A Case of Risk and Reward

‘Sex sells’ goes the old adage. This, however, is a very different story; albeit where the agency and client went down the risqué route to reap rich dividends. It’s a story that can be interpreted in several ways… Was it a case of desperate measures in desperate times; or a case of aesthetically treading the fine line between class and raunchiness? Perhaps, a relevant yet bold gamble that did pay off in the end.

As always, the client hadn’t addressed the important thing until it was almost too late.  West Coast Brewers & Distillers were due to go public in two months, and were arguably so pre-occupied with the regulatory nitty gritties that go with a new public issue, they almost forgot that the most important part was to reach out to potential investors.

Time Running Out

With time fast running out, the agency, Percept Advertising, was called in. Back in the day, Percept had earned a bit of a reputation of being a Financial Advertising specialist. But even specialists need time to deliver what they do best. Time however was a huge luxury.

The task was compounded by the fact that the client was a virtual unknown – not just with the general public, but even within its own industry. In the terribly short time available, the agency had to turn people’s heads, generate favourable opinion in the brand, and interest potential investors in its products and future, enough for them to consider investing in this rank unknown.

With time not on its side, the agency knew that the tried and tested route of slowly building a corporate image was not an option. It had to go to market with something that would instantly grab eyeballs. An all-or-nothing kind of situation – either they would hit the jackpot or bomb spectacularly.

Risk-to-Reward Ratio

To Percept’s credit – and the client’s – they were willing to take a risk, in search of that big bang idea. The usual brainstorming threw up a hundred ideas, but the one that seemed to carry the best risk-to-reward ratio was glamour. Maybe it was not so much of a risk either. After all, in its own restricted circles of communication, the alcohol industry was very successful going down the glamour – or in fact, raunchy – route. It could work with a beer brand.

Except that they weren’t really selling a beer, but a financial issue. And they had to tread carefully as this was going to be in the public space, unlike all other liquor advertising, that was severely restricted and private.

The starting point for the agency was the brand personality. The client’s recently launched beer brand was internally positioned as ‘vivacious and outgoing’. Why not extend this personality into the corporate image! Fair enough, but this had to be done on a very tight time-frame. It begged for maximum impact in minimum time.

Perfect Mix of Oomph and Innocence

In a way, the predicament helped narrow down the options. It had to be glamour, so it had to be filmi and celebrity. In a sense, it was a safe route. Because Indians revered their film stars – they could do no wrong. At the same time, the chosen personality couldn’t be loud or brash; there had to be a level of class, couched in sweetness and innocence. It had to be female.

From there, the options narrowed down pretty quickly. The last woman standing was Pooja Bhatt. She was a relative new kid on the block, who oozed both oomph and innocence in equal measure. She was yet to be cast into a filmi stereotype that came from having spent a few years in films.

The agency whisked off Pooja and its shooting crew to exotic Mauritius, post-haste, and wrapped up their lightning tour within 24 hours. A scantily-clad yet, classily-posed Pooja Bhatt against the cheerful sun, sea and sand of Mauritius created the desired imagery. Within weeks, Pooja was the toast of the town – a blitzkrieg of outdoor, print media, banners… she was turning heads like nothing else at the moment.

Curiosity and intrigue peaked. Why was she out there like this? What was she selling? Who is West Coast? The dots got connected rather quickly. For the client’s and agency’s sake they had to be. Maybe the target audience had no time to think and analyse. No time for wonderment to give way to incredulousness. What was a scantily-clad starlet doing in corporate advertising? Because the West Coast issue had already hit the market by then.

Mission Accomplished

Immediately, investor thoughts turned to matters financial. It felt like they knew the company and the brand a long time. Fact was, they knew Pooja Bhatt, and her glamour and familiarity rubbed off on the brand. Oh yes, oomph too.

The investor voted with his wallet. The West Coast issue got oversubscribed nearly three times. The agency had done its job. The client was home and dry.

Three decades later, it does raise the age-old question again: Does sex sell? Or should it be allowed to sell? Was this a case of sex selling, or was it a tastefully created campaign that merely leveraged glamour to turn heads?

  Oh well, this series does not ever intend to sit in moral judgement. You can, if you wish. The super-objective of this Marketing Folklore Series is merely to showcase marketing and advertising case studies from the past and deconstruct the various tricks and devices they used to achieve maximum effect.

Keep watching this space!