Mumbai: Center fresh, Perfetti Van Melle India’s flagship gum and mints brand has launched its new “Aage Badh” campaign with Varun Dhawan as the brand ambassador. The campaign aims to inspire young people to adopt a forward-looking attitude and overcome everyday setbacks with a fresh perspective.
This collaboration between Center fresh and Varun Dhawan aims to engage and inspire audiences. Varun Dhawan showcases how Center fresh’s boost of freshness can positively impact one’s outlook on life. The campaign’s quirky storyline and uplifting message are designed to resonate with Gen Z audiences and make a lasting impression.
Perfetti Van Melle India MD Nikhil Sharma said, “With presence in close to three million outlets today, the Center fresh brand has retained its appeal to consumers over the years by being relevant and consistently refreshing its communication. We are thrilled to be partnering with Varun Dhawan for our current campaign. He delivers a sparkling performance in the TVC nicely conceived by Ogilvy and is born out of strong insight.”
Center fresh has always prioritised connecting with the younger generation, and our latest TVC with Varun Dhawan exemplifies our commitment to providing a fresh perspective and moving forward in life,” said Perfetti Van Melle India MD Gunjan Khetan. “Varun’s ability to connect with diverse audiences, particularly the youth, infuses Center fresh with a new energy that will resonate strongly with our fans.”
“I’m proud to be a part of the Center fresh family and their new campaign, Aage Badh,” said Varun Dhawan. “As someone who’s always on-the-go, I know how moving on from small, daily setbacks with a fresh perspective can really turn my day around – whether I’m on set, at a shoot, or just living life to the fullest. It always helps to just pop a center fresh and ‘Aage Badh’! This, for sure, is going to be my mantra going forward”
Commenting on the same, Ogilvy India creative director Anurag Agnihotri said, “Our message here is simple – Life’s challenges are just opportunities in disguise. Take a moment to pause, refresh, and reboot – then tackle them head-on with a clear mind and a positive attitude. Embrace the chance to grow, learn, and move forward. Simply Aage Badh Ja.”
The Aage Badh campaign, launched across television, digital, and social media platforms, is designed to resonate with young audiences who embrace the mantra of moving forward despite daily setbacks. Center fresh encourages today’s youth to stay positive, adapt to change, and live life to the fullest.
Mumbai: Chewing gum and mint brand Center Fresh has refreshed its core communication of ‘fresh breath confidence’ to something that’s more in sync with changing times. The brand has launched its latest TVC to showcase its new positioning – ‘Dil Ki Baat Zubaan Pe’.
Known for always having the youth at the center of its communication, the new TVC also sticks to the same approach and showcases the brand as an enabler of confidence to help speak your heart out.
The storyline of the new TVC showcases two young adults in a classroom where the female protagonist and her friend are trying to find the keys of her bike. The male protagonist happens to see it lying on the floor but is hesitant to speak out because of his feelings for her. At this moment, Center fresh gum consumption not only helps him gather the confidence to approach her with the missing keys but also asks her to spend the history class next to him in a truly unexpected & charming gesture. This sweet gesture helps the male lead get a positive acknowledgment from the girl apart from helping her get the keys back, and helps him say what he feels out loud – “Dil Ki Baat Zubaan Pe”.
Perfetti Van Melle India director-marketing Rohit Kapoor said, “Consumer love and adulation for the brand has helped it emerge from the challenges posed by the pandemic and reduced out-of-home consumption occasions of the last two years. Center Fresh has started the year with a strong sales performance and we felt it was only appropriate to go one step further on our positioning with a new tag-line and theme communication. This ad spot duly brings alive a new tagline “Dil ki Baat Zubaan Pe”
Conceptualised by Ogilvy India, the new TVC will be on-air across various TV channels, followed by amplification on key digital platforms and an Out Of Home (OOH) campaign in key cities across India, announced the brand.
Ogilvy India managing partner – creative (Mumbai) Anurag Agnihotri said, “How does a Gen-Z boy strike a conversation with a Gen-Z girl in a classroom where the session is about to start? How about, “Will you spend the History class with me?” That’s what the new Center Fresh TVC is all about, of course with a twist & deeply rooted in reality. Firmly connected to the youngest of us, giving them the confidence to say it as they feel it. In other words, staying true to the new tag-line, ‘Dil ki baat zubaan pe.’
Mumbai: Center fresh, the gum and mint brand from Perfetti Van Melle has announced its marquee collaboration with Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar’s Dharma 2.0 for a series of two digital films. The campaign collaboration has been facilitated by Wavemaker India, with support on the creative front from Ogilvy India.
As part of this collaboration, Center fresh and Dharma 2.0 will release two digital films that will explore the possibilities and nuances of fresh breath confidence but with the Dharma twist. The brand’s proposition of fresh breath confidence will be at the core of the digital films, while the storytelling will have a distinctive Bollywood treatment that’s contemporary, fresh and relatable, the brand said.
This collaboration was announced on social channels by Karan Johar with an engaging video, shot in his inimitable style conveying the seamless brand partnership.
The creative ideation of this premise is credited to Punit Malhotra & his team from Dharma 2.0. “Dharma 2.0 intends to bring the same level of aesthetic quality and signature professionalism of the movie production business, and holds a competitive edge over other established players in its space just like Center fresh stands out loud in the confectionery sector. This 25+ years old brand is a flawless match for Dharma 2.0,” said Punit Malhotra.
The first digital film titled “Parda” in the series stars Anjali Sivaraman with popular actor & dancer Shantanu Maheshwari in leading roles. In times when the faces of people are not fully visible due to mask-wearing protocols – how do you test the waters of attraction and initiate a conversation with someone you think you like. This relatable premise forms the crux of the film.
The storyline of this digital film revolves around the morning office-going ritual of two individuals with the female lead keen to break the ice and engage in a conversation with her fellow passenger in the lift.
Commenting on the partnership, Perfetti Van Melle India – director marketing Rohit Kapoor said, “Pushing the envelope on the creative front with fresh breath confidence at the core is part of Center fresh’s DNA. Over the last few years, we have been putting out digital content across key digital platforms to engage with our core consumers on a medium relevant for them. Our collaboration with Dharma 2.0. is to marry the magic of boy-girl first meetings with the world of Center fresh’s fresh breath confidence and thereby create something unique for our young consumers to enjoy and retain the ‘freshness’ the brand offers.”
The Center fresh X Dharma 2.0 collaboration will also be amplified through social media promotions and by Karan Johar himself. The second film under this collaboration is expected to be out early next year.
Speaking about the film, Johar said, “Both Dharma and the brand Center fresh are known for their youth-focused appeal and initiatives and this collaboration further solidifies these very sensibilities. My goal has been to add the extra oomph of the unexpected, to this modern-day rendition of the plot.”
“Center fresh with its fresh approach to creative communication has always associated with youth through its innovative campaigns. With this campaign, we have successfully established the connection of two young brands who share the same DNA and are poised to offer fresh content to the youth,” Wavemaker India chief content officer Karthik Nagarajan said.
MUMBAI: Center fresh 3 Layer Gum has partnered with Love Aaj Kal 2, one of Bollywood’s most awaited movies of 2020 to build and create a buzz about special connections on Valentine’s Day. Bollywood heartthrobs Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan will be seen in the special TVC shot for Center fresh 3 layer Gum in collaboration with the movie Love Aaj Kal 2.
Talking about this collaboration timed around Valentine’s Day, Perfetti Van Melle India director – marketing Rohit Kapoor said, “Center fresh as a brand enjoys immense love amongst consumers as it provides fresh breath confidence in key situations of proximity. Our 3 Layer Gum targets consumers who have an on-the-go lifestyle and require fresh breath for extended periods. We look out for activations that seamlessly connect with the brand proposition and resonates well with our target audience of young adults. Our collaboration with the upcoming movie Love Aaj Kal 2 is a step in this direction.“
The communication for this association builds on the benefit of 3 layer gum in various boy-girl situations like first meetings, long conversations and moments of togetherness and fits perfectly well with the brand world of Center Fresh.
Speaking more about the collaboration with Love Aaj Kal, Kapoor added, “Kartik and Sara speaking about the brand in the co-branded TVC was a natural fit and we wish them luck for this new release.
Bling Entertainment Solutions partner and business head Swati Iyer said, “Love Aaj Kal is all about the feeling of love that transcends time and geographies. The chemistry of the connection between two people is the essence on which these stories are based. Center Fresh as a brand owns the “fresh breath confidence” space through its product offering like 3 layer Gum, tailored for occasions that require fresh breath for extended periods. This makes it a perfect partner for the movie. It was great to have worked with the Center Fresh team on this association and we are confident of this being a fruitful one. I am sure that this Valentine’s Day will not just be about the feeling of love, but also about the confidence backed by fresh breath to pursue matters of the heart.”
Center Fresh 3 Layer Gum is a unique combination of fondant with special cooling ingredients sandwiched between layers of gum and promises ‘fresh breath that lasts long’. The pack is available in a multi pack that has tear-refold packaging, in peppermint and strawberry flavours at price of Rs 5 (pack of 4 gums). The product is also available in a sugar-free variant priced at Rs 25 (pack of 7 gums) exclusively in Modern Trade stores.
MUMBAI: In 2019, Center fresh – the iconic chewing gum brand from Perfetti Van Melle, celebrates its 25th anniversary in India. And in this milestone year, the brand has launched a new innovative product – Center fresh 3 Layer gum.
The product is a unique combination of fondant with special cooling ingredients sandwiched between layers of gum and promises “fresh breath that lasts long”. Introduced in a multi pack that has tear-refold packaging, the brand is targeting consumers who have an on-the-go lifestyle and require fresh breath for extended periods. The offering will be available in Peppermint and Strawberry flavours at price of Rs. 5 (pack of 4 gums). The product will also be available in a sugar-free variant priced at Rs 25 (pack of 7 gums) exclusively in Modern Trade stores and e-Commerce sites.
The brand has associated with youth icon and southern movie celebrity – Samantha Akkineni as the brand ambassador and she will be seen in the Center fresh 3-layer gum launch campaign. The launch would be supported through a 360-degree campaign on TV, Digital, and cinema.
Speaking on the new launch, Rajesh Ramakrishnan – Managing Director, Perfetti Van Melle India said, “Center fresh is one of our power brands in India. The brand enjoys immense love and trust with the Indian consumer. We plan to own the “fresh breath confidence” space through multiple product offerings under Center fresh, which are tailored for different consumption occasions.”
Speaking on the new launch, Rohit Kapoor – Director Marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India said, “Fresh Breath is one of the fastest growing need spaces within confectionary today owing to the growing consciousness around the concept and Center fresh is synonymous with fresh breath. With the launch of Center fresh 3-layer gum the brand wants to cater to consumers who are looking for long lasting fresh breath experience, all through the day. Center fresh 3-layer gum offering further strengthens the brand portfolio which has offerings across formats and different fresh breath need states.”
Speaking on the new brand ambassador Samantha, Rohit said “Samantha endorsing the brand has been a natural choice. Her youthful and confident personality deeply resonates with that of the brand and we are sure that with Samantha on-board Center fresh is going to have a strong and loyal consumer connect.”
Commenting on the new offering and partnership, Samantha Akkineni – Brand Ambassador said, “For me, Center fresh represents everything that is youthful, stylish and refreshing. Center fresh 3 Layer gum promises long-lasting fresh breath, which is what everyone of us needs to feel confident all day and the product has already become one of my handbag essentials.”
The launch TVC showcases a familiar setting where one needs long lasting fresh breath to impress someone. The new commercial tells a story of a young guy who meets a girl he likes from the get-go, while travelling in a bus. The guy strikes a conversation with her and impresses
her with his mesmerizing fresh breath, thanks to Center fresh 3 Layer Gum. The duo remain engrossed in the conversation till the bus conductor interrupts them, and they realize they have lost track of time and are the last ones left on the bus. All through the journey the guy impresses the girl with his fresh breath confidence. The TVC also features internet celebrity Ayush Mehra.
Explaining the thought behind the advertising, Anurag Agnihotri (Executive Creative Director), Ogilvy India says "Center fresh 3 Layer Gum offers you fresh breath that lasts long. For a youngster, it means having the fresh breath confidence to carry through long conversations with someone special. We brought this out in a boy-meets-girl story in a bus in which the conversation continues till the end of the journey. It may be the beginning of a romance or it may not lead anywhere, but it leaves you with a good feeling. That’s what we have tried to capture."
MUMBAI: The Dutch confectionery and gum manufacturer, Perfetti Van Melle had stepped into the Indian market 25 years back with a unique liquid-filled gum, Center Fresh, which eventually became the category leader in its segment. One of the largest selling gum brands in India, Center Fresh not only tantalised the taste buds of millions of Indians but also gave memorable marketing campaigns and taglines that stay on the tip of the tongue; the most iconic being ‘Zubaan Pe Rakhe Lagaam’
Perfetti Van Melle India director-marketing Rohit Kapoor, in an exclusive conversation with Indiantelevision.com, highlights the glorious marketing journey the brand has been on through these 25 years.
He starts by sharing the initial day story of the brand. Perfetti started the Indian operations in 1994 with the launch of Center Fresh, the first liquid-filled gum of the country. "Over the years we have kept the excitement going on the brand with new campaigns, innovative flavours, and new pack formats introduction to building the category. Center Fresh has managed to play the role of market creator and maintain leadership position in the segment over the years," he says.
During the launch phase, the objective was how to bring in differentiation and consumer-relevant innovation to the market. It was thus decided to launch the first-ever liquid-filled gum experience with a balanced fresh mint flavour. The brand was launched in a jar pack which provided a great tool to place the SKU front of the shop for visibility and also provided longer stability to the product. It also won the acceptance of mass audience.
Speaking about the role of marketing in this success, Kapoor quips, “Center Fresh is one of our power brands and there has been consistent marketing support for the brand to stay relevant with the consumers in the domain of fresh breath confidence. The campaigns ‘Zubaan Pe Rakhe Lagaam’ (better to chew than talk) and ‘Taazi Saans Rakho Paas’ (be fresh breath ready) have helped us a lot to garner consumers love for the brand.” Kapoor further mentions that Center Fresh’s association with the World Cup in 1996 had been one of the key disruption points for the brand.
Initially, the brand was riding the humour wave for its communications. The many ads launched under the ‘Zubaan Pe Rake Lagaam’ umbrella are still unforgettable.
Kapoor believes that humour is an important way to deliver clutter-breaking and memorable campaigns to drive top-of-mind brand recall. He notes, “Our category is an impulse category and it’s extremely important to keep the brand on top of the minds, which drives purchase decision in the market. Humour is an important way to deliver such campaigns, especially when your target group is the youth, who are being bombarded with enormous messages on a daily basis. A campaign with humour has to strike the right balance between the role of the product/insight in the campaign and entertainment in the storyline.”
However, in 2015, the brand moved to a new communication platform called ‘Taazi Saans Hamesha Rakho Paas’. Its newest ad film, celebrating its 25 years in the Indian market, also runs around the same message. Speaking about the change in communication module, Kapoor shares, “‘Zubaan Pe Rakhe lagaam’ as a platform, was a very successful campaign for the brand, started in 2007. But as brand custodian, we have to continue renewing the consumer stories and find ways to continue drive trials and building the category. ‘Taazi Saans Hamesha Rakho Paas’ essentially asks one to be fresh breath ready to impress the opposite gender in the first meeting (fresh breath confidence). The objective with the 25-year celebration film was to bring alive such moments of first meeting and bumping into each other in the college corridor is probably the most universal theme.”
The campaign has been created and conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, like most of its previous communications. Kapoor believes the agency has been a big support in making its marketing initiatives a success. He says, “Ogilvy has been a crucial and trusted partner to build many PVMI brands in the category. They have done memorable work on Center Fresh and many other Perfetti brands. They understand what works in the category to drive brand objectives and how to establish the connection with the consumer via compelling consumer stories. The recent 25 years campaign is another example where the Ogilvy team delivered really well on the brief.”
The brand is now looking forward to continuing building the ‘Fresh Breath Confidence’ platform for its other extensions as well. Kapoor highlights, “This journey started with the launch of Center Fresh Mints, our first non-gum offering, and the proposition along with communication has received an extremely positive response so far. So, the communication strategy on new introductions shall be to highlight the product benefit and moment of consumption, consistent with building the brand on fresh breath confidence platform.”
Not just for its flagship Center Fresh, Perfetti has been very creative with its marketing communications for other brands under its umbrella too. Talking about the same, Kapoor says, “The strategic intent is to develop the category, identify need gaps, renovate, innovate, and continue to delight the consumers. Also, superior quality products, ability to bring innovation at a faster pace, driving differentiation, memorable communication, and our robust distribution system have led to the popularity of the brands in the portfolio. Thus, the 7 power brands always get required support on identified demand moment via relevant innovations in the communication platforms.”
He concludes, “Social media and digital space are very important media for us to build brands and have been gaining share in marketing mix spends over the years. We regularly use the medium to improve our reach and drive consumer engagement.”
MUMBAI: Marking the 25th anniversary of Perfetti Van Melle and its chewing-gum brand Center Fresh in India, the brand has come up with a new TV campaign, staying true to its core of ‘Fresh Breath Confidence’. The TVC, conceptualised in collaboration with Ogilvy captures the occasion of first meeting of a couple in college, when being Fresh breath ready makes the moment that much more special.
Through the TVC, the brand is also inviting consumers to celebrate this milestone, with the launch of a limited period mega promotion which gives the mobile-savvy youth of today a chance to win 25 smartphones every day.
Speaking on the occasion, Perfetti Van Melle India managing director Rajesh Ramakrishnan said, “This is a landmark year for the brand. Today Center fresh is one of the leading confectionery brands in the country – a testimony to the love and support that we have received over the last 25 years.”
Commenting on the milestone and the launch, Perfetti Van Melle India director – marketing Rohit Kapoor said, “We look back on these 25 years with a lot of pride and it is a huge privilege to commemorate this special achievement. We thank all our consumers and our teams who have supported us over the years and invite everyone to continue to be with us on the journey ahead. Center fresh packs shall carry 25-year special insignia to inform the consumer and new communication campaign shall be supported extensively on TV and digital medium.”
Commenting on the campaign, Ogilvy executive creative director Anurag Agnihotri said, “Center fresh is now a 25 years young brand and the celebrations are in order and we are taking this opportunity to engage with the consumer. In our communication, we simply celebrate a timeless, universal and relatable moment of how a boy and a girl meet for the very first time.”
MUMBAI: Perfetti Van Melle India has launched Center Fresh Mints, a new offering by the Center Fresh brand in the mint candy segment.
This new offering will provide the benefit of ‘Instant Fresh Breath’ with 3-layers of sugar free mints available in a stylish pocket friendly pack. Center Fresh Mints will be available in peppermint flavour and strawberry mint at a price point of Rs 10.
Perfetti Van Melle India managing director Rajesh Ramakrishnan said, “We see tremendous opportunity for growth with relevant extensions in the fresh breath needed space. I am confident that this launch will strengthen the position of Center Fresh brand in India and help extend its equity to higher price points.”
Perfetti Van Melle India director-marketing Rohit Kapoor said, “We wanted to introduce a truly innovative mint offering under Center Fresh in India specially approaching 2019 when the brand shall be completing 25 years milestone. It’s the first extension of the brand in non-gum segment. Globally we have seen powermints as a category gaining a lot of traction and we would like to develop the category further in India with the launch of Centerfresh Mints.”
The launch is supported with campaign on TV, extensively on digital medium and visibility tools for retail & modern trade.
Commenting on the campaign, Ogilvy executive creative director Anurag Agnihotri said, “The launch campaign for Center Fresh Mints highlights various relatable situations in the lives of today’s youth when you would need instant fresh breath. We have tried to capture these occasions through a hummable, memorable music track.”
Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt Ltd (PVMI) started operations in India in 1994. The company at present has a diverse portfolio of brands across segments (i.e. candies, jellies, gums & chewies) which it sells through various channels across the country. PVMI is a fully owned subsidiary of the global confectionary conglomerate Perfetti Van Melle, headquartered in Amsterdam.
MUMBAI: Center Fresh will now be available in a different flavour. The refreshing chewing gum as an natural extension to the brand has launched the Paan flavour. The flagship brand of Perfetti Van Melle India roped in Ogilvy & Mather for the new campaign.
The Center Fresh Paan campaign devised by Soda Films reaffirms the base brand positioning, while announcing the arrival of the new flavour. Directed by Rajesh Krishnan and produced by Ameya Dahibavkar, the TVC translates into its tagline Zubaan Pe Rakhe Lagaam (Keeps your mouth shut).
Commenting on the launch, group product manager Chaitanya Shekar said, “Center Fresh and Paan have significant synergies, given their mouth-freshening properties and it was only a matter of time in getting this logical extension on the brand. We are extremely excited about this new launch and we believe this format will open up new avenues for consumption of Paan in a quick and fun way.”
Giving an insight into the TVC, Ogilvy & Mather national creative director Abhijit Avasthi said, “We have all come across the not-so-pretty sight of people stuffing Paan into their mouth and talking. Half of the time it’s not even clear what they are saying. But they go on, without caring whether the spit is staining their clothes or flying off from their mouth and landing on the other person’s face. We took this insight and crafted a funny ad that showed the consequences a dhobi’s son has to face due to his talking while chewing Paan.”
MUMBAI: Center Fresh, with its ‘Zubaan Pe Rakhe Lagaam’ proposition, has recently launched a digital campaign called ‘Gum Charades’.
Ogilvy & Mather handles the brand. The agency’s NCD Abhijit Avasthi said, “Center Fresh is a youth driven brand and is in the process of establishing itself in the digital sphere. Through Gum Charades, Center Fresh is revamping a popular game and adding a digital twist to it. We hope this game will be a hit among 15 to 24 year olds.”
To translate the real experience of playing dumb charades to the digital medium a microsite has been created: www.centerfresh.in/gumcharades. To popularise the concept of Gum charades and drive traffic to the micro site, the brand has tied up with TV channels like 9XM, Channel V, M tunes and Zoom for content integration and will also be airing radio spots on popular radio stations in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.
Commenting on the campaign, Perfetti Van Melle India category head – gums Mandar Keskar, said, “Most digital initiatives today are adapted from television campaigns. With the growing relevance of digital as a medium especially amongst youth (our core TG), we realised that it’s important to customise brand content for this medium rather than adapt it. Gum Charades, is one such initiative in this direction. As far as the concept is concerned, it’s rare to find a popular game with a natural brand fit; we have been quite lucky in this aspect.”
“We wanted an idea which was platform agnostic for Center fresh,” said Maxus Delhi general manager V Narayanan. “The concept of Gum Charades resonates seamlessly with the brand proposition, which consumers are willing to share across their social networks for its unique entertainment quotient.” The media agency is behind this idea.
Apart from the microsite, the game can also be played on Facebook where an app has been created and on mobile platforms like Rocketalk and Vuclip.
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