1500 red balls to set the Mood right

An extensive mall activation conceptualised by Rediffusion Y&R was aimed at sorting out people's hesitation with condom purchases

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | May 4, 2016

Condom brands have always had a tough time finding ways to advertise and to up brand specific sales. All the discomfort and hesitation in Indian society about lovemaking and hence the product - condom - has been a big deterrent for the segment. However, brands have time and again tried something new and out-of-the-box to grab attention.

Moods, a homegrown condom brand launched in the 1960s, decided to take the on-ground activations route before launching a full-fledged campaign. The brand was launched by the Union Government to support the National Family Planning Programme under the company name HLL (then, Hindustan Latex Limited).

As a precursor to a larger brand campaign to be rolled out later in the month, Rediffusion Y&R put out 1,500 dots in various city malls to set the mood. The agency worked on an on-ground activation for close to two months with an aim to sort out the taboo surrounding condoms.

Jaideep Mahajan

Jaideep Mahajan, National Creative Director, Rediffusion Y&R, said, “Indians are surprisingly shy when it comes to the act of sex. Though it is an intrinsic part of our mythology, the stigma attached to openly talking about sex extends to condoms. A mere 5 per cent purchase clearly reflects the embarrassment in buying condoms. The brief was to promote the use of condoms without making people uncomfortable.”

The activation got a good response as many introverted and shy looking couples tried to grab a selfie or two with the setup of bathtubs, telephone booths and car installed for the activation. The initiative kicked off on February 14, Valentine's Day, in Delhi with a bath tub set-up. Later, Mumbai and Delhi malls witnessed more such installations.

The agency conceptualised the installation ideas with balls signifying the dots on the condom for enhanced pleasure. Installations with telephone booth, car and bathtub filled with the balls were set up in malls, exhibiting these red-coloured dots with one striking message: 'Play with 1,500 dots'.

Some clicked pictures, some asked questions, some even carried them back home waiting to be surprised with condoms inside them. “We will be taking these and some new installations to smaller cities soon,” said Mahajan.

The product has always faced issues of hesitance and reluctance of people for over the counter purchases, which has been pushing customers to grab whichever brand the shopkeeper hands them. There cannot really be a discussion about the brand or variant of the product.

Mahajan explained how this kind of activation might help. He said, “The idea behind the campaign is to bring this taboo subject out in the open without making people feel uncomfortable. We want them to engage with the brand and understand that condoms are not just safe, they can be fun too. Also, there is no shame in talking or asking about them. We're seeing people get curious and interact with the installations in a positive way and that's very liberating. Hopefully, this will create a strong brand recall and people will drop their hesitation around this product.”

While people's curiosities were one encouraging aspect of the activation, it also posed a major challenge in implementation. The team found out that managing the crowd was critical to this campaign. With many different people with various mindsets, the team had to ensure that all their concerns were handled skilfully.

An extensive brand campaign is expected to be released soon.

Credits:

Brand: Moods Condoms

Agency: Redifuusion Y&R

President: Dhunji S Wadia

CCO: Rahul Jauhari

NCD: Jaideep Mahajan

Client Servicing: Hari Desikan

Art Director: Sahil Ahuja, Srikant Behera, Jaideep Mahajan

Copywriters: Shivangi Sharma, Manish Kinger

Illustrators: Vivek Brahma, Ritwik Kar

Photographer: Amol Jadhav (Shoot at Sight)

Videography: DZU Films

Edit: Uncommon Sense Films

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com