Unhealthy war in

health drinks

Taller

Taller Stronger Group 7

Sharper Avinash Kumar
Lalit Singh
Himanshu
Bhardwaj
Prashant Dwivedi
Prashant Yadav
• Sigmund Freud once said, “Humans are born
screaming for attention.”
• Indeed, it is from this very basic survival instinct that
competitiveness is born.
• Success at every stage of life is judged by how one
can measure up to competition.
• Hence to deny competitiveness in advertising is both
hypocritical as well as unrealistic. Advertising is, after
all, merely a reflection of human behaviour.

• Comparative advertising, on the other hand, is one of

the manifestations of competitive advertising
• It drives sales by comparing the features or services of
a brand with that of its closest competitor
 Comparitive Advertising
• Observed in price sensitive markets crowded with
numerous brands

• Implicit & Explicit

• Where specific benefit of a brand is used to distinguish

and differentiate the product from others
 Negative perspective
Comparative advertising is, at its very best, not factual
and boring, but subtle and extremely clever!

Symptomatic of lazy creativity and lazier strategic

thinking.

It takes real effort and real study to arrive at a unique

consumer insight around which to build a brand idea
and a consumer proposition.

• The responsibility of moral policing lies with the

Advertising Standards Council of India and the
Advertising Agencies Association of India.
• It’s easy to look at a competitor and poke holes in his
product or services.
• It’s harder, but definitely more valuable, to plug the holes
in one’s own offering and build real competitive
advantages with which you can impress your customer.

• In the case of most competitive ad battles, It is mostly

forgotten who starts and who ends the fight. People forget
who was advertising what, both get associated with both.
• I simply don’t understand why one would want to advertise
for a competitor because even by calling out his bad
points, you end up doing him a favour by the mere act of
calling attention to his name.
• GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare India Ltd
• Heinz India Pvt. Ltd

Recently brought out comparative ads in print and

television claiming that their energy drinks—Horlicks
and Complan, respectively—had more nutritional
content and can provide an added value
 GlaxoSmithkline (GSK)
• Leader in Indian Health Drink Market.

• Four brands - Horlicks, Boost, Viva and Maltova

• According to retail audit unit ORG Marg,

• GSK with four brands in the category has a 75
percent volume market share (Press Trust of India)

• Competition: Complan, GluconD, Bournvita are other

popular brands.
.
 GSK- Horlicks
• In India, over 2 billion cups of Horlicks are drunk every year.

• Horlicks is the only drink clinically proven in India to make

kids ‘taller, stronger and sharper’.

• The Horlicks available has been scientifically developed and

specifically caters to the nutritional needs of the Indian diet.

• Horlicks alone enjoys 50% of the Health Food Drinks market.

• Horlicks has been a popular brand in India since 1930.

• Re-launched in 2003; included a new look for the brand

targeting its core consumer, children up to 14 years old.

• Traditionally positioned as "The Great Family Nourisher.“

• New products have been developed specifically for India,

catering different segments of the Indian market.
 HEINZ- Complan
• In 1994, Heinz brought out complan from Glaxo. Given
Heinz’s commitment to quality & leadership, complan
has evolved into India’s premium health beverages for
growing children. It has now come to stand for the
Gold standard of Nutrition.
• The brand’s positioning as the drink for growing
children coupled with its superior nutritional
formulation as its greatest strength today.
• Complan is current consumer base runs into hundreds
of 1000’s of households across the country. Apart from
India, complan is also available in the U.K, Australia,
Nepal, and Venezuela & Srilanka.
 Battle started
• Horlicks has been pitted against Complan in the war of
advertising

• Complan had resorted to a similar tactic and came out

with an ad in the form of a talk show (remember the
‘I’m a Complan boy’ ad?), which proved how Complan
is better than brand H
• once the commercial garnered enough controversy
and publicity, it aired the commercial with requisite
changes
• Horlicks boldly compares itself with Complan (which
surprisingly has not been blurred in the frame) and
claims that although both the drinks contain 23
nutrients, yet Horlicks makes a child taller, stronger &
sharper (as opposed to Complan’s claim that it only
makes a child taller).
• The commercial further goes on to compare the price
of both the products and states that while Complan is
worth Rs.174, Horlicks is cheaply priced at Rs.128.
 Moving to court
• Makers of Horlicks and Complan have gone to court.
Heinz moved the Bombay High Court while GSK
approached the Delhi High Court.

• These were tactical ads aimed at gaining market

share at the expense of competitors, claim industry
observers.
 Take of ASCI
• Advertisements must be truthful
• The source and date of the research must be mentioned in case of
claims on research bases
• No reference - person, firm or institution, without permission
• No advertisement shall be permitted to contain any claim so
exaggerated..

Obvious untruths or exaggerations intended to amuse or to

catch the eye of the consumer are permissible.
Provided that they are clearly to be seen as humorous or
hyperbolic and not likely to be understood as making literal or
misleading claims for the advertised product....
 Is the Advertising Standards Council of
India (ASCI) still effective when it comes
to comparative ads?
• For companies the main consideration behind going
on the litigation route is that there is a good chance
that the Courts may see fit to grant an interim relief
by way of staying the broadcast/publication of the
offending advertisement till the matter is disposed of
by the latter. In contrast a ruling by a professional
body such as the ASCI takes almost 45 days
• However, ASCI does have a provision for comparative
ads.

• “Comparative ads are permitted under ASCI.''

However, the content of these ads on whether it is
actually demoralising its competitor's brand is not
something the ASCI can necessarily control and does
not even come under the purview of the media buying
and selling agencies.
Mr Dorab Sopariwala, former ASCI Chairman,

“Companies tend to go to Court only when they want an

immediate stopping of the competitor's advertisement.
A court can give an injunction to stop the advertisement
dead in its tracks. ASCI has to give a hearing to the
party complained against and the case is then put up
before the Consumer Complaints Council. Thus, it often
means that the decision is given about six weeks after
the complaint is lodged. However, it is very infrequently
(probably once every year) that an ASCI member goes
to Court.'”
Mr Dorab Sopariwala, former ASCI Chairman,

“Companies tend to go to Court only when they want an

immediate stopping of the competitor's advertisement.
A court can give an injunction to stop the advertisement
dead in its tracks. ASCI has to give a hearing to the
party complained against and the case is then put up
before the Consumer Complaints Council. Thus, it often
means that the decision is given about six weeks after
the complaint is lodged. However, it is very infrequently
(probably once every year) that an ASCI member goes
to Court.'”
 Conclusion
• Complan and Horlicks are both well-loved brands;

• Most of the experts believe neither of them needed to

stoop this low. Both brands already have a strong
connect with consumers of all ages and are “heritage”
brands.
• Likeability scores for either of them have not gone up.
Recall may have but it’s important to be recalled for
the right values.