Not many Indian FMCG companies today are able to stand up to the might of MNCs. The very few that are left, have huge heritage behind them and are still mostly family run.The products they peddle, don’t compare to those offered by international players either. So most often, these are sold in and below Tier 2 cities and to the rural consumers where a majority of the MNCs are yet to reach.
With this context, I was surprised when I chanced upon ads of an Indian company that signed off with, ‘Truth and Safety’.
Hmm, truth and safety! Safety, I can live with, given most Indian brands have origins in Ayurvedic traditions and claim to have herbs. Truth or is it Trust(?) is a little off. What are they implying by signing off with Truth/Trust! Some searching led me to the mission and vision statement of the company. Under it, one of the values stated is, ‘Be uncompromising on quality, trust, integrity and credibility”. A very lofty ideal for an Indian company (more on it in a different post).
Then I saw this ad.
Had to see it multiple times to get what they were showing, saying and implying. They actually say and imply, ‘the product gives you cooling relief in 3 days’. Now, that’s guts and plain stupidity.
Guts because they say the product gives you relief (cooling) from prickly heat from the 3rd day when every other brand here offers you instant relief. I can live with this and somewhere respect the company for saying this openly. Stupidity because they actually show the person using their product, the kid, scratching like a monkey for 2 days even after using the product! That truth taken to the extreme!!
Truth / Trust still baffles me! Am going to search for its origins in this company or is it a sign off coined by some branding consult that the owners have taken to heart?
