Snickers extends campaign to wrappers; boldly tweaks name on pack

Only one out of five bars has the original 'SNICKERS' logo. The rest four carry the dummy words.

What does it take for a brand to replace its name/logo with a goofy word? Apparently... not much. And there aren’t many that have created precedence for this. But nuts, caramel and chocolate-based bar, Snickers, from Mars Wrigley Confectionery, actually seemed to have pulled it off. Originally, the topside (face) of the packaging is covered by the brand name/logo - Snickers. It has now been replaced by words like Junglee, Princess, Nautanki and others.

Snickers packs at a retail store

Snickers' customised wrapper

Launched as limited-edition packs, it is now a permanent development in Snickers' branding.

Snickers' global effort. Source - Adweek

While the effort has been a global exercise for Snickers and has been carried out in different parts of the world over the years, the brand decided to play it out in India in 2017. During the time, the new packs were planned as limited-editions. However, they were re-introduced permanently in 2018 based on 'positive consumer feedback'. Bars with the customised packaging are available across traditional and modern trade outlets throughout the country. In India, the campaign “Who are you when you are hungry?” was crafted by Bottle Openers, a Delhi-based digital marketing agency on a project basis.

Also, the brand has not entirely done away with the original logo. "Every fifth bar has the original brand logo on the top and all the bars have the logo on the side of the pack," says a Snickers spokesperson.

The words have a vernacular flavour coinciding with a hunger reference and have been influenced by the copy of the brand's commercials. The packages have been launched in seven other Indian languages apart from English. As a strategy, the buzz around these words is built up by the commercials.

The words include -

English: Clueless, Rowdy, Crazy, Princess, Drama Queen, Junglee, Confused, Tubelight

Hindi: Bhukkad, Laatsahab, Bheja Fry, Nautanki

Tamil: Vetti-scene, Pokkiri, Tension-party

Malayalam: Freaken, Kattapost, Scene contra, Kalippan

Telugu: Dookudu, Neerasam, Pokiri

Kannada: Kalakaar, Blade, Nazuk Rani, Kirik

Gujarati: Rajkumari, Ghelo, Dhuni

Marathi: Naatki, Beparwa, Sanki

It’s time for Hunger Bars 2.0. Can you find all the #HungerBars coming out this time? Spot them here and comment below. #EatASnickers pic.twitter.com/3QGOSt89Sr

— SNICKERS India (@Snickers_IN) 12 December 2018

It’s time for Hunger Bars 2.0. Can you find all the #HungerBars coming out this time? Spot them here and comment below. #EatASnickers pic.twitter.com/Dpp89zwHXA

— SNICKERS India (@Snickers_IN) 19 December 2018

The effort aims at positioning the product as an on-the-go solution for hunger. For example, in the 'Nautanki' commercial (nautanki = attention-seeker), the character, a student, displays strange gimmicky behaviour in a classroom only to be calmed down with a Snickers bar. The behaviour was apparently caused by untimely hunger.

The idea for this story struck us when one of our teammates pulled out a bar of Snickers from his bag and offered it to a hungry colleague a few hours post lunch. The 'Princess' wrapper in the first image of this article is from that bar.

The commercials and new names tie in with the brand's anti-hunger positioning and tagline – "Who are you when you are hungry?"

Snickers 'Confused' TVC

Although the name is replaced, the design, colour, font and other aspects are the same.

Snickers 'Princess' TVC

As a strategy, the buzz around these words is built up by the commercials. During the launch in 2017, the new packs were planned as limited-editions to the product portfolio. However, they were re-introduced permanently in 2018 based on 'positive consumer feedback'. Bars with the customised packaging are available across traditional and modern trade outlets throughout the country.

Snickers 'Sarcastic' TVC

Also, the brand has not entirely done away with the original logo. "Every fifth bar has the original brand logo on the top and all the bars have the logo on the side of the pack," says a Snickers spokesperson.

Snickers 'Tubelight' TVC

Such "stunts" do come with a risk, especially when the brand name is replaced. It takes some confidence to pull it off.

Snickers 'Nautanki' TVC

The Snickers team reveals to afaqs! that the packaging had already built an identity because of its colour and logo and studies reflected a "strong association" of the brand and pack without the logo on the top at all. The placement of every fifth bar with the original brand logo on the top is also aimed at mitigating the risk.

Speaking about the influence of advertising copies on the new replacement words on the packaging, a Snickers spokesperson says, "Packaging was the central idea of the campaign as packaging and advertising are complementary today. One can say that the packaging is like an on-going ad campaign for a brand. While it may not be the main focus for every campaign, it is one of the strongest assets. Whenever we think of a new ad campaign for Snickers, we ensure that the marketing mix takes into consideration the product packaging as well."

ALSO READ: This hunger-busting 'liquid snack' reminds us of Snickers' proposition

Mars Wrigley Confectionery India recently launched a new variant of Snickers. It includes almonds as a primary ingredient.

Industry speak:

Shekhar Badve

Shekhar Badve, director-strategy and marketing, Lokus Design, says, "Consumers won't be confused or mistake the pack for something else. It’s similar to the coke campaign of using words or emotions. One would check the outcome before taking such a step. It looks like the brand is trying really hard to get there."

Badve opines that marketers today are more experimentative and taking interesting and bold steps. "This is opening up innovation and creative possibilities which will eventually add up for the brand and organisational benefits," he says.

"There two dimensions to this - one, the brand and the packaging design have a very strong recall and second, Snickers has the ethos and the will to try out new things or innovate. Hence, it can attempt to do such a thing," he adds.

Vibha Desai

Brand consultant, Vibha Desai, finds this an interesting case and says, "Marketers are taking the risk as in the deluge, you need something to Pop! BBDO New York launched the campaign 'You are not you when you are hungry' internationally. The same thought has been rolled out in India with a mild change to 'Who are you when you are hungry?'"

"Instead of having a derivative rendition of the global campaigns, the Indian ads/packaging picked on Tubelight, Nautanki, Confused, Junglee, Princess. These themes are totally apt for the Indian audience and I am sure they have a strong consumer connect," she adds.

"It was a risk but it's a fun brand. In today's environment, where rules are meant to be broken, Snickers has done just that. It provides freshness for potential consumers to have say, Junglee, jumping out at you. Consumers will decode it as something from Snickers. It's a strong idea with a strong execution, and that's what makes it interesting," Desai explains.