Brand Belief: Let the doc do all the talk

NEW DELHI: Even a casual television viewer wouldn’t have missed the huge numbers of ads, of late, that lean on ‘white robed’ endorsers — the ‘family doctor’ — to perk up their brand messages. Brands across a host of categories spanning diapers, chewing gums, soaps, household cleaners, foods products and even aluminium foils are being peddled by doctor models who may not actually be medical practitioners after all.

According to marketers, Indian consumers have preconceived notions on brands, advertisements and people. “When models wearing white coat are shown in ads, consumers attach a positive connotation that adds to the credibility of brand proposition. We have seen that across (Indian) society, majority of consumers find such depiction or characterisation credible,” says a spokesman of Procter & Gamble India.

The initiative, perhaps pioneered by oral-care brands, most noticeably Colgate and Oral B, is now gaining currency across product categories. The list of brands using the Doc model is populated by a host of big fast moving consumer goods brands in the country. P&G uses a Doc model for its Head & Shoulders shampoo.

Mothers listen in rapt attention when a neighbourhood doctor suggests Hindustan Lever’s (HLL) Huggies diapers for a bed-wetting babies. HLL’s Lifebuoy Liquid and Reckitt Benkiser’s surface care brand Lysol say it all with a ‘doctor’ by their side. “When a doctor advocates he delivers the brand message—live without fear,” says an HLL spokesman on the reason behind using a ‘Doc’ model for Lifebuoy Liquid handwash.

Freshwrapp, an aluminium foil brand uses a doctor-like lady in its ad, a spiel linking stale food with poor health. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) uses prescription route for its select Horlicks variants.

“Sometimes it is essential to have a figure who authenticates the (brand) claims, “ says Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands. “Specially in case of health drinks such as Complan and Horlicks. “These drinks have dual function of child-growth (for mothers) and making milk interesting and palatable for kids,” he adds.

surbhi.goel@timesgroup.com