Vivel’s Say it Right has good insight but fails to create impact: Experts

Dec 13, 2017

ITC’s personal care brand Vivel in their latest digital campaign titled, Say It Right highlights that compliments specifically for women are often rooted in gender and stereotypes.

Despite their achievements, they continue to be seen as women first and not as someone who has achieved success due to their sheer hard work and persistent efforts.

The though of the present campaign is in line with the brand’s philosophy of Ab Samjhauta Nahin and it has collaborated with renowned satirist Kunal Kamra. The video aims to help encourage an environment where there are only genuine compliments free from any gender stereotyping for women.

Sharing the brand’s thoughts. Sameer Satpathy, Chief Executive, Personal Care Products Business, ITC Limited. “Compliments and appreciation are powerful motivators. But we need to ‘Say It Right’. This creates a collaborative environment which fosters gender equality at the workplace. This video from Vivel’s #AbSamjhautaNahin campaign is thought provoking and provides perspective on how women would like to be complimented at work.”

Social Execution

In order to promote the campaign, the brand has gone ahead and tagged different women personalities across fields on their Twitter account and congratulated and complimented them for the work which they do.

.@DeepaAthlete @LaxmiSAA @PadmajaJoshi @RichaChadha @ShindePraniti @taapsee @bani_j @jasleenroyal @koelscouch @mumtajcorommf #AvantikaSingh #KKavitha

Fearless work. Unwavering voices. Thank you for inspiring.

Say it Right. Compliment her for her work. #AbSamjhautaNahin https://t.co/lJ4IW9cqGs

— VivelByITC (@VivelByITC) November 28, 2017

.All major change starts with a single step. Your journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, raising awareness on Violence against Women proves this. Kudos. @Bakshisrishti @crossbowmiles
Say it Right. Compliment her for her work. #AbSamjhautaNahin https://t.co/lJ4IW9cqGs

— VivelByITC (@VivelByITC) November 28, 2017

.@SwatySMalik Your work on women’s rights truly makes a difference. Thank you for educating and empowering.
Say it Right. Compliment her for her work. #AbSamjhautaNahin https://t.co/lJ4IW9cqGs

— VivelByITC (@VivelByITC) November 28, 2017

.Thank you for fighting to put the #LastGirlFirst. Your efforts have changed destinies. @Ruchiragupta @AshleyJudd @apneaap

Say it Right. Compliment her for her work. #AbSamjhautaNahin https://t.co/lJ4IW9cqGs

— VivelByITC (@VivelByITC) November 28, 2017

In their previous posts, the brand addressed important issues such as domestic violence or the laws around divorce.

Domestic violence is punishable by law.
Know more about your rights on https://t.co/l7laXnE5nt #AbSamjhautaNahin with #billionstepsforwomen pic.twitter.com/npsbNOX3ha

— VivelByITC (@VivelByITC) October 24, 2017

We're proud to partner with @BakshiSrishti to make India safer for women.#projectcrossbow #AbSamjhautaNahin #billionstepsforwomen pic.twitter.com/v2QI7YVsFO

— VivelByITC (@VivelByITC) September 20, 2017

Partnership with Bollywood movies

Vivel has partnered with movies like Secret SuperStar which has taken ahead the core thought of #AbSamjhauthaNahi

Vivel celebrates the spirit of Secret Superstar!#AbSamjhautaNahin pic.twitter.com/aPp17Moq8x

— VivelByITC (@VivelByITC) October 19, 2017

Expert view:

We spoke to Praveen Raj from Digital Street and Amyn Ghadiali from Gozoop to get their views on the video and find out if it stood out in terms of recall.

Praveen Raj, Senior Creative Director, Digital Street said, “The subject is topical and resonates well with today’s generation. But I feel it would have been sharper if it had only Rohini Salian (the Indian prosecutor who has handled several cases Borivali double murders, diamond merchant and film financier Bharat Shah’s case and the J J shootout case) in it. The campaign would have more impact with a series of films, each focussing on individual stories like hers. In the current format, it’s a simple but emphatic no. I think the clients should have taken their own advice and said ‘no compromises’ when it comes to budgets and gone with a series of films instead. Plus the platform of ‘no more compromises’ (#AbSamjautaNahin) is getting lost – in my opinion, #AbSamjautaNahin is targeted at women, while this video is addressing men.”

Echoing similar views, Amyn Ghadiali, Group Director – Brand Communications, Gozoop cites, “A good idea and insight got lost when it came to execution. The opening slides has poor typography and the treatment is so dull when the brand is trying to talk about a topic that can be so meaningful to the lives it will touch. Ab Samjhauta Nahi. A great insight. Movement to be specific, goes down the drain when any brand tries to go to digital without understanding the nuances of the medium. The first 5 seconds being extremely crucial, which is clearly missed. The campaign has a lot of merit. The thought has the possibility to go places, but unfortunately the social landscape is not being used to deliver the same. Brand recall. Yes. Considering that it establishes the brand in the first 10 seconds, but it falls flat in terms of leaving an impact.”

Previous campaigns:

Our shout out to #BossWomen who've said #AbSamjhautaNahin.Hear them speak on:Sexism,Women,Parenting & Family Support https://t.co/asMCE0OsGy pic.twitter.com/SJQCoVOZbg

— VivelByITC (@VivelByITC) February 23, 2017

While, Vivel has always touched upon important and sensitive issues like women empowerment, safety, domestic violence and others as part of the #AbSamjhautaNahi series, it needs to be more focused in terms of communication or the campaign stands a strong chance of getting lost in the clutter or cause based campaigns.