H&S men zindagi mili dobara

Head & Shoulders India wants the men of the nation to be the men they used to be long ago. Through a 3-month long campaign that commenced on March 1st, the shampoo brand has been on the hunt for the most deserving two men in the country, who have long ceased to be the men they used to be. The two winners will be treated to a trip to Brazil for 5 days where they can take along 2 of their friends each.

Promising to rejuvenate their lives, the campaign has been rightly named, ‘Zindagi mili dobara’ which is a men only contest seeking to promote the brand’s anti-dandruff shampoo for men. Undoubtedly, the ad film for the campaign tries to sell it as one.

In the short film titled ‘Gym Revelations’, two men on dumbbells are seen chatting about their maid problems, an area of communication that is stereotypically ruled by women. Just then they are knocked down one by one from a bottle of the H&S shampoo for men, while the voice over puts good sense into them, ‘STOP before you stop being a man’ and all this for using their wives’ shampoos!

The ‘Zindagi mili dobara’ contest is hosted on a site with the same name, but when you click on it, you are redirected to a Facebook app of the same name at the Head & Shoulders India Facebook page. One has to like the app to get started. To prove that one is the most deserving, the app provides two ways – the Daring way for the ones who can create a 2-minute long video describing in the most creative way, and the Lazy way for the ones who would prefer to just upload an old photo and 300-word writeup to describe their case.

Before entering the contest, do check out the gallery for the featured entries. There’s this amazing video by the online comedy kings, The Viral Fever, where two of the guys make up a deserving case for their friend to be sent to Brazil, and take them along.

H&S_zindagi_mili_dobara_FB_app

The app claims to have 540 entries at present, each of which can be shared through social platforms. Only one entry is allowed per participant.

The H&S social media platforms are busy wooing men to participate. Featured videos have been shared on the brand’s Facebook and Twitter pages, along with funny tweets that bring home the point to participate.

Targeting men

Shampoos, as I understand, are of different types based on the kind of hair one has, ranging from the basic normal, dry and oily. And a few others for hair problems like dandruff and hairfall. But, since when did dandruff become gender selective, that one needed a dedicated shampoo for men? The campaign for the product borrows from the same source – men need to be men and stop using their wives’ shampoos! Apart from that, I think the gimmick works here, since the idea is to trick as many men into the new product, using humour.

‘Zindagi mili dobara‘ has a catchy line with a relevant experiential prize, that gives men a chance to show off their witty creative side. The use of creative visuals by H&S further adds to the campaign communication. Having a Facebook app for the contest will help build an engaged community for H&S.

However, a few of the photo entries in the gallery do not make any sense at all. Content needs to be moderated prior to being published, specially when it is fan-generated content. While this is challenging, it also speaks for the Procter & Gamble owned brand.