Slice: Bottled surprise

To promote the contest 'Katrina Ka Number, Crown Ke Under', a 15 feet transparent bottle was created using ABS moulding, with a cut out of Katrina Kaif inside it . The innovation is supported by traditional outdoor spread out over more than 200 sites.

Mango flavoured beverage Slice launched its 'Katrina Ka Number, Crown Ke Under' campaign, featuring brand ambassador Katrina Kaif, on television to mark the beginning of the summer season. The campaign has been extended through an innovative out of home (OOH) creative, executed on outdoor sites across the country.

The innovation involves a 15 feet transparent bottle made of acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene (ABS) moulding to give it strength, rigidity and toughness. The bottle is placed on a platform and has a cut-out of actor Katrina Kaif inside it. A large crown is placed along with the bottle on the platform. The creative carries the message, 'Call 08826262626 for details'. The innovation is given a beach backdrop for a romantic feel, along with a plank as a direction post with the campaign theme written on it.

Homi Battiwalla, category director, colas, hydration and mango-based beverages, PepsiCo India, says, "Slice has always used OOH as a key visibility medium. For our current campaign, 'Katrina Ka Number, Crown Ke Under', we have supplemented traditional OOH with disruptive innovations. We've put out brand installations, which consist of a larger than life bottle, with our brand ambassador visible inside it."

The innovation highlights the core concept of the campaign, which provides a number under each crown of Slice. On dialling the number, lucky winners can get to take Kaif out on a date. Kaif's image inside the bottle, the crown and beach backdrop bring out this idea.

Executed by Portland Outdoor, a unit of Kinetic India, along with Mindshare India and the brand's creative agency JWT, the OOH innovation is placed at 11 locations across India including Marina Beach in Chennai, near DT mall in Gurgaon, DND Flyover in Noida, Mahim Causeway and Juhu Chowpatty in Mumbai, Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad, University Road in Pune, Fun mall in Lucknow, Subhash Park in Agra, Heera Palace in Kanpur and Fun mall in Chandigarh.

"The installations have been placed in locations where consumers least expect them, like the DND Expressway in the NCR, Marina Beach in Chennai and Mahim Causeway in Mumbai. It's truly a traffic-stopping idea as no one expects this giant bottle, with Katrina Kaif visible inside it, to appear amidst busy traffic!," adds Battiwalla.

"Before the advent of summer and the scorching heat, Slice, best known for its mango taste, offers an opportunity to the consumers to meet its brand ambassador, Katrina Kaif. The innovations aim to surprise the consumers and extend the Slice experience. The out of home campaign was conceived and implemented across multiple markets," says Pushpendra Singh, national director, Kinetic Worldwide, on the idea behind the OOH innovation.

The idea of the execution was to bring alive the campaign theme, shares Rahul Thappa, leader, client leadership, South Asia, Mindshare. "We wanted to bring alive the campaign idea of Katrina in a bottle in the most dramatic fashion possible, without losing the essence of the idea in execution. Hence, the 15-feet rendition of a larger-than-life bottle, with Katrina inside it. Not only does the quality of the creative unit attract immense attention, the fact that these units are placed in high traffic/footfall areas makes the messaging hard to miss," says Thappa.

The major challenges involved the selection of the material of the bottle, the shape and material of the plank that carries the message and the actual fabrication of the large, transparent bottles. Transportation was also a very big challenge, as all the bottles had to be transported from Delhi to various regions across India.

The OOH innovation is supported by a traditional outdoor campaign over 200 outdoor sites pan India, including billboards with jut-outs and cut-outs, bus shelters and gantries.

The promotional campaign was launched on February 14 and will continue till March 31. During this span, one lucky winner will win a date with the actor every day. Those who do not win a date may win collectible Slice merchandise or personalised digital wallpapers.