Since we have spent most of our adult lives in the corporate sector working on some of the best known and equally lesser known FMCG brands, we tend to notice new launches and advertising campaigns rather keenly. One such recent initiative that came to our attention is the launch of the new Lux Essence of Himalayas range of personal care products.
A quick search on Google reveals that Lux was launched in 1925, making it almost a hundred years old. In one of my lectures at the Business School where I teach Marketing, I shared this fun fact with students and asked if Lux came across as a hundred-year-old brand. Without exception all the students in my class who were awake, felt that Lux was vibrant, youthful and contemporary and belied its actual age. I didn’t disturb the sleeping students, so the view shared here may not be statistically robust and representative of the entire batch.
Man’s search for eternal youth has forever fascinated experts and ordinary people alike. Countless books and movies have dealt with this subject. Diets, super foods, alternative lifestyles and wonder drugs have had their moments of glory, alas to only fade and disappear. Nobody can deny the reality that we all have to grow old and pass away eventually.
In the world of brands and business, the rule of inevitable demise does not seem to apply uniformly. Going by the theory of the Product Life Cycle, products or brands go through distinct phases of introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The list of brands and categories that disappeared is long. To name a few: Sony Walkman, Ambassador cars, rotary dial phones, vinyl records, propellor driven aircraft. Equally, though, the list of timeless brands that defied gravity is impressive. Coke, Parle, Johnson’s Baby, GE, to name a few.
This begs the question: What is the elixir of youth in the world of brands? Some answers emerge when we examine the new launch from Lux.
Since the longest time ever, Lux has refreshed and reinvigorated itself at regular intervals. Eventually it is a soap or shower gel that we use to cleanse and refresh ourselves. To the cynical and sceptical, bathing is a mundane routine. To Unilever, showering is revitalizing, reinvigorating, energizing, awakening and the list goes on. Due to their diligent efforts, a basic act of physical preservation has been elevated to a magical world of fragrances, textures and flights of fancy. Bath time is now seen as “me time”.
The new Lux range and the ad that has been released to announce the launch continues the long-standing tradition of the brand periodically discarding its old avatar and assuming a new and exciting look. The ad itself is beautifully produced and draws us in with a combination of stunning visuals, sensuous storytelling, and a range of products, offering something for everyone.
Communication Objectives: Clearly the goal is to announce the new line-up and invite us to sample the new offerings. At a strategic level, this launch would aim to breathe new energy and vitality into a brand that is chronologically old, but young in spirit. This, clearly, is one principle that some of the great brands have followed systematically, making them timeless.
Target Audience: The ad is sharply focused primarily on women who are attentive to their skin care needs but equally revel in the experience of caring and pampering themselves. This is one range that almost invites women to make an appointment with the brand and step into the Lux world with plenty of time to spare. Users of competing premium brands would be fair game for conversion.
Proposition: The new range of products promises to be luxurious, infused with 100% pure Himalayan oil which is extracted from a plant that grows at high altitudes. Interestingly, the plant is not named, thus heightening the aura and mystique. Mesmerising rose and lavender fragrances detox and revitalize the skin. The sign off line “Reveal the most glamorous you” is clearly intended to tap into the psychology of the consumer. To our mind, this ad will make a significant contribution to solidifying an already strong brand equity. Lux competes with other premium brands and a campaign of this kind would add a few points to the luxury quotient.
Creative Idea: From start to finish, the ad is choreographed to capture the natural beauty of the Himalayan forests and weaves the wonders of nature into the products that arouse the senses of the viewer. Watching the ad, we felt the anticipation of what promised to be an out of the world bathing and pampering experience.
Brand Integration: The Lux brand is seamlessly intertwined with the visuals and narrative and the entire mood and style draws from the signature campaign look that has made Lux the “beauty soap of the film stars”.
Cut Through & Memorability: Driven by the strong execution elements, the film is a treat to watch and even after watching it a few times, we did not feel the inevitable fatigue. We are guessing this film will be around for longer than the average.
Campaign or one off: We struggled with this question. The ad is built from the origin of the ingredients that go into formulating high quality products. Given the Himalayan roots, this may be a one-off ad, unless the brand team opts for future upgrades that build on the ingredient story. If individual products in the range are advertised separately, the original creative idea of romanticising the Himalayas could be extended.
On a lighter note, had Unilever been a student in our Brand Management course at the B-School where we teach, it would have scored 8.5 on 10 with a half point deduction for the longish duration. The truth, though, is that we have been humble students of Unilever’s Marketing Mastery throughout our careers and remain indebted to this great company for all the lessons we have been lucky to have learned from them. Many of our former students will testify to the countless examples from the Lever universe that we have used in class to bring the academic and conceptual frameworks and models to life.
Thank you, Maestro.