The right pitch

‘After the product was repositioned, it was clear that the brand would have to talk to the family’


The Hindustan Unilever Ltd television commercial for its soap brand Lifebuoy has been voted the best ad in Mint's monthly ad survey.Created by Lintas India Pvt. Ltd for the consumer products company, the ad features a neighbour complaining to the mother of a boy who had picked up a grubby puppy off the street. The mother, a doctor, however, says children should be encouraged to do the right thing-especially with Lifebuoy soap around to take care of the germs. Lintas’ executive creative director Amer Jaleel tells Mint the story behind the ad

What was the client’s brief?Lifebuoy is the only health soap that stands opposite to beauty soap brands. The focus was to underline the difference between the two.
The brand, which was positioned as an allmale brand a few years ago, has softened its stand. Will we see more changes in brand strategy in the days to come ?A few years ago, the brand communication which focused on health and hygiene, moved from talking just to men, to talking to the entire family.After the product was repositioned as a family health soap, it was clear that the communication would have to talk to the family.So, the germ story has evolved over the years, from an all-male campaign, to those featuring experts such as doctors, and the latest one-“Koi dar nahin!”-featuring a generation of young people that is not scared to change the world.Every six months, we launch a new commercial. Over the next year, each variant of the brand will have its own story to tell, and each story will be carried forward with a series of commercials, which will focus on its strengths.