#SamosaTalks: Fevicol has become an adjective: Bharat Puri & Vivek Sharma

From revealing the secret behind Fevicol-Ogilvy’s 'majboot bond' to the back story of iconic Fevicol logo, Pidilite Industries’ Bharat Puri and Vivek Sharma bare it all on the eve of Fevicol’s 60^th birthday.

Fevicol recently unveiled a mega campaign celebrating its 60-year long journey in India.  The one and a half minute film, also the longest of Fevicol’s ads, beautifully encapsulates its six decades of existence and consumer bond. Conceptualized by Ogilvy, Pidilite’s creative agency partner for over three decades, the new TV film highlights the Fevicol's strength while drawing parallels with the changing paradigms of Indian social and cultural scenario. Bharat Puri & Vivek Sharma take us behind the scenes.

The film takes the audience on a journey of multiple generations through a perspective of a sofa supported by a scintillating song in Bihari dialect. The age-old brand has invested approximately INR 20 crore in this campaign; the ad film will be aired on leading GECs, digital platforms and will be supported by radio and cinema. For the first time ever a brand’s advertisement will be placed as content on OTT platforms like Hotstar, Sonyliv, Zee5, etc.

Summing up the iconic journey, Bharat Puri, MD, Pidilite Industries Ltd told Social Samosa, “Fevicol’s advertising journey has been a momentous one. It started as a small consumer brand which was seeking to replace animal glues with the synthetic glue. It then went onto connect with carpenters, then the famous two elephants logo came into the picture. The first Haisha film came in and then a whole set of iconic films followed."

Puri explains that Fevicol’s journey is characterized by two things- the brand has always been about the unbreakable bond – the atoot rishta. Secondly, Fevicol has always been about innovation. It doesn’t matter if its the communication or a set of products, it's their policies of how they do things.

Also Read: #BrandSaga: Fevicol – Iss Jod ka koi Tod nahi, LITERALLY!

Meanwhile, for Vivek Sharma, CMO, Pidilite Industries Ltd, it's difficult to count on the key milestones as Fevicol has been an evolving brand for 60 years. He shared, “Over the last few years we are deeply engaged with the youngsters through the digital medium and we continue to make sure that we are part of the conversation of the nation via topical events and we keep delighting and making the proposition of unbreakable bonds stronger”.

Puri believes that as long as you are relevant, contemporary and have a strong consumer connect, you will sustain. “In our case, we believe ‘unbreakable bond’ is a timeless proposition. It's the context you keep placing it in and with whom you play it which makes it modern and relevant," Puri explains.

As far as Fevicol is concerned the wonderful feel is whether you are 16 or 60 you have the same affinity to the brand - Puri  

As far as the age-old brand’s marketing strategy is concerned, Sharma informed that Fevicol’s media mix includes talking-to consumers, contractors as well as carpenters. He further elaborated, “TV is the lead medium because we are a mass brand serving all socio-economic strata. But digital now forms a significant chunk of our spends as we want to keep talking to the consumers who are coming into the fold and keep the brand contemporary. More than the expenditure it is the attention that we are giving to the digital medium. We are making sure that we are part of the conversation which happens on those platforms”.

The duo further shared the secret behind one of the longest-running client-agency (Fevicol-Ogilvy India) relationship, the back story about Fevicol’s iconic logo, behind the scenes of famous Fevicol ads and more in this exclusive video interview.