MAM
Motivator’s ‘Pimple’ campaign for Himalaya breaks clutter this IPL season
Mumbai, 18th April, 2016: Motivator, India’s fastest growing media agency (in the last 3 years) as per RECMA 2015 has created a one-of-a-kind campaign for FMCG major Himalaya with close collaboration with ESP Properties, the entertainment and sports arm of GroupM. The innovative strategy for Himalaya Men’s Face Wash will see the brand let go off its logo for the very first time. The campaign rides on a single word ‘Pimple?’, thereby creating intrigue and sparking conversations amongst viewers this IPL.
Himalaya Men’s Face Wash has doubled its market share in its respective product category to current 8% versus a year ago with a strong distribution and smart media planning processes. The brief was to build on the momentum for the brand, where Motivator’s Team Himalaya working on their Frugal Intervention thinking framework seems to have cracked something interesting in the logo attention economy.
The envisaged strategy is being seen as a move to leverage IPL as a platform to target Himalaya’s key consumers by associating with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team. Through the innovative campaign, the problem being addressed by the brand is stated in a single word ‘Pimple?’ visibly inscribed on the caps of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team players.
All the team players will be seen sporting these caps in the ongoing matches of the tournament. This is further supported by the smart use of the lead players – Virat Kohli, Shane Watson, Sarfaraz Khan and Stuart Binny in a teaser film launched on Youtube video masthead and was timed to be played during IPL match breaks using special technology partner.
Giving his views on the overall strategy, Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Business Head, Himalaya said, “Sports sponsorship has always provided an ideal platform for engagement with Men. The Himalaya- Motivator- RCB Team however wanted to bring in innovation in this genre and developed a very engaging brand idea for IPL season. It provided us a great opportunity to build our brand in the growing men’s segment while creating excitement among the IPL fans. We are very excited with the way the campaign has shaped up, and we hope to build on the intrigue that we’ve created amongst viewers thus far.”
Adding on this, Ashwani Gandhi, Category Manager, Himalaya Men said, “It’s been an exciting campaign, performing beyond expectations. In this highly competitive Men’s category, we had to come up with an innovative way to communicate the core proposition of “Curing Pimples” and this idea does just that. With the various fields available for us to associate ourselves, sports was a natural choice and what better than Cricket. Cricketers are known for their performance, fitness, wellness and grooming quotient both on and off field. They become the ideal role model for young men to look upto when it comes to inculcating the habit of looking good and taking care of their skin problems. This communication blends perfectly our core proposition and this outlook towards cricketers, in helping us hit a sweet spot.”
Commenting on the unique campaign that has been rolled out, Zahid Shaikh, Head of South Operations, Motivator said, “In today’s day and age, branding has evolved to become more than just mere flashing of a logo. Moreover, audiences are increasingly connecting with brands on a conceptual level, rather than just plainly on a logo level, as the case has been traditionally. We are thrilled to see that the campaign has received an overwhelming response, ranking up 1.135 million views in just one single day on YouTube. It is further performing well on twitter’s trending charts, after creating a series of conversations on social media.”
“Consumer is exposed to several messages in a cluttered environment through the IPL season. If sponsorship has to work for the brand, it needs to be on the back of an innovative idea that links back to the brands promise. This is truly a brand innovation that spawned beyond just a logo presence and media spends,”opined Vinit Karnik, Business Head, ESP Properties.
MAM
Hyphen launches sunscreen campaign featuring Kriti Sanon as SPF Police
Campaign drives SPF habit; Blinkit tie-up enables instant sunscreen delivery.
MUMBAI: No SPF, no mercy Kriti Sanon is out patrolling your skincare routine. Hyphen has rolled out a new campaign film starring its Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer Kriti Sanon, who steps into a playful alter ego as the brand’s “SPF Police”, turning sunscreen reminders into a full-blown public service announcement with a wink. The campaign kicked off with a cheeky social media tease suggesting Sanon had “stepped down” from her role, sparking chatter online before the brand revealed the twist: she hasn’t gone anywhere, she has simply taken on an additional avatar, one dedicated to ensuring people do not skip sunscreen.
The film leans into humour to drive home a serious point. In a slice-of-life setting, Sanon intercepts a gym-goer about to step out without sunscreen, promptly handing over Hyphen’s ‘All I Need Sunscreen’, which arrives instantly via Blinkit. The message is clear: forgetting SPF is no longer a valid excuse when it can be delivered in minutes.
Beyond the laughs, the campaign taps into a well-known gap in everyday skincare habits. Sunscreen, despite being one of the most recommended steps, is often the most ignored. By gamifying the reminder through an “SPF Police” persona, Hyphen aims to turn a routine into a reflex.
The multi-stage rollout from intrigue-led teasers to the final film has been designed to spark conversation while embedding the brand into daily behaviour. It also spotlights Hyphen’s quick commerce partnership with Blinkit, positioning accessibility as a key enabler of consistency.
Sanon, who remains closely involved in product development and brand strategy, noted that the idea stemmed from a simple insight: skincare works best when it is easy, habitual and hard to ignore. The campaign reflects that philosophy equal parts science, storytelling and a nudge you cannot quite escape.
The film is now live across Hyphen and Blinkit’s digital platforms, with further activations expected to extend the campaign’s reach and perhaps keep the SPF Police on duty a little longer.
