Mktg - Horlicks,Asking for change

The health drink from GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), Horlicks, has been traditionally targeted at elders and positioned as a ‘great family nourisher’. However, about five years ago, the communication was changed to ‘pleasurable family nourisher’ with the introduction of different flavours such as chocolate, vanilla and ‘elaichi’. The TV commercial had children going around the town, cheering Epang Opang Jhapang – a chant without any meaning. However, the TVC showed their mothers deciding on the choice of health drink.Horlicks’ competitor, Complan, promised to make the kids taller. Shorter kids' friends coaxed them to request their mothers to give them Complan. Now, Horlicks has gone a step further in promising not only height, but a stronger body and a sharper mind. Horlicks wants the children to decide on their health drink. The new campaign for Horlicks gives the kids a motto: ‘Badlo Apne Bachpan ka Size’.
The new TVC has Darsheel Safary, the child protagonist of Taare Zameen Par, in the lead. Safary and his friends are on a mission to change things they don’t like and question age old practices around them.Is Horlicks taking kids on a rebellious path? Prashant Pandey, general manager, marketing, GSK, disagrees. “Kids today are different from their counterparts five years ago. They have their choices and have taken the purchase decision in their own hands. They are confident of what they are doing and what they want to do,” he says. Safary was taken as the lead for the TVC with that thought in mind. Swati Bhattacharya, senior creative director, JWT India, the agency handling the account, says, “Darsheel represents the attitude the kids have today. He dared to question the Filmfare Awards with questions such as why he wasn't nominated for the Best Actor in the Main Lead award, instead of being nominated in the Children’s category. Children today want to create opportunities and have more autonomy.”Pandey adds, “There is nothing rebellious about the ad. Even Nike’s 'Just Do It' has a positive aspect to it. Horlicks as a brand is conscious about its image and doesn’t want to be rebellious. It is a portrayal of the confidence level of the kids today and Horlicks can help them achieve what they want in a positive way. Even in the TVC, Horlicks is not portrayed as an aid, just an onlooker or nutrition inspector of childhood. It is their playmate that believes in their philosophy and stands as an accomplice to their intentions.”According to Pandey, the brief to the agency was: The target group (TG) is a savvy audience with a short span of attention. So, step into their issues, get into their skin and raise their issues and concerns.The TVC will be supported by print, radio and on-ground activities and extended to Horlicks’ school programme, Whiz Kids Contest. On the digital platform, a site, activityindia.com/horlicks, has been launched through which kids can communicate about the things they want to change. The winners with the best ideas will get a chance to compete in the Whiz Kids Contest. For a short while, Horlicks has also come up with a packaging innovation in which the Horlicks bottle will be placed inside a graphical can to attract attention at retail stores. At the same time, Horlicks hasn’t neglected the elders altogether. It has a sugar free variant, Horlicks Lite, especially for diabetic patients and those who are health conscious. Besides Horlicks, GSK also has brands such as Boost, Maltova and Viva in the health drinks category. The segment also has competitor brands such as Bournvita (Cadbury), Complan (Heinz) and Milo (Nestle).