Sleepyheads to promote condoms!

DKT India is pushing its new condom brand through a different communication.

For reasons as varied as social stigma, religious taboos and unawareness, 'Condoms' is one of the lesser spoken about subjects in India. Amazing, for a market that is valued at about Rs 1000 crore, with several key players in it. The television advertisement for the category, often tucked away for 'adult' viewing slots late into the night, has mostly visualised erotic moments irrespective of brand personalities. DKT India, a non-profit organisation and a key player in the condom industry, has taken an alternative route for its brand, XXX Stamina, which attempts to move away from stereotyped condom ads to appeal to the younger segment.

Targeted at people from SEC A+, the TVC emphasises the product's USP, whish is, condoms with a time delay component 'Benzocaine' that helps last longer during love making. Conceptualised by Guava Creative Solutions and produced by Monkey On Hot Bricks, the two ad films showcase six different situations where the protagonists sleep cosily in their own world during daytime, much to the astonishment of those around them.

Speaking about the film, Vikisha Mehta, creative director, Guava Creative Solutions, says, "Our idea was to break away from the regular type of condom communication, which is more like semi-porn and the protagonists are shown semi-nude in erotic scenes. We aimed at coming up with the communication in a fun and humorous way. Our brief was to focus more on stamina, the main feature of this new product from DKT."

Currently, the campaign is running on English and Hindi national news channels and GECs targeted towards the youth, lifestyle and Bollywood channels, including ABP News, UTV Bindass, Times Now, Zoom, SET Max and others. The Facebook page ( of the company will also be used for the campaign. The first phase of the campaign began nearly two weeks ago. The launch of the next phase of communication will include television and digital activity.

DKT India plans to launch another TVC in August and will promote the brand on the out of home medium, too. The company has earmarked Rs 2.5 crore for the entire campaign.

XXX Stamina Condoms were launched in May, 2012 and the organisation has sold more than 3.5 million pieces till date through its chain of retailers. The product is priced at Rs 30 for three pieces. Maximum sales for XXX Stamina Condoms have come from West India. DKT competes with Durex and Kamasutra in the premium condoms segment.

It is learnt that XXX Stamina targets two kinds of users: first time users and regular users. When it comes to the regular users, the biggest task for the brand is to achieve top of mind recall, so that users ask for the brand when they go to purchase condoms. For first time users, the biggest task for the brand is to explain the need of the product, safety issues and then create a space in their minds. It was found that a large number of men/boys are shy when they first attempt to buy condoms and for these users, it is up to the retailer to push a brand to the consumer.

Rizwana Kapadia, director, operations and admin, DKT India, says, "Today the condom market depends on the manufacturer-retailer relation. The retailer keeps his profit in mind before selling a brand, so it all depends on the kind of schemes offered to him. Another interesting thing is that today, the sale of condoms is not just happening at the medical shops but from the local pan shops. A lot of repeat orders are coming from them."

DKT is present in 18 developing nations such as India, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Sudan, Thailand and others. The Indian arm was established in 1992 and works in pan India. DKT India has a large range of family planning and reproductive health products such as condoms, oral contraceptives, injectible contraceptives, intrauterine devices, misoprostol pills among others.

Mumbai-based Guava Creative Solutions has been operating since 2009 and offers services in mainstream advertising, corporate communication, brand identity, packaging, entertainment, events, website, in-film placements, online marketing/social media management and games. Monkey On Hot Bricks is a production house located in Mumbai and has been operational for more than three years.

Hypnotic appeal?

Brijesh Jacob, managing partner, White Canvas/22feet, says, "The communication is definitely differentiated and, of course, it should work well for the brand. The creative team has taken the bold route of ignoring the usual way of condom brands communication and come up with a different way. My only concern is that the team could have added more charm to the situations they have shown. They could have pushed more and been more aggressive with their communication to make it more interesting."

Jacob adds that the task for the brand now is to carry on the engagement and ensure that people remember it when they go to buy condoms next time.

Raghu Bhat, co-founder, Scarecrow Communications, says, "The production values are good, the situations are quite whacked out (though there have been brands in the not too recent past that have shown people sleeping in unlikely situations) and the music track too is interesting but the idea is not original. It is a bit evolved, a Western kind of idea and, I doubt, if everyone amongst the Indian target audience will get it in the first go. But it does attract attention and is very different from other condom ads, for sure."

What it definitely needs is much stronger branding, Bhat opines. Even after multiple viewings, he wasn't able to recollect the brand name. This is important if the brand is trying to fight formidable names like Kamasutra and Durex.