Bournvita Advertisement #1

See the video ad for Bournvita above. There is something new about this advertisement. Some new strategy and something uncommon and unusual when compared with all the previous ads of Bournvita. I daresay this is a bit bold and experimental, which may go wrong, and could possibly damage the Bournvita's brand image. Can you guess what that is?

Okay, here is a hint. Look at this ad by Bournvita below and take a guess.

Bournvita Advertisement #2

Apparently this ad is targeting middle class and upper class families in India. The ad seems to indirectly suggest that Bournvita is for children belonging to rich families. I made that conclusion from the western dance performed by a dancer kid, Kabir. The kind of dress worn by that kid is surely not worn amongst poor families in India. And the ad is about cold Bournvita, so fridge is an obvious pre-requisite to prepare the drink. Tell me something, how often do you find a fridge in a poor Indian family? A family whose annual income is less than 30,000 Rs.

Now, coming back to the first ad posted at the top. A maid servant paints a Rangoli(a dry powder painting drawn in front of Indian houses) in a rich lady's house. Impressed, the land lady appreciates maid's Rangoli. Maid enthusiastically requests the mistress to come to her house in promise of showing a better Rangoli drawing. Mistress obliges and follows her maid to her house. Impressed again with the Rangoli maid drew in front of her own house, the mistress offers 50 Rupees as a reward to the maid.

As the mistress comes inside her maid's simple house, her kid is seen engrossed painting a toy model of a house. Mistress asks the kid whether he would like to become an Engineer in future. (As if Engineers were the only people who earn decent money, all others in other professions are good for nothing). In the mean time, the maid saves her reward money inside her closet.

The rich lady teasingly asks the maid if she was going to buy a Banarasi Saadi(a silk saree from Banaras) with the money. The maid sharply denies her telling that she saves a "part" of her money for the dreams of her child (indirectly meaning for her son's engineering education). The rich mistress catches her maid's words and curiously asks what the maid was going to do with the rest of the money.

The maid is shown saving 20 Rupees for a small sachet of Bournvita. A background voice explains that fulfilling dreams needs hard work and mental strength along with physical strength, which is obtained by drinking Bournvita, which is now available for just 20 Rupees.(Does this mean Bournvita is an engineer's drink? Or Bournvita is an absolute necessity for mental and physical strength of kids. Like doctors prescribe mother's milk to months old babies, Cadbury's seems to prescribe Bournvita for all the young children in India who aspire to become Engineers).

The kid now drinks Bournvita, with an expression as if he drunk some strong cocktail of Vodka, Whisky and Rum. He tells to her mother in delight, "When I become an Engineer, I will surely bring you a Banarasi Sadi", and the maid kisses him in response. (As if the kid would not buy a Banarasi saree if he became a doctor or actor). The rich lady is shown sympathizing for the kid's noble thought.

The whole point of the comparison of these ads is to highlight the change in paradigm of Bournvita promotion team. Years back when they started, they portrayed Bournvita as a drink of rich & middle class. Understanding the potential of market among the poor classes in India, and with their introduction of a smaller and economical pack of Bournvita, they targeted the poor class mothers who want their children to be educated, so that they lead a better financial life than them.

While I appreciate that Bournvita's advertising team highlighted that majority of maid servants in India are getting ambitious about their next generation, that they are keen on educating and making them "Engineers" in future, I condemn and disapprove Bournvita's attempt to brain-wash people, infusing wrong ideas in the minds of emotional Indian mothers.

This was commentary on this ad from a human angle. In a commercial angle, this is a well-thought advertisement which attempts to boost the sales of Bournvita by promoting it among the poor class of India. This is bold and an experimental advertisement. If this works out and strikes the right chord among the poor, this may be a good starter to get into minds of financially backward families in India and consequently enter that market. Though it may not make a significant difference, as this is the first of its kind advertisement among milk drink powder in India. A few more ads like the first one could change the established opinion that Milk drinks in India are for middle class and rich children. This advertisement is one of its kind, a pioneer in this market. At least I haven't seen any such advertisement from the competitors of Bournvita - Holicks, Complan or Boost making ads that target lower class in India.

On the other side, this ad could backfire, draw scorn and contempt of rich people. Advertisements are a reflection of human psychology. When an ad glorifies a product and their users, people vicariously imagine themselves as the stars of that ad. So if this style of advertisement is continued by Bournvita, they could lose their image among people who are currently buying the product - upper and middle class of India.

These are only my personal views. I hope I haven't offended any one with this view. Feel free to comment below.