ASIA-PACIFIC – SINGAPORE, FEBRUARY 2011 – Grey Mumbai attempted a fresh tactic for Full Toss, a new snack by confectionery company, Parle. The four TVC’s use sleight of hand to create a magical impact for the launch campaign of the extruded corn snack, which is available in Green Mango Chutney, Jhaal Muri and Masala Munch flavors.
The Indian snacks market is worth around US$ 3-B, with the organized segment accounting for half the market share with an annual growth rate of 15-20 per cent. In the unorganized sector, there are approximately 1,000 types of snacks and another 300 types of savories being sold today.
The brief which Grey Mumbai received from the client was clear – with no real distinction in the format of the snack, the communication needs to create disruption and get people to try FullToss.
Shalin Desai, Group Product Manager, Parle Products said, “There are some big spenders within the snack market and we knew that we had to stand out from the clutter and not do the run-of-the-mill advertising."
Grey Mumbai embarked on a ‘stunt’ that involved a street magician, unsuspecting victims, two cities and three weeks of hectic rehearsals. Renowned street magician in India, Ugesh Sircar, was commissioned to create various tricks using the Full Toss pack and snack sticks. Random and unsuspecting people were subject to Ugesh’s magic as he filled empty packs with Full Toss, pulled packets out of a closed vending machine as well as made a pack of the snack levitate.
View all four TVC’s below.
No retakes were needed; no models were used, however what was caught on film were real consumers engaging with the brand in a surprising and refreshing manner. And at the end of each trick Ugesh was caught on camera confessing ‘Asli Magic toh isme hain’ which translates to ‘simply magical’.
Commenting on the TVC’s, Executive Creative Director and Creative Head, Grey Mumbai, Rohit Malkani, said, “It’s almost fashionable to use the term consumer engagement today. I think the time has come to do work that genuinely engages the consumer. The Full Toss TVC’s are a step into that direction. While it was exciting and new for us, it was also scary because we never knew how the tricks would turn out until we shot them."
Amit Akali, National Creative Director, Grey India added, “The client immediately liked it and backed us up, even though it was not a conventional exercise; with no fixed scripts, no pre approved casting, no models and actors, no fixed locations and no clear idea of how the final films would turn out.”
At the conclusion of each trick, samples of Full Toss were distributed, thus converting the stunt into a sampling exercise which reached out to thousands of consumers in malls, parks, schools and on the street. Plans are currently on-going to recreate the magic for activation programs, public relations initiatives and launch activities.
Footages of the tricks have been used to create viral films that were then uploaded on to YouTube. Four of these footages were converted into TVCs, which are now on air.
CREDITS
Client: Parle Products
Agency: Grey India
National Creative Director: Malvika Mehra, Amit Akali
Executive Creative Director: Rohit Malkani, Karan Rawat
Senior Writer: Chitra Bhanu
Vice President and Branch Head: Hari Krishnan
Client Services Director & Associate Vice President: Vineet Singh
Account Director: Ajey Shetty
Account Manager: Poulami Dutta
Vice President & Director – Films: Samir Chadha:
Films Executive: Manjula Moses
Production House: Footcandles
Director: Aiyappa
