Mumbai: Mobile handset maker Nokia India Pvt. Ltd has hired a nerd to endorse its E-series office handsets, online.
He may not score in the dating department, but Dilbert—the main character from the eponymous comic strip syndicated to hundreds of newspapers around the world—can tell you a thing or two about the workspace.
The use of comic-strip characters to plug products and services is a growing trend among advertisers looking to grab consumer attention and enhance brand recall. Using such characters as ad faces or endorsers is infinitely cheaper than using real-life celebrities, experts say, and also helps connect with consumers on a note of humour in an increasingly grim economic milieu.
Reaching niche audience: Nokia India is piquing consumer interest by backing its online campaign for E-series with a website that has a funny Dilbert questionnaire about the way one works.
Brands such as Arms—a consumer loan resolution initiative from Asset Reconstruction Co. (India) Ltd—and the erstwhile low-cost carrier Air Deccan have used cartoonist R.K. Laxman’s character, the Common Man, to promote themselves.
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltdrecently launched an ad for the festive season featuring a character inspired by The Jungle Book’s Mowgli. MetLife India Insurance Co. Ltdhas used Snoopy, the pet beagle from Charles Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts, to communicate that insurance is not as complicated as it may be thought.
The premise for using popular comic-strip characters, experts say, is essentially the same as that for a brand picking a celebrity endorser. There is an instant recognition, a familiar character connects better with consumers, and the values of that celebrity could have a positive rub-off on the brand.
“Most comic-strip characters or cartoon characters are very well established,” says K.V. Sridhar, national creative director of Leo Burnett India Pvt. Ltd, citing the example of Tom and Jerry. “When you see them on screen, you know what’s going to happen. So in that sense, they telegraphically communicate what they are and what they stand for.”
Using a comic-strip character could also help make a brand distinct. Not only is the visual a familiar and reassuring part of daily life, as most people tend to read comic strips in their daily newspaper, but the illustration, more often than not, is simplified and tends to stand out in the clutter of fanciful ads, says Samir Patil, chief executive and founder of Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd, which publishes popular Indian comic books such as Tinkle and stories from Indian epics and mythology in the comic-book format.
Garfield and Peanuts
Internationally, the use of comic-strip characters to plug products is fairly common. Back in 1998, the wise-cracking feline star of the Garfield comic strip was one of the first famous faces to sport a milk moustache for the famous “Got Milk” campaign. The tag line said, “9 Lives. 9 Nutrients. See a pattern?”.