Maggi is in a soup for the exorbitant price charged for a hot cup of instant noodles at the airport. A consumer took to Twitter to register her complaint. The high price charged for the instant food is tough to swallow.
But that’s the power of Maggi, one of the most loved and famous brands. A product that is eaten anytime, anywhere, and is easily prepared in 2 minutes, Maggi continues to excite the consumers and be a part of their journey. But let’s take a look back and how it all started for brand Maggi and how it became a part of consumer psyche.
In 1983, Maggi’s launch commercial was aired on Doordarshan. Ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar mentions that the agency that took up the mandate was Hindustan Thompson Associates (HTA) (now known as JWT). The executive head at the agency was Ambar Brahmachary, and it was Kakkar who went behind the camera to shoot the commercial.
Dive in to know more about what made the ad stand out, and how it stood out.
Mother-child relationship was the prime focus
The TV commercial focused on the mother-child relationship. It showed children running up to the mother and saying, as they do in real life, that they were hungry, “Mummy, bhook lagi hai”. To which the mother smiled and said, “do minute” (just two minutes).
The TV commercial had a clear simple message; mothers and children both prefer Maggi Noodles, for its convenience and taste.
Hum Log added visibility to Nestle’s Maggi
Shobha Doctor, producer of Hum Log, approached Nestle. We saw the pilot episode of the show. The challenge here was the cost per spot to advertise because Nestle handled a number of brands. A large amount of time came with the programme, be it at the beginning, midway or towards the end of the show.
Nestle had the bandwidth to use their multiple brands and ride on that advertising time period. The cost per exposure during prime time looked very good.
Maggi was one of the products which was on air. Maggi, Nescafe and Milkmaid are those products which are consumed frequently by the masses. A company cannot advertise for one week and go cold for the rest of the three weeks.
Marketing of Maggi
The controversy that broke out in 2015 had more to do with the presence of lead found in Maggi noodles. Today, the topic is on Rs 193 charged at the airport, which used to be available, once upon a time for Rs 5 when it was initially launched.
The factor of pricing was considered vital for the success of Maggi. As per Pradeep Pant, the former advertising manager of Nestle India, Maggi was going to be launched at a price of Rs 5. The managing director of the business, Barry Ryan, who was Irish, was of the opinion that if one wanted to make a big success of the product, pricing had to be done right. He managed to push through a pricing which was 50 percent off what was initially decided upon. That was critical in getting the product to start rolling.
Nestle’s Maggi began to sell faster than their imagination. Wherever Maggi was introduced, restocking became a big issue.