaints against 192 advertisements. This year also the trend looks similar.”
