Maggi goes back to "Mummy Bhook Lagi Hai" and "Bas Do Minute"

The brand appears to have hit the rewind button hard. Does going back to the '80s and '90s work as a communication tack?

Maggi is back, and so are the kids. Yes, the two little kids (brother and sister), who in the '80s and '90s returned hungry from school to the quintessential 'Maggi Mother' draped in a yellow sari and her 'Bas Do Minute' magic, are back all grown-up, in a new ad for the brand.

Ever since Maggi made a comeback last November, it has been playing on nostalgia to win over consumers' hearts, as well as their trust. In this cleverly executed ad as well, the brand maintains the visual and thematic continuity of Maggi's communication. The film begins with the two siblings getting off a taxi at the same spot where the school bus used to drop them. They reach home and surprise their mother (played by Deepti Naval). Nothing seems to have changed for them, except that now they are back home from the hostel, and not from school, and also, they buy their Maggi themselves.

Refusing to give up their old ways, they frolic around the house like small kids holding out Maggi packs and shouting 'Mummy Bhook Lagi Hain'. The doting mom pacifies them and gestures "Bas Do Minute". The family is then shown enjoying a hot bowl of noodles with the 'Maggi, Maggi, Maggi' jingle playing in the background.

The return of Nestlé India's instant noodles brand has been accompanied by a wave of nostalgia marketing with campaigns such as #WeMissYouToo, #WelcomeBackMaggi #MaggiMother and #NothingLikeMaggi. As part of the above campaigns, Maggi has been relentlessly churning out ads to remind consumers of the various ways in which the noodles brand was a part of their lives. Whether it's a father preparing a 'Maggi dinner' to impress his family once again and to prove that he can be a good cook too, or college alumni bonding with juniors over Maggi to relive their hostel adventures, or even a 'dhaba' owner celebrating the return of his hottest-selling product, the ads showcase the vivid roles Maggi has played for consumers over the years.

Instant hit?

According to Kunal Roy, head -- integrated strategy, Cheil India, playing the nostalgia card is a good strategy as Maggi was an integral part of growing up for kids of the '80s and '90s. No other generation really grew up with the 'Magic of Maggi'.

"'Maggi, Maggi, Maggi' was etched in our minds and our hearts. So, when Maggi went off the shelves, people in their early 20s and 30s felt as though a part of their childhood was taken away (even if they weren't regularly consuming Maggi at the time the packs disappeared from the shelves). Kids, today, don't really have the same connect with Maggi, so it's apt to rekindle the spark with those who can't imagine a world without it," says Roy adding that nostalgia, however, is a tricky thing.

"Often at the cost of creating nostalgia, a brand can look dated. But, here, it works beautifully. As a lover of Maggi, I can say I was taken back in time, and so, and in order to bring back the memories, I will have Maggi this evening," he jokes. Roy gives the creative execution an 8/10 as according to him it recounts the ritual of active, famished kids returning home to the dining table, beautifully. The direction, too, does justice to the film and manages to avoid the trap of becoming soppy.

According to Gopa Kumar, vice-president, Isobar, the ad has been crafted and executed nicely. "It plays the nostalgia card well and definitely took me back to my childhood days as I remembered those old Maggi ads. In fact, I even tried to look it up on YouTube," says Kumar.

On the strategy bit, Kumar concurs with Roy. He believes that the strategy to play up nostalgia is good, but, in his opinion, it will hold true only for kids who have grown up in the late 80's and 90's.

"The idea to connect with the current generation through this ad is a good effort, but to what extent will they relate to it? Since the last mile delivery of content to the younger generation and maximum interaction with them happens in the digital world, I would love to see how this conversation moves forward and extends itself to the digital platform," says Kumar.