A case of the message getting washed away?

The key message behind the fictional product -- Vim Black (original Vim liquid simply packaged in black) -- was that men need a change of perspective and not a specialized product to own chores at home, the company said.

The last word on Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL’s) digital film for its dish washing brand, Vim, that’s kept social media platforms abuzz, is yet to be written. Consumers and brand experts have both hailed and attacked the campaign’s satirical take on men shy of sharing household chores -- washing dishes, in this case.

HT Image

In the new digital film, male super model and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman is seen mocking a young man in a gym bragging about doing the dishes at home. With a hint of sarcasm, Soman offers him a bottle of Vim Black to wash the dishes and brag.

The key message behind the fictional product -- Vim Black (original Vim liquid simply packaged in black) -- was that men need a change of perspective and not a specialized product to own chores at home, the company said. Available online, HUL had made 4,000 units of the parody product with the sole objective of ‘landing’ the parody campaign, a company spokesperson said. Unfortunately, for HUL, the parody had somewhat of a rough landing.

Sneering at men didn’t go down well with a section of consumers and brand experts. Communication strategy consultant Karthik Srinivas’ blogposts have been scathing: Ridiculing men instead of talking to them doesn’t sit well with the character\personality of the brand, he wrote.

Vim, the company said, has been on a journey to promote equality in chores ever since the launch of its campaign with cricketer Virendra Sehwag in 2020 and the ‘arranged’ marriage ad in 2022. During Covid-led lockdowns, men entered the kitchen to wash dishes but as normalcy returned, they’ve given up the chore. The digital-only campaign ran mostly on social media and YouTube, targeting the new-age Indian consumer. The Vim Black campaign launch and the revelation that it was the same liquid had a gap of three days to encourage conversations on social media, said a company spokesperson, adding that they continuously dropped hints that it was satirical.

Manish Bhatt, founder-director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, said both satire and the lockdown context were lost on consumers. People have short memories and they definitely do not wish to recall any pandemic stories. “It’s a convoluted piece of communication for a fairly mass brand. It’s celebrity-led niche communication, layered with context and parody protest and seems like a wasteful exercise,” he said.

Such campaigns are not commonplace as they can be a logistical nightmare and require all stakeholders to be equally convinced and invested in the idea, said Sanjay Sarma, founder, SSARMA Consults, a boutique branding and communications advisory. Besides, the risk associated with the outcome cannot be anticipated as it could swing either way. “In this case, the subject (gender stereotyping) is far too serious an issue to be trivialised as a piece of satire by a leading brand in a national ad campaign. While the ad hinged on satire, the reactions were those of the woke. That’s where the disconnect was,” he said.

HUL doesn’t agree and said its social listening shows that more than 93% of conversations were positive and have led to meaningful conversations. “Almost all of the women and most of the men have reacted positively to the campaign… acknowledging that this was a very unique take on the whole gender versus household chores debate, and they loved the subtle sarcasm. We believe this satire has been very well received…” their spokesperson said.

Some advertising and branding professionals said the ad may have achieved what it set out to do: to create a buzz for a brand in an otherwise relatively dull and boring category.

Samit Sinha, managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, said more brands should be encouraged to do their bit to promote gender equality and take on regressive social prejudices. “Companies and brands also have a responsibility to society at large and not just to their owners. If no one disagrees with the message, the brand is perhaps playing it too safe to be noticed,” he said.

In the end, a brand must stay true to its purpose. If its core values align with a topical, woke narrative, it must actively participate, speak up and take a stand. But Sarma cautioned that jumping into cause marketing just to be in the limelight, without really sustaining it through actions on the ground, can be detrimental.