Monday evening 8.45 p.m. I drearily brave the thundering and copious rain to trudge up to my parents’ house, to pick up my daughter who stays with them post school. My mom opens the door and her face lights up as she sees me. She hands me my well-fed girl, dinner packed for my husband and shoves a glass of cold coffee into my hands: “Have it as you drive back, and call me once you reach home.” And do I hug and thank her? No, I cuddle my baby and ask her, “You want to share mama’s coffee?” My Nani (maternal grandmother) calls from inside to my mom, Shashi andar aa jaa, bheeg jayagi, thand lag jayegi. You think this is unnatural? No again, this is the circle of life, from one mother to another and another…
I am sure you are scratching your head by now and wondering if it’s Mother’s Day or if I’ve gone looney! Well, the answer is neither. The other day I saw an advertisement telling me about 100 years of the language of love. In September 2010, the company that has become synonymous with a Mother’s love celebrates the birthday of its 100-year-old baby. And looking at the steadfast journey starting from belladonna plaster to child care and making its mark in 173 countries, I realised that though clichéd, the truth in this case was that the hand that rocked the Johnson & Johnson cradle was the one that ruled the world of baby products.
Across countries the language might be different but the creatives and the visuals have always focused on the eternal and loving bond between mother and child. The tender care of Johnson’s baby soap and powder, the special champi of Johnson’s baby oil with avocado and the nourishing milk lotion, all share a common aura of kilkariyan and sharatein; loriyan and luka chuppi. In this case the tender cocoon of safety and nurturance the message appeal conveys is natural and integral to the product range.
There are products and brands that are woven naturally into the typical ritual of a universal mother, thus the communication emphasises maternal care. So whether it is the Kootchie koo of Huggies or Pampers care (when the cherubic young one is dancing with his favourite dance partner) or Mamy Poko pants, all these are symbolised as innate aids to the young mother. The caring mother rubs Vicks Vapourub tenderly on her child’s chest to give him that special touch. She is the Complan mummy who takes care of her growing children with the complete planned food fortified with 23 nutrients. And if need be, she indulges them in ‘Two Minutes’ with delicious Maggi. She lets her young son enjoy himself to the fullest by bashing up the muddy puddle that messed up his sister’s dress; and then roll in the mud like a young puppy dog for his favourite teacher. Levers struck a bull’s eye with both Surf — Kyoki daag ache hain and Pyara Pears when they respectively, assisted and saluted the mother.
Then there are the other group of messages which also display motherly affection and care. However, they do not have a direct or indirect connection with anything maternal. The simile between a mother’s caring and the brand’s caring was exhibited when one of the most respected but synthetic brands in the world unfolded a picturesque family setting with the homemade Meri maa ke paranthe and the drink that goes best with it — Coca Cola. The latest brand that built its recent campaign on the motherly assurance of safety and care is Toyota, with its print and TV campaign delivering the Q promise. Whether or not it will create the desired bond remains to be seen.
So does motherly nurturance and the promise of unselfish and secure caring work? Well, the answer is not so straight forward. The customer is more demanding and because of a proliferation of brands, is spoilt for choice. As a result, today every brand is competing with the other by providing better customer care and no matter what is the brand, the ultimate benchmark is and always will be the unspoken, understated and yet the most comprehensive care in the world — the sanctuary provided by a munificent mother. Thus, the message appeal should be cautiously and carefully used by organisations which have the zeal, the capability and support service mechanism to deliver the promised Q care, else it might well boomerang on them.
Yet if you get it right, the strongest bond like the one between every mother and her bonny baby, stays eternal like the whiff of the Johnson fragrance and the timelessness of Maa ka pyaar…
The writer is professor,marketing, at IMI Delhi