Katrina Kaif VS Faisal Qureshi

BY ALI NAQVI –

The objective of a brand communication, as we all know, is to enhance the brand image and outsmart its competitors. It’s quite obvious, isn’t it? In very rare cases the brand communication does the opposite. The current Nestle Nesfruta campaign “Jhooti adaoun se agay barho” is a case in point. Trying to do something different is not always the right choice. As the campaign idea “kuch Naya Piyo” commands, Nesfruta ends up doing something horrendously new.

Nesfruta TVC mocks the Slice Mango Juice campaign featuring Katrina Kaif. While trying to hit hard on Slice, it actually refreshes the memory of Katrina Kaif romancing with Mango Slice. It was a brave move, no doubt, to challenge the sensuality of Katrina Kaif and that too by Faisal Qureshi. All Slice communications featuring Katrian were high end productions beautifully executing the idea of pure pleasure. Had the ad been produced few years back, it could have triggered the brand wars.

Nesfruta has done a number of TVCs on the idea of “kutch Naya karo” featuring Muneeb Butt, but none of the campaigns could live up to the brand image of Nestle apart from generating some laughter here and there. The current campaign sinks the brand a little deeper into creative crisis. There is nothing wrong with the idea “kuch Naya Karo”. It could have been explored in a better way. There can be a social, educational or emotional angle to it. If nestle wants to make its brand look playful then it does not always have to be notoriously funny just for the sake of it. Fun is not superfluous or easy to create, as most people think. It’s a serious job that requires some serious efforts.

Ahsan Rahim has directed the TVC. It’s been a long time since Faisal Qureshi and Ahsan Rahim have worked together. The friends and colleagues have created some of the best works together. Their TV commercials, skits and music shows were original, funny and entertaining.   Sometimes smaller brands hit their giant rivals to get noticed. But one cannot expect such a strategy by a company as big as Nestle. This marketing campaign has damaged Nesfruta as a brand if not in Sales but in brand communication in the longer run.