Should Onida says goodbye to its 'iconic' devil ?
In the face of India's changing consumer tastes,
Onida has decided to say goodbye to the 'devil', the company's mascot that for
years aroused envy of neighbours who didn't own its TV sets, and relaunch the
brand.
The
company's 'devil' ad campaign, whose tagline was 'neighbour's envy, owner's
pride, was a rage at one point in time, but the Indian multinational feels it
has outlived its objective due to change in taste and financial capability of the
consumer.
At
the time this famous campaign was launched, owning a television was a matter of
pride for Indians. However, things have changed in the last 20 years due to
liberalisation which has expanded market for both domestic and global brands as
well as spending capabilities and owning a TV is no more a subject of
neighbour's envy.
"Onida
is in the process of building a completely new brand mascot to appeal to
India's new consumerism. Noted ad veteran Prasoon Joshi and his team is helping
the company in the brand re-birth process," a senior company official
said, while confirming that a decision has been taken to send the devil back to
where it belongs.
Onida,
established in 1982 under Mirc Electronics, today enjoys a strong equity among
consumers making it one of the leading brands in India. It offers a wide range
of household appliances, including air-conditioners, washing machines, DVDs,
Plasma & LCD televisions and home theatre systems.
Onida
has a network of over 33 branch offices, 208 Customer Relation Centers and 41
depots spread across India.Once discontinued in 1998, the devil was brought
back by the company in 2004, the official said, adding that now the time has
come to move on.
Asked
by when the new ad campaign would be launched, he said by September-end the
brand would be revealed as the contours are being finalised by the team working
on it."Since the devil has become as good as a logo for Onida products,
shelving it is a brave decision and a brave step for the company," the
official said.
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