Onida turns to the devil, again

The brand is hoping to revive its lost magic with an old mascot. Will it be third time lucky?

For a brand that has seen recall and value slide down a slippery slope for years now, Onida is pitching its lot in with the devil one more time. With a new campaign, it plans to bring the iconic mascot back, albeit in a modern avatar. Mirc Electronics, which owns the brand, is hoping to revive Onida’s fortunes by resurrecting the promise and the positioning that the brand successfully occupied over two decades back. However, this is the brand’s third attempt at a new life and given the proliferation of global brands that promise superior technological experience and service, Onida may need more than the devil to secure its future.

Vijay Mansukhani, managing director at Mirc Electronics which owns the Onida brand, says he believes that there is a place for a contemporary devil in our times. “We made a mistake by pulling off that communication. That was the very ethos of the company. However, we are now internally debating on bringing the devil back but that comeback will have to communicate a tone which makes the product modern as well as aspirational,” he said.

The devil made waves when it was first launched way back in 1983. It had a successful run through till 1999, a period that saw the Onida brand ride its peak. However as the markets opened up and international brands set their juggernauts rolling in the country, Onida took a big hit.

Interestingly, even as the brand struggled, the popularity of the devil survived as did the tagline, ‘Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride’. The messaging hit the spot with young consumers who connected with the tongue-in-cheek take on envy. Brand experts point out that Onida used the devil ad at a time when the economy had just started opening up.

“Product differentiation in those days was pretty difficult and there was hardly an audience which would understand the technicalities. Thus communication needed to be unique,” N Chandramouli, CEO at Brand Insights said, adding that the concept of ‘envy’ worked wonders at the time. The question is can it work again.

Way back in the nineties, Onida slipped down the rungs because the brand image took a hit from sleeker, technologically superior Japanese and Korean labels. From an estimated 17 per cent market share in 1995-96, Onida slipped to 10 per cent of the TV market in 1996-97 and now has a near eight per cent share. Hence to put things in perspective, the Onida brand needs more than just a campaign and a mascot to pull it out of the vicious circle of low brand recall-low market share. It needs technological, distribution as well as communication overhaul.

However, as far as communication strategies go, bringing back the devil may be a good move as brand mascots are finding their way back into the spotlight once again. Radharani Mitra, global creative advisor, BBC Media Action, BBC’s international development charity says mascots are regaining relevance. In a recent blog post, she wrote: “They allow greater flexibility in terms of brand application while simultaneously retaining control over brandspeak. After all, fictional characters can be more loyal in the long run.”

For Onida the problem is not so much keeping its loyal fans, but that the brand has faded from public memory. Many young consumers may never have heard of the brand given its lack of communication and rather frugal presence in big retail stores and online marketplaces. Given such a situation, can an old mascot and message find new likes?

Brand consultant, K V Sridhar says that at a time when most of the popular brands are offering features that are more or less similar and technology is continuously evolving how can the ‘envy factor’ be recreated? “The economy has changed and people don’t envy others for a similar product. What Onida needs is a strong storyline in its brand communications which will ride on a superior product. Now, it is cool to be sociable and belong to the masses rather than be a rebel,” Sridhar says.

The company says that the new ads could surprise many. The ‘envy factor’ is unlikely to find a place in the new campaign and the devil may be given a more ‘benevolent look’. Head of AC and TV, Mirc Electronics, Sunil Shankar says that if the devil is brought back, the selling point can’t be envy anymore and some different messaging has to go out. Shankar, who has pinned his hopes on the appliances business, believes that the brand can step into the space being vacated by Videocon.

The devil without the envy may be a tough sell, but it is still the brand’s biggest asset, say experts. Ambi Parameswaran, founder at Brand-Building.com says, “When Onida came up with that devil ad, it wasn’t only unconventional, it was one of the major breakthroughs in the world of advertising and branding and the devil has become an integral part. If you take it out, then there is nothing left in the brand,” he said.

To give the Onida devil its due, if the country were ever to have a hall of fame for mascots in advertising, it would surely find a prominent place. But can it give the brand back its lost glory, now that is another issue altogether.

Speak of the devil

* 1983-1999: Mirc Electronics with JVC Japan launches Onida Television; the green devil is the face of the brand

* Early nineties: Korean and Japanese brands steps into the country, crowding out several older and home grown labels; Onida starts changing its ad messages and mascots

* 2004: The devil and the brand is given a fresh lease of life, but this is shortlived
 

* 2009: The devil comes back for Onida air conditioners, but is laid to rest in just a year
 

* 2017: The devil is back in the reckoning