“…the soul is immortal and will return in a new garb, with a new mask and a new persona.” This is the essence of one’s belief in immortality, a belief that the form can be destroyed but not the soul.
But this is not a religious sermon, nor am I seeking employment with a popular TV channel educating viewers on the profound connotations and philosophy of life’s unfathomable truths. It is simply a surmise of the creed that some marketeers swear by. Like John Travolta taking on the garb of Nicholas Cage in Face Off; like Mr Bachchan taking on the form of the criminal serial killer in Aks; like Erik in The Phantom of the Opera and Jim Carrey in The Mask — the characters keep donning new masques. However, in all the stated examples the personas are transient and interchangeable. In a brand, however the marketeer is the creator as well as the destroyer. He creates and nurtures a brand from its inception and yet if need be he plays God and lets the brand die in order for a new avatar to emerge.
A classic case but not oft known or remembered is the turnaround of the 1920’s — “Mild as May” — Marlboro a mild cigarette promoted by a weak (for this product) endorser: William Shakespeare and then, Voila! a role reversal into a rugged and macho Texan cowboy — the “Marlboro Man.”
Cases of transformation abound — from the Cadbury story, where chocolates are no longer about kids, but for the “kid in you”; from the super efficient Lalitaji who nonchalantly informed you Surf ki kharidari me hi samajdhari he to the New Age Surf-using mom, letting her kids have an exuberant time, doing what made them happy as she fondly observed Daag ache hain. Then there is a younger and trendier Liberty shoes rejoicing in celebration as it asks you to “express’’ yourself. Even the synthetic mosquito repellent Good Knight is becoming a caring protector for the family and is slowly moving to “Good Knight Naturals”.
Then there are makeovers where the brand ages or, as it happens in most cases, becomes younger or takes on different traits. There is the Peter Pan-Pepsi, which stays eternally young with SRK and then MS Dhoni and now Ranbir Kapoor. Raymond is the ‘Complete Man’. However once upon a time, the Man was tough and masculine before he became more caring. There is Britannia which changed its mindset: “Eat Healthy, Think Better’’ and Canara Bank, which warmly informs you that in order to deliver better Hum bhi badal rahe hain, apno ke liye by using the latest in technological innovation.
The Sunsilk girl is bolder and more beautiful as she takes the advice of international hair experts. The larger than life Hercules, the Do the Dew dudes have become more human, they tell you Darr sab ko lagta hai… par darr ke aagey jeet hai.
Star Plus goes and paints the colours (pun intended) a stark bold and definitive red. The new protagonist of the Star soaps is more matter of fact, more contemporary and stands tall with her head held high to question the old and malfunctioning threads of a bygone society. She looks you straight in the eye and emphatically says Rishta wahi, soch nai.
The latest and the most visible transformation that we have seen this September is that of the Blackberry boys. The make up artistes being Vodafone and Blackberry together. They are no longer only the formal and staid, and oh so boring office boys, they are younger and more dapper, they croon and jive, chat and message, surf and mail. THEY are the new Blackberry boys. The jingle and the message, is catchy and bang on target. Given the controversy that the company is encountering as a formal communication device, going casual, makes sense; and added to that is the eternal need of the younger user to stay in touch with his compatriots. So killing two birds with one stone makes good marketing sense for Blackberry. At the same time the bandwagon effect of riding along with the younger lot works for Vodafone as well.
However, a note of caution here, refurbishing and revamping makes sense when the brand has carefully and meticulously mapped and matched the evolved and changed user. A make over because the world is changing might not work sometimes. Dettol is all about safety and protection, it cannot become a symbol of beauty just as Lux is the soap used by the apsaras of Bollywood and cannot be used by the heros.
Evolution and constancy are the laws of the strange jungle we live in and we thank the Lord for the constancy of the Utterly Butterly Amul Girl and rejoice in the birth of the new Blackberry boys. The King is dead. Long live the King…
The writer is professor, marketing, International Management Institute,
New Delhi