Brand Saga: Appy Fizz, a drink that made you cool

From ‘A cool drink to hangout with’ to ‘Feel the Fizz’, Appy Fizz advertising journey has been high on innovations and quirk, making everyone who consumed it 'Cool'.

The temperate is soaring outside while we are all locked up in our homes. My fridge boasts of a number of Appy fizz bottles (as of now filled with water) as I don’t get rid of them finding them super cute. The champagne shaped PET bottle was one of the reasons the drink was brought home. While the brand’s packaging is truly noticeable, the Appy Fizz advertising journey is no less.

The Modern-Day Apple Drink

Parle Products saw the light of the day in British India in 1929. Later, the original Parle company was split into three separate companies owned by the different factions of the original Chauhan clan, each offering different products. Parle Agro owns Frooti, Appy, LMN, Hippo, and Bailley brands.

After giving India the much-needed mango-flavored beverage, Parle Agro, in 2005, created Appy Fizz.

Appy
Fizz Ad-Nama

When launched in 2005, Appy Fizz was pegged as a carbonated apple juice without alcohol, which can be also used as base for cocktails. It was promoted as India's first-ever sparkling fruit drink launched as a great-tasting, healthier alternative to colas. The one boundary that the brand is hailed to have hit right in the beginning, was the attractive packaging. The bottles of different shapes & sizes with a transparent touch caught the attention of many.  

A Bottle that Talks

Grey Worldwide began handling Appy Fizz’s creative duties in 2006 and released a series of ads targeted at youth with the tagline ‘A cool drink to hang out with’. The TVCs themed under ‘Appy Fizz & Friends’ (AF&F ) featured a group of friends chilling with the humanized version of the Appy Fizz bottle.

The core thought lied in the brand’s presence ta all times - celebratory moments, isolation, chilling with loved ones, spending time with self – it was positioned as the companion we need.

The stylish, champagne-bottled Appy Fizz started hanging out at cool places like college canteens, discotheques, and high-end restaurants.

From picking up topical issues like Global Warming for communication to sharing seasonal greetings, Appy Fizz's advertising imbibed messaging induced with a sense of social responsibility and a humane touch.  

In 2007, the brand's creative mandate moved to CreativeLand Asia (CLA). As per the agency website, to make Appy Fizz 'A cool drink to hang out with', CLA gave him a voice and a character and brought him to life. The advertisements imbibed his (the bottle's) witty take on everything under the sun (including the sun, in fact) .

Eyeing the 2007 World Cup as an opportunity to expand the consumer base, Appy Fizz joined biggies like Pepsi, Dish TV, and Bajaj Avenger to harp on the popularity of the tournament. Unfortunately due to India’s early exit from the WC in 2007, the marketing efforts gained little to no results.

CLA sensed the disappointment and soon weaved a jingle titled ‘Welcome Back Indian Cricket Team’, which was highly promoted on radio and in the blogosphere, followed by TV.

Rolled out as a part of the Appy Fizz & Friends series, the jingle and the TVCs aimed at capturing the youth’s imagination. Titled the ‘Cricket Jingle’, the videos showed witty caricatures taking jibes at various real life elements.

Appy Fizz commercials and creative advertisements found their place first on traditional mediums like radio and print followed by blogs, as opposed to a traditional TV-first approach.

Hailed as abstract advertising creativity, its print advertisements by CLA - ‘Where is the Universe?’, ‘True Love’, ‘What is the Meaning of Life?’ - Mankind's most baffling questions, were answered by Appy Fizz and Grappo Fizz - Two Fruit drinks aka 'Two Cool Drinks To Hang Out With.'

Appy Fizz also came with advertisements projecting itself as healthy fruit juice meant for cool young people.

Appy Fizz’s new buddy

It was now time for the Appy Fizz bottle to get a new pal  and in 2012 the brand roped in Saif Ali Khan known for his wit and satire. Popular amongst his gang of friends for his sparkling wit, one-liners and tireless fizz, Appy Fizz, was seen hanging out with Khan, in a series of TVCs created by CLA.

Also Read: #BrandSaga: Coca Cola- The journey of nation’s official ‘Thanda’

The commercials invoked a sense of humor and quirk with fun banters along with showcasing Khan more like a hangout buddy and not necessarily a celebrity endorser in the campaign.

In 2013, for the Appy Fizz summer campaign, CLA portrayed Khan's dream as the new hangout spot for the cool drink.

The campaign went live on the brand’s social media platforms. The hashtag #SaifNFizzhangout trended on Twitter; according to reports, the campaign accomplished nearly 40k tweets. While #SaifNFizzhangout had created a buzz on Twitter timelines of over 4.55 million users, it added 200% new followers. Thus, increasing the base of consumers for engagement in real-time for the remainder of the year. 

As part of the campaign, CLA also designed and developed a microsite.  If someone wants to hang out with their friends they could visit the website, and choose an option - a nightclub, a bar, a cafe, entertainment or a house party. The same year also witnessed CLA redesigning the packaging of the can variant of Appy Fizz to provide fresh content for its young and loyalist consumers.

In 2015, Parle agro called
off its nine-year alliance with its creative partner Creativeland Asia
citing personal reasons.

Enter Priyanka Chopra- Feel The Fizz

After a decade since its inception, in 2016 Appy Fizz re-positioned itself as a bold, memorable, edgy, mysterious & encouraged its consumers to “Feel The Fizz’. The brand associated with Priyanka Chopra highlighting the brand values of the new Appy Fizz.

The new image was personified with a campaign imbibing the values of being mysterious and intriguing exuberating confidence which was highlighted in its visual identity, communication, and packaging design.

Creative agency, Sagmeister & Walsh came on board for the new Appy Fizz TVC campaign which was directed by Julien Vallee & Eve Duhamel and produced by Mathieu Dumont of Sailor Production. The music was developed by Bollywood music composer and lyricist, Amit Trivedi.

A whopping INR 70 Crore was invested across a strategic mix of media vehicles with the television playing the lead medium and an aggressive focus on digital.

Bhai Ki Entry - Appy Fizz goes massy

After being the title sponsor of Big Boss in the previous season, sensing the mass engagement and reach of Salman Khan, Parle Agro replaced PeeCee with Khan as the new brand ambassador.

Commenting on the decision, the company stated that over the last decade Appy Fizz has grown to have very high acceptance in both, rural and urban markets. Therefore, the need was felt to have a brand ambassador who could take the brand to the next level by creating a very deep connection with India and Khan was the best choice.

The beverage maker aimed at investing INR 100 crore in the new #FeeltheFizz campaign with Salman where the TVCs show him in a peppy avatar. The brand objective was to solidify its position in the beverage industry.

#RiseUp campaign in 2019 urged consumers to #FeelTheFizz by rising up and following their passion. With marketing spends of about INR 75 crores, Parle Agro here adopted a hyper-local strategy with various initiatives to further connect with consumers across India.

The company stated in a media release that the new brand campaign will play a pivotal role in consolidating Parle Agro’s foothold nationally with Salman Khan as the brand ambassador and Jr. NTR as the brand ambassador for Southern markets.

The Digital Fizz

Appy Fizz did a debut on Facebook in 2012 amassing a fan base of 2 lakhs on the platform. From announcing event partnerships to brand associations to checking on the consumers during the lockdown, Appy Fizz’s Facebook page delves into the creative themed with hues of red and black.

The brand’s Twitter (since 2009) presence has amassed 11.5k followers and Instagram (since 2016) boasts of around 8k. At present both the platforms are promoting contests with hashtags #ArtofFizz #FEELTHEFIZZ asking users to don creative hats and showcase fizz recipes, artwork, and creations.

The Appy Fizz advertising journey is an ode to a comparatively late entrant that managed to take the Indian market by storm. From squashing or qualms around a new drink to creating not just product awareness but a category in itself, Appy Fizz has done a great job.