ITV

Tag: Hindustan Unilever

  • Calcutta HC refuses to stay Dettol Kitchen Gel TVC

    NEW DELHI: Reckitt Benckiser has agreed before the Calcutta High Court that it will remove the visual in its television commercial claiming quantum of germs killed by use of the Dettol Healthy Kitchen and Vim Liquid.

    However, the Court did not grant any stay of the TVC asserting that Dettol Healthy Kitchen was 100 times better at germ killing capability than Vim Liquid manufactured by Hindustan Unilever.

    The matter has been listed on 18 March for further orders.

    HUL had claimed that Dettol was a disinfectant/drug and therefore it could not be compared to Vim Liquid which does not have any disinfectant as an ingredient.

    A statement from Reckitt Benckiser said that this meant that it could continue to compare its product with that of Vim. RBIL also claimed that prior to launch, it had got the product tested from an Independent Laboratory (SGS Laboratory, India) and got it certified that apart from cleaning, it provides 99.9% Germ Kill and compared to Vim LIQUID, manufactured by HUL, it is 100 times better, when diluted like all dishwashing liquids.

    On Friday last, Dettol aired a TVC for its Kitchen Cleaner that showed HUL‘s Vim as the weaker product. In reply, HUL‘s Vim published a front page print ad in The Times of India on Sunday, asking consumers to choose between a harsh antiseptic and the power of 100 lemons to clean a child‘s tiffin box. In the end, the ad says ‘No one removes grease better. No one removes germs better. That‘s a Vim challenge!‘.

    It also took the legal course with the Calcutta High Court passing an order last Friday, asking RB to remove the portion where Vim is shown in the ad.

  • Britannia appoints Varun Berry as COO, VP-marketing & Sales

    Britannia appoints Varun Berry as COO, VP-marketing & Sales

    MUMBAI: Britannia Industries has announced key appointments in its management functions.

    The company has appointed Varun Berry as COO and VP of marketing, sales and innovation.

    He replaces Neeraj Chandra who has moved on to take over the role of VP of strategy and new business development.

    Berry comes in with over 27 years of work experience with premier companies like Hindustan Unilever and Pepsico, both in India and overseas.

    Britannia has also named Vinod Menon as the VP and CFO effective 1 February. Menon replaces Raju Thomas, who will relinquish his post on 31 January.

  • Zeel ropes in 18 sponsors for 13th Zee Cine Awards

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has roped in 18 sponsors for the 13th edition of its Bollywood awards property ‘Zee Cine Awards‘.

    Zeel, which will air the award ceremony across its seven channels, has got on board Hindustan Unilever‘s skin care brand Fair & Lovely as the presenting sponsor, while the powered by sponsor is Pune-based real estate developer DSK Group. Zeel has also created a category titled Fitness Partner and has got Sugar Free as the sponsor in the category. Geetanjali Jewelers is the trophy sponsor of the event.

    There are a total of 14 associate sponsors for the show — Revital, Volini, Amway, Cherry Cough Syrup, Asian Paints, Cavin Kare, Pataka Tea, Everest Masala, Suzuki Bikes, Quickr.com, Imperial Blue, Mahindra Quanto, Nyle Shampoo and Apollo Tyres.

    Zee Cine Awards will air on Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zing, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Tamil and Zee Telugu.

    Zeel chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal told Indiantelevision.com that all the ad inventories for the show have been sold out. The show had a few spots which have been bought by Nestle.

    “Zee Cine Awards is our biggest property and this year it will make around Rs 300 million, which is 30 per cent higher than the last year,” Sehgal added.

    According to him, the presenting sponsor will consume 10-12 per cent of the ad inventory, the powered by and fitness sponsor will collectively utilise around 12-13 per cent and the remaining will be used by associate sponsors and Nestle.

    Ernst & Young will be the auditors for the awards.

    Zee Cine Awards compete with Colors‘ Screen Awards, Star Plus‘ IIFA Awards, Sony Entertainment Television‘s Filmware Awards and Max‘s Stardust Awards.

    Zee Cine Awards is being held on 6 January at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai.

    The Red Carpet, a curtain raiser to the awards show, will air at 7.30 pm on 20 January followed by the main event at 8 pm which will run for four hours.

  • HUL made to withdraw Pepsodent, Dove Hair ads

    MUMBAI: Advertising watchdog Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has made FMCG major Hindustan Unilever to pull out two advertisements — Pepsodent Expert Protection Toothpaste and Dove Hair Fall Rescue Treatment – for breaching ASCI code.

    The withdrawal of the advertisements was done after ASCI‘s Consumer complaints Council upheld complaints against them. The complainant had pointed out that the Pepsodent TVC claimed “for effective cleaning in between teeth, we should use dental floss”. The TVC further claimed that Pepsodent Expert Protection toothpaste “contains germi-paste, floss-like inter dental action and long lasting freshening mouthwash”.

    These claims with regard to dental floss imply that instead of using dental floss consumers should use Pepsodent Expert Protection toothpaste. Also, this goes contrary to dentists‘ advice that one should use dental floss for effective cleaning in between teeth. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code.

    In the ad of Dove Hair Fall Rescue Treatment, the TVC claimed that, unlike other shampoos, Dove‘s rescue treatment nourishes hair and makes the roots strong in just two weeks. The council considered the technical data provided by the advertiser and concluded that the claims were not substantiated and it again contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code.

    The council also upheld complaints against 15 out of the 22 advertisements which were objected to during September 2012.

    In August too, the council had upheld complaints against two of HUL‘s ads promoting Rin detergent powder and Pepsodent Germicheck Magnet.

    Most of the ads found to be contravening the ASCI code continue to be from education, healthcare and FMCG sectors.

    In September, the council rejected complaints against seven advertisements.

    The other complaint upheld was against Panasonic India‘s print ads claiming that the Panasonic inverter saved up to 40 per cent energy, Panasonic Econavi saved up to 10 per cent energy and Panasonic Refrigerators have International safety standards, that they are Vitamin-safe (preserve vitamins) and Ag clean (non-stop air purification, kills 99.9 per cent bacteria). The complainant said the advertiser needed to provide all necessary data to prove these claims. In the absence of scientific studies from the advertiser, the council concluded that the claims made in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were not substantiated. The advertisement contravened chapter I.1 of the code, the council ruled and upheld the complaint.

    The complaint against Ultratech India‘s 18 Again Vaginal & Rejuvenating Gel too was upheld. As per the complaint, the print advertisement claims that, “it removes dry cells from vagina and replaces them with new cells”, “improves blood circulation”, “makes the vagina less vulnerable to infections”. The council concluded that whilst the advertiser provided the license approval given by the state FDA, in the absence of clinical studies, the claims made in the ad and cited in the complaint were not substantiated.

    Kimberly-Clark Lever‘s Huggies Total Protection Diapers‘ TVC claimed that, “The New diaper from Huggies is clinically proven”. The pack claims, “Clinically proven to help prevent diaper rash”. According to the complainant, the TVC claim and the pack claim misleads the consumers into believing that a proper clinical test has been conducted on Huggies Total Protection diaper whereas in reality there is no clinical data on Huggies to support the claims. The claim, “Huggies clinically proven” is a very broad claim and covers all the variants of Huggies. The super in the TVC did not comply with the guidelines laid down by ASCI. Also the super is blurred and illegible from a consumer point of view. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.4 of the ASCI Code as the “clinically proven” claim was neither representative nor adequately relevant given that testing was carried out in a different country with different climatic conditions and for a different product variant of the brand. This complaint was thus upheld. The supers that appeared in the TVC were also not clearly legible thus contravening the regulations of ASCI‘s minimum lettering size of supers. This complaint was also upheld.

    Among educational institutions, there were complaints against AIHM Institute of Hotel Management, Speedwings Aviation Academy, G-NET Business School Computer Education and Poddar Group of Institutions and all these were upheld.

    Jaypee Infratech‘s TVC shows “a Tata Safari car driven by a ruffian looking actor who is drinking while driving and who later gets hauled up by the police.” As per the complainant, in the TVC, Tata Safari brand is shown in wrong light and the logo is visible throughout the advertisement. The council concluded that the “use of Tata Safari logo” violated Chapter IV.2 of the ASCI Code as the advertisement made unjustifiable use of the logo of the complainant. The advertisement was also in contravention of Ch.IV.1 (e) of the Code where it discredits another product directly or by implication. The complaint was upheld. The council noted the advertiser‘s assurance that the TVC was being modified appropriately by “removing the Tata Safari logo”.

    In the case of Rejuvenation Centre, there was a complaint its print advertisement where it claimed that it “gives relief from knee pain without any surgery, 100 per cent cure, no side effect, no need to get admitted in hospital, it gives remarkable results, which is not seen in any other treatment and also effective in curing stiffness in shoulders, cervical, back pain and wrist pain. The complainant mentioned that the advertiser needs to substantiate these claims with supporting clinical information and with details of reports of tests/trials conducted by an independent recognised testing institution. In the absence of clinical data from the advertiser, the claims made in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were not substantiated. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code. The complaint was upheld.

    Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals‘s Rota Virus Vaccine TVC said “the vaccine is the only way to reduce the incidence of infection and the fact that techniques like hand washing do not help”. This is a misrepresentation of facts. Rota virus is spread by ingestion of the virus from contaminated food and water. Hygiene helps reduce the spread of infection. The vaccine causes a fivefold increase in intussusceptions, a serious surgical condition that can result in death if not treated urgently. This is not explained in the advertisement. The council concluded that, the claim “the vaccine is the only way to reduce the incidence of infection”, was inadequately substantiated. And the statement, “Rota virus vaccine is the only way to treat Rota Virus” was misleading. The advertisement contravened Chapters I.1 and I.4 of the Code and the council upheld the complaint.

    Madhuraj Hospital‘s print advertisement claimed, “More than 10,000 couples have benefited with children and complete treatment and diagnosis is provided for infertility in males and females”. The council concluded that the claims were inadequately substantiated.

    The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code. The complaint was upheld. The council noted the advertiser‘s assurance that the advertisement would not appear again in its present form.

    Regency Hospital‘s print ad claimed that it promotes treatment for growing hair naturally in one day. The complainant said this claim needs to be substantiated with statistical and other necessary data. The council concluded that the claims mentioned in the advertisement were inadequately substantiated and contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code. The complaint was upheld.

    During September, the council received complaints against another three print and four TV advertisements. The complaints received were against — Agron India‘s Intimaxx, Allergan Health Care India‘s Juvederm Injectable Gel Filler, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, “Sharda University”, “Heinz India‘s Complan”, “Britannia‘s Milk Bikis”, “Hero Honda Motors‘ Hero Maestro”. However, as these advertisements did not contravene ASCI‘s codes or guidelines, the complaints were rejected.

  • HUL, Star end 3 months of ad negotiations

    MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India‘s largest advertiser on television, has returned to Star Network after three months of absence and hard negotiations from either sides.

    The exact nature of the deal could not be ascertained as both Star and HUL were not ready to disclose the details.

    Star India president ad sales Kevin Vaz confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com but said the terms were confidential. “Yes, Hindustan Unilever is on,” he said.

    In a slowdown environment, FMCG companies have been increasing their ad spends as their sales have increased. Other high-spending sectors like telecom and financial services have softened their marketing expenses, thus allowing room for the FMCG companies to look for better rates on television channels who depend largely on advertising revenues.

    For the fiscal ended 31 March 2012, HUL had actually reduced its spend on advertising and promotions by 3.58 per cent compared to the year-ago period. The FMCG major had spent Rs 26.97 billion on promotions, down from Rs 27.97 billion.

    “Both HUL and Star needed each other. Star has powerful channels in Hindi GEC, Hindi movies, English entertainment, infotainment and regional-language genres. HUL is the largest advertiser and has increased its spends this fiscal,” a media analyst said.

    In the fiscal-first quarter, HUL has upped its ad and promotional spends by 29.5 per cent to Rs 8.2 billion.

    HUL is present on the other entertainment networks like Zee, Sony and Viacom18.

    “This neutralises the upside possibility that the other major networks could have had if HUL had stayed out of Star for a longer period,” a media analyst at a broking firm said.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal does not believe that an upside opportunity existed for the company. “We have already done a deal with HUL and got an upside as our flagship channel Zee TV‘s ratings have seen an improvement. HUL is also increasing its overall ad spends this fiscal. There was no scope for a further upside as we have got other advertisers on board and our inventory is full for our major network channels. There is some inventory left on our smaller channels and HUL is not a spender on those,” he said.

    For the first quarter of this fiscal, Zeel reported 18 per cent rise in its ad revenue to Rs 4.47 billion.

    The second half of this fiscal is crucial for the television networks as the previous six-month period had seen a slowdown. This also coincides with the festive season during which spread brands tend to free their wallets to promote their products.

    The advertising expenditure on television is estimated to grow at 5.6 per cent to gross Rs 148.12 billion in calendar year 2012, according to a GroupM revised forecast.

    “The Telecom category cut down spends substantially in the first half of the year. Financial services have been adversely affected by poorer economic conditions here as elsewhere in the world. Even consumer durables spent less in the first half of 2012 than the prior year period. Occupancy of premium inventory has decreased with advertisers choosing to stay with safer tried-and-tested formats,” the WPP agency explained in its report.

    The Indian economy has seen a new energy after the government‘s series of reform policies including higher FDI in retail, broadcast-carriage services sector and aviation. The stock market has rallied recently and touched a 17-month high.

    Advertisers, however, are still cautious and will wait longer before becoming extravagant on their marketing spends.

  • JWT strengthens digital and creative team

    MUMBAI: Prasanna Kulkarni and Nitin Pradhan have joined JWT as executive creative directors. This is a part of the agency‘s plan to invest in talent and build up its digital and creative capabilities.

    Kulkarni has over 14 years of experience in advertising, brand strategy, and digital media. He comes in from OgilvyOne Worldwide where he led a creative team at for over five years. He has worked for clients like Orange, IBM, Diageo, Cadbury, Lenovo, HSBC, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and British Airways.

    At JWT, Kulkarni will partner with Sushobhan Chowdhury (head of digital strategy) and Rahul Kaul (technology/UX head) to lead and mentor digital-specific core teams in New Delhi and Mumbai.

    JWT India digital head Max Hegerman said, “We are very excited about the addition of someone of Prasanna‘s calibre. As a digital native, he brings in an abundance of hands-on digital experience – and a passion for the space. Prasanna will have an immediate impact on our digital creative capabilities. I am excited to have Prasanna as a part of the core leadership team at JWT Digital.”
    Pradhan moves in from McCann Erickson. His experience in the field spans over 12 years during which he has worked with some of the leading brands across agencies like KBC, Tata Sky, Nescafe and Close-up.

    Pradhan will work closely with JWT chief creative officer Bobby Pawa on special projects, besides handling some of the key brands at JWT Delhi.

    JWT Delhi managing partner Sanjeev Bhargava said, “I am delighted to have Nitin Pradhan joining the JWT family. Over the long discussions I have had with Nitin, I have found him to belong to the brand of creative people who do not sacrifice diligence, perseverance and detailing on the altar of creative vehemence. The correct mix of all these wonderful traits is what Nitin brings to the table and I am looking forward to working closely with him.”

  • BeBeautiful awards social media mandate to Windchimes

    MUMBAI: BeBeautiful, the engagement platform of Hindustan Unilever, has appointed Windchimes Communications to strategise and manage its social media marketing. The Mumbai-based agency will be responsible for optimising the company‘s social media presence and will work towards creating the buzz for its website which is the primary offering.

    Part of its mandate also included building stronger relationships with the audiences via engagement on social media platforms like Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and Pinterest.

    Five personal care and beauty brand from HUL‘s umbrella – Lakmé, Dove, Ponds, Sunsilk and Vaseline – have come together to form BeBeautiful, which is a platform with services special to each of these brands.

    The effort of the agency will be to ensure re-positioning of HUL as the ‘go-to-beauty-expert‘ by strategically reaching out to and engaging audiences.

    HUL marketing manager Shalini Raghavan said, “Social media sites today, are a very important source of information and interaction, and also play a major role influencing consumer decisions. With the help of Windchimes Communications, we aim to equip women with the latest in beauty and fashion and provide customised beauty solutions via social media platforms. Windchimes having worked with various industries has the right capability and skills, to engage with audiences on social media platforms. We are happy to be associated with them.”

    Windchimes head maven Nimesh Shah added, “We are proud to be social media partners for BeBeautiful. With the growing need to look perfect 24×7, we are confident that BeBeautiful will be successful in connecting with the Indian audiences on the new media front.”

  • Indigo Consulting to handle Loop’s social media mandate

    MUMBAI: Telecom company Loop Mobile has roped in digital marketing agency Indigo Consulting to handle its social media initiatives.

    The mandate includes tapping social media platforms to engage the relevant audience as well as online reputation management for the brand. This is an extension of the agency‘s current website management duties for the telecom service provider.

    Indigo Consulting was recently acquired by Publicis Groupe‘s Leo Burnett.

    The agency will be responsible for exploiting platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, along with other applications and new technology to help connect the online and offline activities of the brand. The agency‘s focus will be to create online buzz about Loop Mobil‘s positioning as Mumbai‘s Nonstop Network. It will also be involved in managing expectations effectively and build engagement apart from creating buzz on brand.

    Indigo Consulting MD Vikas Tandon said, “Social media with its capabilities of creating engagement, conversations and activation allows brands a perfect opportunity to connect with their customers. Keeping this in mind, our social media strategy shall leverage creating a unique brand experience for the Loop Mobile customer or non-user while converging the brand’s online and offline efforts.”

    Loop Mobile (India) Limited head – corporate affairs and PR Arif Ali added, “With the growing opportunities that social media provides, we felt the need for an integrated approach for maximizing our digital and mobile communication needs. We have had a great working relationship with Indigo Consulting and we respect their experience in handling leading brands. Thus we welcome them as a strategic partner who with their deep understanding of online consumer behavior, shall help ensure a high level of social and digital interaction, provide creative ideas and strategy to boost the overall brand presence driving our core thought of Mumbai‘s Nonstop Network.”

    Indigo Consulting is a full-service interactive marketing and technology agency. Its services include online marketing, website design and development, search engine optimization and social media marketing. Indigo Consulting boasts of clients like Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Kolkata Knight Riders, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Thomas Cook, South Australia Tourism Board, Makemytrip and Cathay Pacific.

  • Clinic Plus makes Navbharat Times talk on Mother’s Day

    Clinic Plus makes Navbharat Times talk on Mother’s Day

    MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever’s shampoo brand Close Up partnered with Navbharat Times, for the first time to release talking newspaper advertisement.

    The ad was released on the occasion of Mother’s Day in NBT’s Delhi and NCR editions.

    The media agency working on the project is Mindshare.

    Times of India had earlier carried a talking advertisement for Volkswagen in September 2010. The Close Up ad in NBT was not just a talking ad; it also sought to make the newspaper a musical greeting card for moms. The company created a special four-page supplement that would serve as the greeting card with a musical chip playing out the Mother‘s Day greeting. Sunday‘s NBT was inserted inside the same.

    HUL GM Hair Care Srinandan Sundaram said, “The objective was to create brand salience for the Clinic Plus brand which has been positioned as a shampoo for mothers and daughters. The insight was to use the occasion to express the unspoken love that exists between the two.”

    Sundaram felt that NBT was a natural choice with its reach coupled with the fact that most of the consumers were Hindi speakers.

    Mindshare principal partner Amin Lakhani said, “Mindshare Fulcrum finds innovative ways to connect with consumers especially in leveraging the print medium to the fullest. We seek to engage the consumer through 360 degree initiatives. With Times we have done fragrance newspaper for Bru Coffee in TOI, Kisanpur in Bombay Times and now the talking musical greeting card for NBT Delhi and the NCR editions.”

    The exercise was for 600,000 copies for which the planning started almost two months in advance.

    BCCL president Arunabh Das Sharma added, “We are very happy to partner our leading language brand with the leading hair care brand to create a path-breaking innovation. Such advertising that appeals not just to the cognitive but also the emotional senses works wonderfully.”

  • ITC to have a 24-hour roadblock on Star Network

    ITC to have a 24-hour roadblock on Star Network

    MUMBAI: After Hindustan Unilever (HUL), it‘s the time for ITC to do an advertising roadblock on Star Network.

    ITC has struck a deal with the leading network to air advertisements for ITC‘s personal care brands Fiama Di Wills and Vivel only for 24 hours starting 8 pm tonight.

    The roadblock, till 8 pm on 16 December, will see Star Plus, Star Gold, Star One, Star Utsav, Channel [V], Star Movies, Star World, Fox Traveler, Star Jalsha and Star Pravah airing advertisements of Fiama Di Wills and Vivel products only.

    Vivel Active Fair, ITC‘s first fairness cream, will lead the product lineup followed by Vivel Luxury cr?me, the premium range of soaps from the Vivel bath care portfolio; Fiama Di Wills Men, the range of Shower Gel and Bathing Bar; Fiama Di Wills Gel Bar, Fiama Di Wills Shower Gels; Vivel Milk cream and Glycerine and Vivel Ultra Pro, the anti-dandruff shampoo.