In the fitness of things

Leading an advertising campaign intended to boost a snacking brand with a much adored Bollywood star isn't exactly a novel idea. But British confectioner United Biscuits may have struck the right note with its new spots for McVitie's biscuits.

The ads - which pitch its Digestive and WholeWheat Marie as 'healthier marie' - are a part of a Rs 22-crore (estimated campaign cost) push by the firm to expand its market share in India. The brand, the UK's leading biscuit company controlling several of the country's best-loved sweet snack brands, is still a small player in the Rs 26,000-crore Indian biscuit market (growing near double digit at 9.7 per cent a year). But it knows it's up against significant competition. Parle Products and Britannia dominate the market, followed closely by ITC, maker of Sunfeast biscuits.

"The new campaign plays upon homemakers' passion to adopt a healthy lifestyle and the desire to seek food and beverage options that are better for themselves and their families," says Rahul Talwar, marketing director, United Biscuits, India.

According to industry data, 'marie' is a Rs 3,000-crore category, growing 9.5 per cent a year, while the Rs 7,600-crore cookies are the fastest-growing category at 16.4 per cent annual rate. With estimated sales of around Rs 150 crore, McVities' all-India share in the digestive segment is estimated at 15 per cent.

Currently, the Rs 10 and Rs 5 price points constitute more than 70 per cent of sales in the Indian biscuit market. A 100-gm pack of McVitie's WholeWheatMarie is priced at Rs 15. Meanwhile, Digestive is priced at Rs 20, a price point at which Britannia offers its NutriChoice digestive biscuits that promise the goodness of whole wheat and fibre. Looks like McVitie's is locked in direct competition with Britannia and it would be worth watching whether the magic of Kajol, the brand endorser for McVitie's, and its message, "Yeh habit hai fit", would be enough to change consumer habit.

Kajol has been the brand's spokesperson for quite sometime now. In the current commercial, the actor is seen offering her friend a cup of tea with marie biscuits. The friend asks Kajol to use less sugar in the tea, to which she says, "agar chai mein cheeni kum ho sakti hai to marie mein maida kum kyo nahi ho sakta" (if tea can be had with less sugar, why can't you have a marie with less refined flour?). She then offers her friend McVitie's WholeWheat Marie saying it is a healthier alternative to the regular marie, or for that matter, any other snack food item.

Being a late entrant in the market, McVitie's had to do something radical. So even in its early advertising, McVitie's focused on the idea that biscuits, in general, are loaded with maida, and therefore, unhealthy. The new ads push that idea forward - they put it down straight that McVitie's is healthier than the other brands in the market.

"The key deliverables of the campaign," says the company, "are, increasing the brand appeal by addressing a mass consumer audience and being seen as a healthier option for the daily (regular) consumption moment."

"Kajol has all the elements of the modern Indian woman who holds the key to every family member's health," says Sambit Mohanty, creative head, DDB Mudra North.

Apart from TV, the campaign is also being amplified through digital media spanning Yahoo, YouTube, Hotstar and Saavn. Offline, the campaign is promoted through shopping, music, fashion and recipes - platforms that appeal to women. The brand has placed a surf-surge banner on Tata Sky which sports the McVitie's logo with the tagline (Yeh habit hai fit) that appear with the channel bar every time the consumer changes channels on the direct to home operator. It is also showcasing recipes using McVitie's biscuits on food shows on channels such as NDTV Good Times and Living Foods.