Campaign, estimated at Rs 40-50 crore, looks to reassure consumers that Maggi has always been safe to consume 
New Delhi: Backed by an advertising blitzkrieg estimated by media buyers at Rs.40-50 crore, Maggi, the popular instant noodle brand from Swiss multinational Nestle SA’s portfolio, is back in the market.
In its advertising films, Maggi—estimated by media buyers to be worth over Rs.1,000 crore in brand value—stresses on its safety record. The comeback campaign aims to reassure consumers that the brand is safe to consume.
On Monday, Nestle announced the relaunch of Maggi at retail outlets across the country, barring eight states where it is still banned. The company said it is engaging with these eight states for specific directions.
The product was back on shelves earlier this week and the Maggi ads with #LetYourMomKnow went on air from Sunday. One ad shows a mother narrating a tale about her son tip-toeing at night to cook Maggi. She lets him cook, relieved that he won’t go to bed hungry. However, when questions were raised about the product’s safety, she wondered if she did the right thing. But after Maggi cleared all the safety tests, she felt she had passed a test too.
“The brief was simple: to keep it simple. Re-assure consumers that ‘Maggi is safe and always has been’. We were clear that we need to connect with the consumers and state the facts in a simple, authentic way,” said Maarten Geraets, general manager (foods), Nestle India.
The first few films focus on mothers as protagonists.
“We would like to re-assure the mothers about the safety of Maggi noodles today and always. Now with the NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited labs clearing 100% samples of Maggi Noodles (both previous stocks and newly manufactured stocks) we want to reach out to the consumers and allay any fear or doubt they may have about Maggi,” he added.
The instant noodles, which accounted for about 30% of Nestle India’s revenue in 2014, were pulled from the market, starting 5 June, after the country’s food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), ordered the company to withdraw all nine variants of Maggi, calling them unsafe and hazardous for human consumption. It cited excess lead content and traces of monosodium glutamate, a flavour enhancer, as reasons.
Putting its worse nightmare behind itself, Nestle has released three Maggi ads on television. “There is more to come. However, this re-launch campaign will be more than just the traditional media or television, press and radio. There will be a lot happening on digital and on ground activation,” said Geraets.
But television will still get the lion’s share of visibility. The Maggi ad films have been created by McCann Erickson under the leadership of Prasoon Joshi. Joshi did not respond to Mint’s calls and text messages.
“Television continues to be the key medium to achieve reach of messaging in India and Maggi being a widely distributed and consumed brand, we will use the television medium to convey our message,” explained Geraets.
“At the same time, digital and social media via e-tailing tie-ups, Facebook, Twitter and apps will be significant in reaching out to the younger audiences,” he added.
The company has already partnered with e-commerce firm Snapdeal to roll out online offers to mark the relaunch. A news report by Press Trust of India said 60,000 welcome kits of Maggi were sold out on Snapdeal as consumers flocked to the e-commerce platform. Earlier this week, Snapdeal had announced that it will sell Nestle’s Maggi via a unique “flash sale model” as the noodles brand made a comeback after a gap of five months.
While registrations for Maggi’s welcome kit (containing 12 packs of Maggi, a 2016 Maggi calendar, a Maggi fridge magnet, Maggi post cards and a ‘Welcome Back’ letter) opened on 9 November, the sale began on 12 November on Snapdeal.
On-ground activation to rapidly connect with not just consumers but also dhabas, canteens and street vendors of Maggi noodles will be key, said Geraets.
Soumitra Karnik, national creative director at advertising agency Dentsu, said the Maggi ads so far seem predictable and do not play around with the huge anticipation the product had among consumers. “I know people who are planning Maggi comeback parties, right from kids to families to people within the same complex/compound. That’s the kind of waiting the product has. These ads don’t seem to reflect that excitement, they are feel-good and play it safe,” he said.
A Maggi fan himself, Karnik has worked on creatives for Nestle’s chocolate portfolio, including KitKat, in the past, while he was at JWT.
