Mentos starts whacky helpline

Are you in a crunch situation at work, or have a love life dilemma? Are simple daily chores bogging you down? A confectionery brand is taking on the role of an agony aunt.

Confectionery giant Perfetti Van Melle India is experimenting with new forms of communication, such as Internet advertising and web marketing to connect with the youth. The youth audience constitutes 42 per cent of the 38 million active Internet users in the country, according to IAMAI estimates.

Perfetti recently launched mentoshelpline.com, a spoof call center, which uses a flash-based video to interact with users and offer quirky responses to their grievances.

Mentos, the candy brand has been a hit with younger audiences in the 10 to 25 age group. Its commercials with the punchline, 'Dimag ki batti jala de', where a college kid walks backwards into class to avoid getting thrown out or the barber doing a mirror trick to save himself from the wrath of an irate customer. The irreverence of Mentos strikes an immediate chord with young and playful spirited.

"We are creating endearment around Mentos. The initiative is akin to a CSR (corporate social responsibility) exercise," jokes Abhijit Avasthi, group creative director, Ogilvy Advertising.

The Mentos helpline aims at showing the Mentos Way out of uncomfortable situations to poor souls in distress, according to a company statement. Sameer Suneja, head-marketing, Perfetti says that sweets and confectionery fall into the impulse buying category, where advertising has a huge impact on consumer behaviour. He stresses that a smart communications strategy has the potential to irreversibly swing losing brands into winners.

As all sweets are priced at 50 paise and chewing gums at Re 1, there is little room to compete on price differentiation. So, their strategy has been to focus on distribution and communication.

The relatively new soft mints category has been growing at a healthy 30-40 per cent year-on-year and Mentos competes with brands like Polo and Chlormint. Although the Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) confectionery industry had slowed down considerably in the past, it has picked up again and is growing at around 5-7 per cent estimates Suneja.

Last June, Perfetti group dabbed into the digital space for the launch of Air Action Centrefresh. The Internet ads showed a coy girl sporting a Marilyn Monroe dress that whisks up when the viewer blows onto the screen with the tagline 'Kya saans khuli, kya hava chali'. The interactive videos were screened at select pubs and discotheques too.

This time, with the Mentos helpline, the makers of Mentos have found a simple way to add flavour to the brand and catch the attention of the youth.