Do or Deo: Unilever smells big biz in Asia
In the New World Odour, Asia smells the worst, says Unilever, suggesting it's time we Asians did something serious about it. Keeping customers
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: In the New World Odour, Asia smells the worst, says Unilever, suggesting it���s time we Asians did something serious about it.
The stench seems to have reached the company���s London and Rotterdam headquarters because, according to Russel Taylor, Unilever���s global V-P for Axe deodorants, ���No one had yet found a way of making Asians self-conscious about body odour.��� And for good measure, he adds that the region offers a billion-pound opportunity (for Unilever���s deodorants) ��� ���the last empty space on the map.���
The comments made to the British media comes from a company that has two high-profile Indians ��� Harish Manwani and Vindi Banga ��� on its board. And while the controversial remarks may raise a huge stink here that Unilever���s deodorants may not be able to kill, a Unilever spokesman insisted that the statements ���should not be taken out of context to construe other meanings.���
The stench seems to have reached the company���s London and Rotterdam headquarters because, according to Russel Taylor, Unilever���s global V-P for Axe deodorants, ���No one had yet found a way of making Asians self-conscious about body odour.��� And for good measure, he adds that the region offers a billion-pound opportunity (for Unilever���s deodorants) ��� ���the last empty space on the map.���
The comments made to the British media comes from a company that has two high-profile Indians ��� Harish Manwani and Vindi Banga ��� on its board. And while the controversial remarks may raise a huge stink here that Unilever���s deodorants may not be able to kill, a Unilever spokesman insisted that the statements ���should not be taken out of context to construe other meanings.���
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The British media quotes Mr Taylor that the consumption of deodorants in India is ���virtually nil��� and that only 7% of Asians use deodorants. His solution: an ad campaign to induce shame about sweat stains and body odour across the region.
ET has learnt that the comments have not gone down well with the Hindustan Unilever (HUL) top brass. A Unilever spokesperson told ET: ���It is true that Unilever sees a big opportunity to grow sales in parts of the world, especially Asia, where use of deodorants is relatively small. It is a fact that all humans perspire and emit some body odour. When they were first introduced, many people in many countries took a great deal of convincing that they needed to use deodorants.���
According to a HUL spokesperson, ���Axe is market leader in the male deodorant segment. We have many activities and communication campaigns planned at driving deodorants penetration in India.���
Admitting that the penetration of deodorants is very low, especially in markets such as India where it is still under 2%, the HUL spokesperson added that the category is now growing at almost 50% in the country.
Promoting deodorant usage in dramatic and almost politically incorrect ways is nothing new to Unilever. It tapped into the Russian market with a campaign that told the Russian woman that since attracting a man is fundamental to her, she would not look beautiful if she didn���t use deodorants.
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The FMCG giant had also targeted the British market four decades ago by stating that Britain in the 60s was a ���remarkably smelly place��� ��� a land of sweat, wet wool, occasional bathing and shiny suits.Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
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