BLACK GOLD

This is somewhere in the early part of 1996. I had moved from HTA to LINTAS Delhi. I was servicing

WILKINSON BLADE account at GILLETTE.  SAMIR VERMA was my boss and RANJAN my junior. It is tough to imagine the science, technology and the quality test for a simple Rupee one blade.  I was fortune ate enough to visit Wilkinson Blade factory. After witnessing the Diamond Edge test- see the Teflon coating and see the edge under the microscope my belief as well as respect for the product was deeply enhanced.

This ‘WILKINSON SWORD’ blade was a simple INR 1 patti blade. It used to come in a 5 piece pack but was mostly purchased in chutta– single unit. Client wanted to move packs instead of blades. And for that a pull strategy- a contest wherein a pack buyer could win 1KG GOLD and many could win a GOLD BALDE was designed.

As it was addressing the broad   bottom of the male pyramid- it decided to keep the story simple. A person shaving with Wilkinson blade that gives anyway a great shave- close in product window and a glint at the Teflon coating and then the highpoint- You could win a 1 KG GOLD BAR.

Normally the creative would not been too interested in the film, but it was ultimately brand Gillette- and chance to work with PANKAJ KHANDPUR at Mumbai on computer graphics – the GOLD BAR and the product window was to be created there.

The film got ready as per schedule and the whole agency liked it. Next day morning at 9:30 AM at the Okhla Gillette office- presentation was set. The esteemed audience was to be MANOJ KUMAR (IIMA- PGP 87) was heading it,

RAJIV KHANDELWAL ( I think that was the name)  was the product manager at Wilkinson and LK GUPTA media in-charge. As been the practice- ZUBAIR BHAI was told to send the system- that would mean the top end ( at that time ) Flat TV- big 36 inch and a U-matic player ( yes the presentation would always be played by it)- a VHS for handing over to clients- if they need to show it to other people in their team and organisation.

Ranjan and I were ready with the set-up when Manoj walked in. He was really upset and he never was a person who would hide his feeling. He started talking about ‘team Lintas’ living in ivory tower and not having any connect with the consumer. He stressed upon the fact that consumer connect was the most important thing for Marketing and advertising. He wanted the set-up to change- and we did change it in next 2 hour before the TVC preview could be done.

This was going to be a lesson on consumer understanding and eye-for-detail.

His logic was irrefutable. Here I share what he wanted. What learning you take out of it is your call.

1. Remove the 36 inch Hi-end TV- replace with 14 Inches small TV.
   LOGIC– consumer of Wilkinson have 14 inch TV
2. Connect the VCR Player to this 14 inch TV.
   LOGIC– that is the type of signal reception he is most likely to get.
3. Now mute all colour- darken the TV.
   LOGIC:  Most likely as per our media plan we wanted to catch him on TV between 7:30 to 9:00 AM- when he is most likely to be experiencing our or competition product. At that time most likely he would not be watching TV- but as that was the medium to best deliver the message- his interface with TV would be like that with Radio- hence only sound- no Visual.
4. Now show the Black and white – no colour TVC.
   LOGIC– though we have and  the film in colour. Most likely he has the 14 inches Black and white TV and hence when we show the 1 g GOLD BAR IN BLACK AND WHITE- it must look like gold bar- THE BLACK GOLD BAR.
5. And finally the colour version.
   LOGIC. There will be some consumer who would be watching in Colour and we can’t go wrong there.

The credit for the film passing out on all the above counts goes to the creative team. And that includes the sound tack- distinct enough as a reminder when the TVC is heard like radio and the BLACK GOLD.

I don’t know if the agency people took the learning but on WILKINSON ACCOUNT the team was always alert and could at times beat SUBODH and RAJIV (Brand managers) in the thinking process. Unfortunately most of the time Wilkinson brand was promo pack brand and not much of campaign was developed. But it did hone team’s skill on packaging.

Whenever I have to get into details and see any work from the consumer point of view- I just remind myself of BLACK GOLD.

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You have any such experience in marketing and advertising that you would want to share with readers. Connect back with me,

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