Lux Soap recently spent millions to hype its new beauty queen, as the game to guess the models name attracted numerous participants through a prize incentive offered by Unilever Pakistan.
However, Pakistani masses already knew that the lady in question was Katrina Kaif, before it was officially revealed, as Hindustan Lever had been running the very same advertisement long before the teasers even started, here in Pakistan.
Costing nearly 45 million Indian rupees for one endorsement, it is the same beauty that uses Veet for excellent skin, Pantene for great hair, loves to dress up in yellow to drink Alokozay tea and has a special relationship with Slice Mango.
For marketeers, the equation seems perfect. In increasingly competitive markets and tough economic times where advertising budgets are gradually receding, marketeers are looking for higher rates of return.
Simultaneously the target market is becoming more integrated as access to the internet and other media has become cheaper. And Pakistani culture, as a result, is absorbing external influences and evolving at a faster pace.
All this is redefining the Pakistani market, making it homogenous with the region, enabling marketeers to take the next step in going for regional standardization of campaigns.
Its been long since big spenders have been adopting a uniform story board for nearly all their brands.
Be it beauty creams or detergents, the most producers do, is shoot their regionally implemented concept with local models. This meant that their ads were the same in the region, with only little lingual adaptation and local casting.
With the new trend of minimal adaptation, they can run the same advertisement everywhere, which essentially translates into higher returns. But guaranteeing enhanced target market exposure is one thing, ensuring product recall through advertisements is another. And with Ms. Kaif it is the latter that is more questionable. As a consumer you can remember her in each ad, but what is she really selling.?
Excessive exposure to multiple brands tends to dilute the impact of brand ambassadors on a product. Yet there are exceptions.
There was a time when Telenor, Shezan Juice, LG, Lux and many other labels had Ali Zafar - the famed Pakistani singer - common in them. Similarly, in global markets Cristiano Ronaldo has scored big on the endorsement scene, a whopping $32.5 million with Nike.
Only time will tell how effective these strategies proved financially for all these brands, which is what will turn this potential fad - one face to many products - into a solid tradition.
For now, there are likely to be more and more Indian models endorsing Pakistani brands, which means local models should soon be looking for placards.
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