|
|
|
|
|
Just what does Hindustan Lever have on its mind with its new launch Fair & Young? By Ananya Roy
Hindustan Lever Limited, India's premier marketer, created a legend when it launched Fair & Lovely, a pioneering fairness cream researched and developed almost entirely in India, in the late 1970s. The brand, available now in some 38 countries, has spawned innumerable variants since then. There's a fairness 'reviving lotion', cold cream, soap, dark-circle remover for the eyes, and most recently, an 'anti-marks' cream. Of late, however, this Lever brand has had to contend with two new market forces, both to do with globalisation. Indian social commentators, who once worried about the complexion of 'class conflict' and the like, have started looking down their noses at Fair & Lovely for a new reason-for promoting a lubricant in the 'wannabe Western' machinery of the market's own version of social engineering. The other force, it seems, is from Unilever's headquarters, which wants to simplify and synergise the brand portfolio across the world. What, then, does Lever's launch of Fair & Young signify? Positioned as a dual-purpose cream and aimed at the married 30-plus urban woman, Fair & Young promises to lighten complexion while also keeping crow's feet away from the eye-zone. This is a departure from the marital-prospect orientation of Fair & Lovely, and addresses a fundamentally different need (the 'hope', presumably, that Charles Revson made so famous). The brand's objective, says a Lever spokesperson, is to "bring back romance in her life". But while the brand name tries to leverage Fair & Lovely's existing equity in India, it is not an extension of it. Not at all. In fact, Fair & Young has been launched under the Pond's label, which is not only a global Unilever brand, it is distinctly more upmarket than Fair & Lovely and far more sophisticated in the way it bonds with its target consumer. So, what's the strategy? In terms of price, Fair & Young (Rs 30 for a 35-gm tube) is not more expensive than Fair & Lovely (Rs 48 for a 50-gm tube). Yet, one explanation could be that Lever needs to flank Fair & Lovely---in image terms---in the higher SEC segments of the market, against a vast range of slick rival products that are currently addressing fairness as a need for the relatively well-off. Competition at the upper-end is fierce, and Lever has not been able to establish any clear leadership here. Since the mass-seller Fair & Lovely could not go upscale beyond a point, a new but not entirely new brand was needed. An alternative explanation could be that Fair & Young is a sort of 'escalator' brand, strategically crafted to lead the vast Indian fairness market (as it gets richer and better educated) up from the ordinariness of Fair & Lovely to the relative sophistication of Pond's-to suit the global brand simplification agenda. Interestingly, the latest TV campaign for Fair & Lovely, featuring a wannabe cricket commentator, makes a decisive move away from the marital-prospect theme. This suggests a shift in Lever's entire fairness market approach, from narrow-context complexion insecurity to wider-context social empowerment (listen to the jingle). Either way, the launch of Fair & Young is a smart move. The dual-purpose product's anti-ageing attributes could be emphasised overtly, while keeping the fairness aspect precisely as subtle as the urban sophisticate would like. Since ageing-fear is universal, by and large (or at least in comparison with complexion anxiety), this brand would be far less vulnerable to criticism. Fair & Lovely's dark-circle remover, launched in 2001, attempted something similar-except that wrinkles are a more obvious threat to the dream of keeping bridal eyes as wondrously bridal as possible.
|
|
Issue Contents Write to us Subscription Syndication INDIA TODAY |
INDIA TODAY PLUS | SMART
INC © Living Media India Ltd |
 |
 |
