Is India ready for 'aerated chocolate'? Mondelez India thinks so...

A look at Ogilvy's recently launched ad film for Mondelez India's Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Bubbly, a product that looks like a cross between chocolate and bubble wrap.

The last time the Indian ad industry went to town with the word 'bubbly' was around ten years back, when Pepsi's 'Oye Bubbly, Aaja Bubbly...' campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan hit TV screens.

Now, Mondelez India (formerly Cadbury India) has added a new variant - Bubbly - to its existing premium range of chocolates, marketed under the name Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk.

Sure, 'Bubbly' may not be the most 'premium' sounding word - (what with 'massy' films like 'Bunty Aur Babli' coming to mind instantly!) - but its launch has everything to do with the "growing demand in the premium segment," according to the brand.

Part of the Silk portfolio, the product is an 'aerated chocolate', manufactured using Mondelez's Aerimelt Technology. The soundtrack in the film, though, doesn't have the word 'bubbly' in it; in fact, it is the same 'Kiss me...' song that plays in all Silk ads.

New to India, the product exists across Mondelez's global markets. "Bubbly is a globally accepted product format, which has achieved reasonable success across geographies like the UK, Australia, South Africa, Europe and South America. The performance of this product across these markets gives us confidence that Bubbly will do well in India as well," shares Prashant Peres, director - marketing, chocolates, Mondelez India.

Adds Peres, "Research has indicated consumer preference for the 'bubbly concept', and a strong intent to purchase... With this launch, Mondelez India has combined its deep consumer insights, global expertise in chocolate and breakthrough innovation capabilities."

The target group, he adds, is the "young, aspirational, upwardly mobile upper middle class.... we are looking at increasing (our) repertoire of core Silk consumers and creating greater consumption occasions..."

Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Bubbly is available at two price points, Rs. 70 and Rs. 160.

The launch campaign, created by Ogilvy India, comprises TV, outdoor and digital communication, as well as on-ground and point of sale branding, aimed at driving sampling at modern trade outlets.

Ready To Pop?

Is the youth ready to sample a chocolate with bubbles in it? Jagdish Acharya, founder and creative head, Cut the Crap, an advertising agency, is optimistic. Silk, he feels, stands more for fun than for indulgence. "And what's fun without experiments? It's a visually exciting variant; the youth would be all for it," he reasons.

Will Bubbly, given the word's inherent mass appeal in the Hindi speaking market, dilute the sleek 'premium-ness' that the Silk range currently commands? "It's a good move to offer variety within the Silk portfolio," he says, "It keeps the excitement up. I don't see the name Bubbly taking anything away from the Silk imagery. The brand may be premium but in a very accessible sort of way."

The soundtrack, he feels, "keeps Bubbly within the Silk franchise," something he deems crucial. "It's like seeing your favorite hero in a new role," Acharya muses.

Overall, the film appears to retain the innocent romance that Dairy Milk stands for - (remember the Shubh Aarambh film that started it all?) - than it does the luxurious display of chocolate we've seen in most ads for the Silk range. "... The smear and finger-scooping shots of chocolate are missing but they are mere visual accessories that have been replaced with some new ones," he says.

Viren Razdan, managing director, Brand-nomics, a brand consultancy, is skeptical. While he calls the film "charmingly mainstream CDM," he finds the marketing strategy a touch flawed.

"Variants like these would seldom reach a critical following. They often induce trials, mostly feed off the novelty factor and then either settle down into a niche segment or most often fade away," he predicts, adding, "Given the hunger to experiment, this product would call for some trials."

The Silk range, he points out, has "shameless indulgence built into its code." Bubbly, with all its bubbles, he believes, is "a bit of a hiccup." How so? "Almost when you are expecting the silken chocolate pack to emerge, the bubbles pop up! The memorable soundtrack comes to a screeching halt in the mind... the Bubbly is an awkward fit, in the rich silken tour," explains Razdan.