Vicks returns with #TouchOfCare, mostly online despite P&G's digital budget cut

Last year, Vicks’ #TouchOfCare campaign did not just win hearts but a lot of accolades from the industry itself. With the emotional, real life story of an orphan girl, Gayatri, and her transgender mother Gauri, the brand struck a chord with its audience.

The brand has now launched the second edition of the campaign and this time returned with the story of Nisha, a young girl with a rare genetic skin condition called Ichthyosis.

The ad film, created by Publicis Singapore, captures Nisha’s story, who was adopted by Aloma and David Lobo, as she sails through the challenges and complexities of life, with her mother and her family by her side.

“Vicks, a brand synonymous with a generation of care in India, believes in the transformative power of care in human lives. The second edition of the Vicks #TouchOfCare campaign continues to spread the idea of ‘family’ beyond biological bonds. Gauri Sawant and Aloma Lobo are perfect examples of people providing extraordinary acts of care. They demonstrate how each of us is capable of lending unconditional love and extending care to every child who needs it. The first edition of the Vicks #TouchOfCare campaign moved millions of people across the globe. We are confident that Nisha’s story will have a similar impact on every person who sees the film,” said Ritu Mittal, Country Marketing Manager, Vicks India.

Weighing in on why brands today need to look beyond functional advertising and concentrate on building equity, Maithreyi Jagannathan, Regional Associate Brand Director, P&G Healthcare, Asia, said that the objective behind the whole #TouchOfCare campaign was never to drive immediate sales.

“We still have functional ads and a big budget is spent on them but Vicks is known as the number one cough and cold brand in the country and it has very strong functional equities. The challenge before us was to make the brand relevant to the millennial parents how to make people think about the brand even beyond its cough and cold usage. When we did #TouchOfCare last year, even in Philippines, there was absolutely no question as to why a brand like Vicks was doing it. It was like Vicks had earned the right to speak about care. What we have seen is that in both the markets (India and Philippines), the campaign has led to increased top-of-the-mind awareness for the brand, especially in the cities. We have also seen that the campaign has impacted what consumers think of the brand. We did not do this campaign with an intent to drive immediate sales, it is all about driving equity,” said Jagannathan.

Just like the first edition of the campaign, this time too the brand will have just one ad film that they will run across mediums, primary of which will be digital. Despite P&G cutting down on their digital spends, the campaign will have a huge digital presence. Speaking on whether the budget cuts have affected the brand’s marketing strategies, Mittal said, “As marketer, you always keep looking for ways to make spends more efficient. It is not an absolute thing but a function of which campaign demands which medium based on consumer targeting.”

Ram Vilas Paswan, Consumer Affairs Minister had asked FMCG brands to voluntarily adapt labelling in local languages. Reacting to it, Jagannathan said that this might be a tricky thing to implement in India, given the sheer number of languages that the country has.

“Today, in many markets we do have local labelling. In India, the biggest challenge is the number of languages we have and being in healthcare we also have a lot of mandatory information that needs to go. So, I think we will have to think and see how and when we adopt this. In the past, for some of our brands, we have done local labelling. It will all depend on how big the brand is and which markets they are big in and also on whether it is relevant from a consumer standpoint,” said Jagannathan.

The Film:

One in a million star Nisha Lobo and Vicks Ad Mom Gauri Sawant (Transgender activist) with Dr. Aloma Lobo, Dr. David Lobo along with Soha Ali Khan, Shriya Saran and Gautam Gambhir at the release of Vicks

Credits:

Client: P&G

Brand: Vicks

Agency: Publicis, Singapore

Chief Creative Officer: Ajay Thrivikraman

Director: Anand Gandhi

Production House: Offroad Films

Executive Producer: Khalil Bachooali

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