Brand Wars and Ambush Marketing are nothing new in the advertising space and almost all of us have witnessed the Mercedes Vs BMW, Audi OOH Advertising rivalry. Here is the latest campaign, this time a TVC, where two Indian brands are trying to differentiate their offering with counter stating points.
Brand Wars – Havells Vs RR Kabel – Havells Take
Havells ran a full-blown campaign across all media forms hammering their USP of – Wires that don’t catch fire. From communicating safety to touching the emotional chord of viewers, Havells made sure that the communication went through well. Here is a popular TVC ran by Havells featuring the mother-son duo effectively communicating the USP of the product.
Havells also released a long format story communicating the USP – Wires that don’t catch fire. But this time the 2.5-minute long ad released in 2018 a has clear disclaimer – “Creative representation of the idea that the wire will not catch fire if the temperature is less than 280 degree Celsius and Oxygen density is less than 30 per cent.”
Brand Wars – Havells Vs RR Kabel – RR Kabel’s Take
We now come across a claim by a competing brand, RR Kabel, stating that there is no such wire which doesn’t catch fire in its latest campaign – “Akalmand Bano Sahi Chuno”. The USP with RR Kabel wires is that even after they catch fire, they don’t emit suffocating toxic fumes and also make sure that the fire doesn’t spread to uncontrollable levels.
An action similar to this is a testimony of how effective the Havells campaign has been. It is certain that Havells has made RR Kabel face the ‘heat’ with their fireproof wires claim. Dwindling market share and an unmatched proposition could very much be the reason for starting this brand war. Amidst the brand war, consumers stand confused on whom to believe.
Does Ambush Marketing work in the long term?
This is a classic example of Ambush Marketing where a brand is taking competition’s communication head on. The insulation on the wire is primarily PVC which has a melting point. Though it can be made to resist heat for long there is always a bread down the temperature. Most probably, this objection was made by competition and that is the reason we see a long disclaimer in the ad. But still, the disclaimer alone seems to not have made up for the damage done to competitors. The result is a dedicated campaign featuring a celebrity, Akshay Kumar by RR Kabel.
Though such ads have proven useful as a short-term strategy but do not tend to stick around for long as they do not connect with the audience emotionally. It is unlikely that a celebrity, Akshay Kumar, will come to rescue while the emotional connect is missing.
Here is an example of how Airtel had played the emotional chord right – Airtel Ice Cream Truck Ad
