Brand Saga Kellogg’s India Part 2: The journey of Indian-izing cornflakes

In the second leg of the Kellogg’s India advertising journey, we explore the brands’ three main products – Corn Flakes, Chocos and Special K, and how it straddled the promotional tactics of each of them.

Last week featured the first part of Kellogg’s India Brand Saga where we traversed through its days of adapting to the Indian palette and prices. The second part of Kellogg’s India advertising journey looks into the saga of serving Corn Flakes, Chocos, and Special K to the traditional Indian consumer.

Khushiyon Bhari Har Subeh

After its makeover, Kellogg’s moved from positioning itself as a healthy substitute for the regular Indian breakfast to being a fun-filled food.

The new TVC’s and communication across featured Indian families getting together on the table to share the morning breakfast accompanied by the tagline Khushiyon Bhari Har Subeh.

The TVCs also highlighted the healthy ingredients that Kellogg’s cornflakes had – a combination of almond and honey, real strawberry, with Indian flavors such as thandai badam, kesar pista badam and rose badam. The communication was deeply ingrained in how the erstwhile packaged cereal served with cool milk can lift up the mood in its varied avatar and act as the readymade nutrient provider.

In 2010, Kellogg’s brought onboard TV actress Sakshi Tanwar to be the face of Kellogg’s Cornflakes. It was the first time that the brand was endorsed by a celebrity.

The move came along with the new positioning of the ‘Kellogg’s Corn Flakes breakfast’, which empowered every homemaker to customize Kellogg’s Corn Flakes for their family’s preferences and set them up for a great day. T

Conceptualized by JWT India (now Wunderman Thompson), the campaign ‘Shuruaat Sahi Toh Din Sahi’ highlighted the insight of the homemaker’s role as a provider of the family.

Soon the brand combined the taste & fun element with Kellogg's being a nutritious option & hence came the selling point with - Anaaj (grains, which are the base of all Indian meals irrespective of cultural ethnicity) & Iraon Shakti.

In 2015, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes took a light and amusing spin on the fact that every member of the family has varied tastes and preferences. Rolling out a mini-series titled ‘Kellogg’s Wale Guptaji ki Family’  brought to life a contemporary Indian household emphasizing that “There is only one way to eat corn flakes- Your way”.

The campaign adopted a very different take on recipes and customization of cereal in the Indian breakfast market by Kellogg India.

The series was followed by more videos on how the regular cereal breakfast can be given a twist. For the first time, it also shared recipes that went beyond sweetness and included savory recipes.

This 360-degree digital campaign leveraged all social media platforms and promoted over 100 recipes on cornflakes. The campaign also integrated key influencers - celebrities and bloggers, to promote these recipes and videos.

A on-ground ‘Cook-Off’ had been designed for societies across specific cities in the country, to directly engage with consumers.

In 2016, Kellogg India went on a nationwide hunt to find India’s best ‘Real Chef’, giving consumers an opportunity to create a dish representing their region. The search was headed by celebrity chef Ranveer Brar along with 4 other renowned chefs- Harpal Singh Sokhi (North), Ajay Chopra (West), Ananya Banerjee (East), Ruchika Sharma (South).

As part of its master brand campaign, ‘Bade Sapno ki Sahi Shuruwat' the company in 2015 collaborated with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal. Executed by JWT, the campaign was based on the insight that the aspirational Indian dreams big, but unfortunately ignores the importance of starting right.

A study on Indian’s breakfast habits sponsored by Kellogg’s stated that for 72 percent of Indians, breakfast is nutritionally inadequate. With its campaign, “Bade Sapno Ki Sahi Shuruat” #FeedingDreams the company was hoping to connect fulfilling dreams with having grain-based breakfast and giving the right start to the day. 

Yet another variant Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Brownie Delite – was launched to make breakfast irresistible and urged parents to take their children off to a #SolidStart.

The brand collaborated with content creator, Blush, to create a video featuring expecting mother, Sania Mirza, who spoke about the importance of a healthy breakfast.

Also Read: Brand Saga: Kellogg’s India Part 1 – Making cereal mainstream…

The irresistible taste of chocolate

After launching Chocos in 1996, Kellogg’s India went all out to promote the variant targeting kids and young adults.The brand was positioned as ‘The irresistible taste of chocolate’ and B-Town divas like Karisma Kapoor and Juhi Chawla were roped in to convey the message. The advertisements conceptualized by JWT India pitched the benefits of a whole grain breakfast in the taste of chocolate to mothers. 

The mascot of Chocos in India was Chocos the Bear until 2005 when he was replaced by Coco the Monkey, who is also the mascot of Cocoa Krispies.

One of its campaigns ‘Khul Jaaye Bachpan’ highlighted a relationship of equals between mother and child and saw celebrity mothers encouraging other mothers to share their real-life buddy moments with their kids.

The campaign featured Juhi Chawla and motivated mothers to nurture intimate, fun relationships with their kids throughout their childhood.

In 2014, Kellogg’s Chocos launched a novel land of chocolaty fun - Chocoland, exclusively for kids where they were able to explore new adventures, unravel mysteries of the chocolate world, and indulge in adventurous activities with their friends.

Through the integrated campaign, Kellogg’s Chocos aspired to transport kids into a world of chocolaty delight where Coco the brand mascot guided kids in the world of Chocoland. The Chocoland TVC, a mix of animation and real-life shots and gave kids a peek into the world of Chocoland.

Yet again in 2019, using animation and kids, Chocos, unveiled a two-part communication model aimed at increasing kids’ involvement with the brand through an interactive adventure called ‘Chocomanjaro Adventure’.

The first TVC by JWT showcased Coco and his gang going on a ‘Chocos treasure hunt’. The TVC asked kids to help the gang reach the treasure. The kids could write to the brand, SMS, or go online and rescue Coco and gang. Basis the kids' answers, the next TVC was going to be made.

Thus with taglines like ‘Kellogg’s Chocos Khao breakfast khud banao’; ‘School ke liye ek badhiya shuruwat’ Kellogg’s Chocos continued to widen its place in the hearts of its target audiences. Kellogg’s increasing relied on Chocos to break down the taste barrier in India.

Kellogg’s Special K

In a bid to be more inclusive, it launched Kellogg’s Special K in 2008, a low fat breakfast targeting females. In 2010, the company roped in former Miss Universe and a health and fitness emissary, Lara Dutta, as the brand ambassador for Special K.

The advertisements featured Dutta in a candid moment, sharing her secret to maintaining her figure and staying healthy with Special K. The communication merely placed the product as a simple and enjoyable way to help women manage their weight and feel confident in the way they look and feel.

Soon after in 2014, Dutta was replaced by Deepika Padukone as the face of the brand where she threw open a two week Kellogg's K challenge. The announcement came close after the launch of Kellogg’s Special K Protein & Fibre, a cranberry-flavored ready-to-eat cereal made with whole wheat, with added protein and fiber as the new variant.

Sharing his fondest memories with the brand, Pratik Hatankar, Head - Innovations & New Initiatives, Tonic Worldwide stated, "Kellogg's advertising journey has been really interesting in India. Their communication focusing on Habit marketing has successfully managed to build Chocos, Oats, and cornflakes as a standalone category in India. One of the fondest memory would be my mother taking up the Kelloggs K Challenge. I still remember the challenge gained popularity in the mid-2000s in India, which suggested women could drop a jeans size in two-three weeks if they just ate Special K for breakfast and lunch."

The heart of this campaign was about being in step with the modern-day health-conscious women. They are looking for healthier ways to manage their weight. .

The overall campaign objective was to present consumers with a nutritional boost to set the stage for the day ahead. Through the Special K portfolio, the brand aimed at addressing a bigger shift in mindset and inculcate the importance of eating a balanced, nutritious meal and not eating less in one’s journey to stay fit.

Part three of Kellogg's India advertising journey next week will dwell into the marketing saga of its varied other products including Kellogg's Oats, Museli, All Bran and Crunchy Granola followed by its digital presence.

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