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Playing Safe: Sunfeast Yippee Noodles reassurance ad campaign

Yippee is the first instant noodles brand to come out with a reassurance ad. Whether sales pick up remains to be seen

sunfeast yippee
Domestic giant ITC Ltd today said it has not received any communication from the UP government regarding presence of excess lead in its instant noodle brand Sunfeast Yippee.

Campaign: Reassurance
Brand: Sunfeast Yippee Noodles
Company : ITC
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather (Kolkata)

The Ad

A variation of its predecessor released in May, this ad uses old montages of a child and his neighbour enjoying instant noodles. But the TVC now focuses on safety, with montages of the manufacturing unit. Don’t miss how the ‘Absolutely safe’ super appears before the ‘Tasty’ one, reassuring consumers in a category mired in controversy.

Our Take

In the wake of the Maggi crisis, the last couple of months have been stormy for the instant noodle category as a whole. One month into the ban, instant noodles sales in India crashed by over 90% to just about Rs 30 crore from Rs 350 crore a month earlier, as per reports. The blackout of the ‘staple’ food for many in the country was certain, till the Bombay High Court ruled that the national ban on Maggi by the central food safety regulator violated the principal of natural justice and struck down the order passed by the FSSAI. And that was the cue perhaps that instant noodles brands were waiting for.

Known for luring mothers with the promise of a ‘quick to prepare’ snack and children with a lip-smacking one, instant noodles brands are suddenly seen changing communication tracks—from being just a snack which solves hunger problems to a food item which is safe for consumption. And among the first ones to proclaim safety is ITC’s Yippee. While others in the category are still contemplating their next step, ITC’s Sunfeast Yippee Noodles is back in business with its ‘Absolutely safe’ communication. The noodles brand which was banned in Gujarat for failing the safety test, has upped the ante by launching a reassurance TVC.

Says V L Rajesh, divisional chief executive, foods division, ITC Ltd, “The noodles category has been impacted negatively due to the recent spate of events. We therefore feel it is imperative to reinstate consumer trust in the category. To this end we have embarked on communicating to the consumer in an open and transparent manner with a reassurance campaign which is rooted in facts.” This campaign is further augmented by a ‘You Ask We Answer’ (YAWA) mechanism through various media. According to Rajesh, the campaign on Sunfeast Yippee! highlights “ITC’s uncompromising commitment to quality and safety, our state of the art manufacturing facilities as well as rigorous testing protocols”.

In that sense, the campaign does what is expected after any controversy—rush to reassure the consumer on safe consumption. But are shots of the manufacturing process in advertising becoming a stereotype, considering how virtually every brand hit by a crisis (remember Aamir Khan rushing to the Coke factory in a yesteryear commercial to speak of safety) are using the most predictable creative route? That is anyone’s guess. We think the ad just about does its job, but whether sales pick up remains to be seen.

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First published on: 25-08-2015 at 00:53 IST
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