It was February 14. But here was someone in the mood to make war, not love. Foods major Nestle had come out with a befitting reply to an ad released earlier by its competitor, Cadbury India.
After years of witnessing colas, detergents and toothpastes fight tooth and nail over who’s fizzier, makes clothes cleaner, or teeth shinier, the latest round of ad wars was far yummier.
Earlier this month, Cadbury released its tongue-in-cheek ad for the wafer-chocolate Perk. It attacked arch-rival Nestle’s Munch through a classic Bollywood-style story in which a runaway son leaves behind a note accusing his father of favouring his brother by giving him a better chocolate. Made by Ogilvy Mumbai, the ad focused on the fact that Perk is heavier with an additional layer of wafer, and ridiculed Munch for being a lighter chocolate.
Monu complains that Sonu’s Perk had four wafers and was 5.5 gm heavier than the chocolate he was given, in a sly reference to Munch. Cadbury ends the ad by announcing its newly launched twin-bar Cadbury Perk Glucose with its “extra wafer, extra chocolate, extra pyaar”.
But soon it was in for a surprise. Within a week, Nestle’s agency JWT Delhi hit back with #MunchKaPunch, a spoof of the Perk ad, which was uploaded on YouTube and promoted across all social media networks. It showed a distressed father reading a letter from the other brother, Sonu. His brother Monu was loved more, complains Sonu, because he was given Munch, the tastier and crunchier chocolate. In a dig at the Perk ad, Sonu says chocolates are eaten for their taste and not weight, and that he would use the heavier chocolate as a paperweight.
While Nestle India, JWT Delhi and Cadbury India declined to comment, brand experts have described the ad war as smart marketing by Nestle. Says Jagdeep Kapoor, Chairman and MD, Samsika Marketing, “Nestle was able to attack strongly, protect its brand and catch the attention of consumers; and the ad war will ultimately help grow the category.”
And true to its nature, the social media was abuzz with the latest ad war playing out across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other networks. Referring to the fast-changing dynamics in the social network era, Kapoor adds that brands and advertising agencies need to be agile, respond quickly and communicate frequently.
Harminder Sahni, MD, Wazir Advisors agrees, “The chocolate category is competing with several segments — whether it’s candy or ice creams or snacks. This kind of an ad war has created a lot of excitement for the category and got the youth talking, which means the category will benefit.”
While some believe that for Nestle, reacting to the Cadbury attack was key, as Munch has remained a flanking brand protecting KitKat, others felt that Munch has a life of its own, catering to a different consumer profile.
The Indian chocolate market’s size is pegged at an estimated ₹5,000 crore, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20-25 per cent. At a time when almost all chocolate makers including Nestle, Cadbury and Mars are looking at premium offerings, this ad war has certainly put the buzz back into the entry-level chocolate wafer segment.
The chocolate war predictably gave Twitterati much to chew on. #Munchkapunch began trending, and one user remarked, “Lighter Munch gave a heavy punch. Perked up to see the chocolate wafer ad war”, while another declared, “punchy comeback from Munch.”
And in keeping with the Bollywood mood, is it ‘The End’ for the Sonu-Monu tearjerker, or picture abhi baaki hai ?