Horlicks: Does It Really Make Children Taller, Stronger and Sharper?

Prepared for: Mr. Rezwanul Huque Khan Course Instructor: Integrated Marketing Communication Course Code: M606

Prepared by: Rehan Azad (Batch: 47th E; Roll: ZR-16) Naziha Najmul Chowdhury (Batch: 47th E; Roll: RQ-30) Shibli Md. Faiz (Batch: 47th E; Roll: ZR-32) A. K. M. Asadujjaman Noor (Batch: 47th E; Roll: ZR-38) Razia Binte Iftekhar (Batch: 45th E; Roll: RQ-38) Laila Farzana (Batch: 45th E; Roll: RQ-49) Nusrat Haque (Batch: 45th E; Roll: RQ-57)

Institute of Business Administration University of Dhaka

December 22, 2012

Horlicks: Does It Really Make Children Taller, Stronger and Sharper?

Horlicks - a household name in the upper and middle class homes in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Malaysia. The health drink from GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), Horlicks, has been traditionally targeted at elders and positioned as a 'great family nourisher'. Horlicks first came to South-East Asia with British Army, end of World War I. Indian soldiers of British Indian Army brought it back with them as a diet supplement. Soon the whole region became adopters of Horlicks and lot of well-to-do families took to drinking Horlicks as a family drink in early 1940s and 1950s. It became a sort of status symbol in upper middle class and rich classes in the region. Claims are often made that malted milk drinks such as Horlicks assist sleep, but these claims have been difficult to verify. GlaxoSmithKline tells inquiring customers, with a surprising degree of honesty: While research indicates that Horlicks drinks can help you to sleep better, the exact way in which Horlicks works is not clear. According to them Horlicks, being a malted drink, may help to stave off hunger overnight, which can lead to sounder sleep. Back in the 80s Horlicks was a drink for the elderly and the sick. Whenever you go to a hospital to visit someone sick you could find a bottle of Horlicks in their room. However, about five years ago, the communication was changed to 'pleasurable family nourisher' with the introduction of different flavors such as chocolate, vanilla and elaichi (cardamom). In 2003 Horlicks was repositioned as a health drink for children. The TV commercial had children going around the town, cheering Epang Opang Jhapang a chant without any meaning. Meanwhile Horlicks' main competitor, Complan, was promising to make the kids taller. Shorter kids' friends coaxed them to request their mothers to give them Complan. So in 2005, Horlicks decided to go a step further in promising not only height, but a stronger body and a sharper mind. One of the recent Horlicks ad claimed: Children have become taller, stronger and sharper. The Horlicks challenge now proven! For a short while, Horlicks has also come up with a packaging innovation in which the Horlicks bottle will be placed inside a graphical can to attract attention at retail stores.

At the same time, Horlicks hasn't neglected the elders altogether. It has a sugar free variant, Horlicks Lite, especially for diabetic patients and those who are health conscious. Besides Horlicks, GSK also has brands such as Boost, Maltova and Viva in the health drinks category. The segment also has competitor brands such as Bournvita (Cadbury), Complan (Heinz) and Milo (Nestle). The major issue arises when the following ad, broadcast in Bangla, was broadcast on a private TV channel in the UK to cover 58 countries in Europe and surrounding areas as part of a rebroadcast deal. The storyboard of the ad goes like this: The ad featured children during school assembly. Three men with backpacks get out of a car and the voice-over says, The Horlicks challenge starts at a famous boarding school. Children were shown in various classroom settings being taught by different teachers. The voice-over states, 869 students were given the same quality of teachers, the same kinds of food, with the children were shown eating in the school canteen and going through physical exercise like swimming and being timed by one of the men. The difference? Only one. Half of the children were given Horlicks and the rest, provided with an unbranded drink are shown looking longingly at those drinking Horlicks. Then, after 14 months comprehensive research, came the day of result. Would the Horlicks challenge be successful? Would the children be taller, stronger and sharper? Children were shown cheering and running across a giant scrabble board and being timed by one of the men. Other children were shown with painted hands, running up to a wall and making a hand print as high as they could reach. Other children were boxing or performing the ballet. One of the men assessed the height of the hand prints, as the children wait for the results of the trial. Finally, the three men emerge from behind a big set of double doors, jump in the air and cheered. Yeahhh! Proof has been found! Children raise their arms, cheer and run out of the school following the men. Children have become taller, stronger and sharper. The Horlicks challenge now proven! See for yourself!

This particular advertisement was created in India by advertising agency JWT and was later dubbed in other languages to be shown in TV channels in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The truth emerged after GlaxoSmithKline claimed that the ad had been broadcast in the UK without their knowledge or consent. Interestingly GSK said that its claims were accurate for children in that part of the world and they complied with the regulatory requirements of Bangladesh. A GlaxoSmithKline spokesman added that the Horlicks sold in Bangladesh is a completely different formulation and product to the one in the UK. However, the UK advertising watchdog, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), rapped GlaxoSmithKline for the ad. Despite being a big brand in both UK and South-East Asia, GSK could not cut much ice with the ASA. Later the TV channel admitted that it was an error on their part that has lead to GSK landing in a soup on account of unsubstantiated claims. The ASA said that monitoring staff challenged whether the TV channel held evidence to substantiate the claim that Horlicks made children "taller, stronger and sharper." In response, the channel did not comment but eventually withdrew the ad. Reports quoting an unnamed GSK spokesperson said that the contents of the advertisement contain facts that do not apply to audiences in the UK. They said that the ad was shown in the UK 'by mistake, even though GSK does not have plans to change ad for the Bangladeshi market. For its part, the ASA has banned the ad from being repeated again in the UK in its present form, and has ruled that the product should not be advertised without adequate substantiation for the claims made for it. Question arises that if the claim does not stand at the UK, why is it applicable on Bangladeshi kids? When asked, GSK officials replied that Horlicks is sold in Bangladesh on a nutritional platform. It has different formulation of the product considering the nutritional requirement of the target group in different countries under the same brand name. The major difference between Horlicks available at the UK versus Bangladesh is, in Bangladesh it is fortified (additional nutrition value) unlike in the UK. The nutrition that lacks in the

food habit of 6 to 14 years old children, who belong to the target group of Horlicks, are added in the Horlicks in Bangladesh. This is the age when children develop their brain, height and stamina. Independent research indicates what the nutrients are that provide support in this development stage. Considering the specific lack of these required nutrients in the country, a fortified Horlicks is made for Bangladesh. They contended claims were true for children in that part of the world, and were supported by clinical studies undertaken by the National Institute of Nutrition in India, Hyderabad. Next question arises, why was the research done in India and what is the evidence of the claim at Bangladesh? GSK replied that Bangladesh is not as much advanced in term of nutrition value related research as the other sub-continental countries. The last research on nutrition was updated on 1998. In this situation, an independent clinical study by the National Institute of Nutrition was conducted on 869 students of India testing the nutrions that Horlicks claim can make children taller, stronger and sharper. Since the children of India show similar pattern of mal-nutrition as Bangladeshi children, GSK Bangladesh applies the experience here in this country. They added that the product complied with the regulatory requirements in Bangladesh, the product was not available in the UK and the company had no intention of advertising it here. As evidence, GSK follows the RDA, which are WHO and FAO standard for South Asia. Every pack of Horlicks contains the ingredients matrix, mentioning the benefit, nutrition and the presence of the nutrition as percentage of RDA. So this evidence can be claimed by Horlicks in Bangladesh. Even after all these controversies GSK did not take down the ad in Bangladesh as they believed that the ongoing campaign can defend the claim in Bangladesh. So as the normal process, the campaign was completed. However, this wasn't enough. Horlicks got into more controversies by getting into a direct tussle with Complan. A slightly different ad was made clearly targeted for attacking Horlicks main competitor Complan. Horlicks has now arrived with an ad which entails a discussion between two kids and their mothers. Both the products are compared based on the nutrients, the claims and finally the price. The "Taller, Stronger, Sharper" campaign of Horlicks is used to counter the claims of Complan. They even used a Complan Bottle in the ad without any pixilation - no attempt to hide whatsoever, and compared it with Horlicks. The ad communicates the price advantage of the product and the functional benefits. Overall, it shows the supremacy of the brand over the competitors. Well, Complan decided to come up with an ad claiming that Complan consumers grew taller at a rate twice than the growth of the non consumers.

It now remains to be seen how GSK plans to substantiate the claims of being ''taller, stronger and sharper'' by drinking Horlicks. Given the history, there would be no point in holding one's breath to wait for either GSK, or the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, to come out with the results of the study that clinically proves' their claim, or carry label markings to clarify their claims for the benefit of consumers of the product. For now, it remains just a claim, or rather, a market repositioning exercise for a brand that was said to ensure good sleep.

Questions for Discussion: 1. Identify the key feature on which Horlicks is positioned in consumer market? 2. Do you think the company is following the right communication strategy for marketing of its product? If so, justify. If not suggest what can be the right communication strategy? 3. Do you think GSKs response to the controversy was good enough to stop all the rattle that was created? 4. Do you think Horlicks should set aside the whole taller, stronger and sharper campaign and start afresh to build a different image altogether? 5. Discuss the initiatives that GSK can take to rejuvenate its brand with visually proven reference to the positioning and advertising aspects. In light of the changing market dynamics and the intensifying competition, will the current strategies help GSK sustain its position in the market?

References: 1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7683259.stm 2. http://www.domainb.com/companies/companies_g/GlaxoSmithKline/20081024_horlicks.html 3. http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=223734&cid=2 4. http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC951/fc951.html 5. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Brand-Assessment-Of-Horlicks-585566.html 6. http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/archive_details.php?date=2012-0227&nid=51693 7. http://www.coolavenues.com/know/mktg/index.php3 8. http://mysharpthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/12/health-drink-war-from-beginninghealth.html 9. http://marketzeal.com/taller-sharper-stronger-and-fatter/ 10. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9148401/ Horlicks-and-Complan-criticised-in-India-over-claims-they-can-help-children-passexams.html 11. http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/84726/Trademark/Glaxo+Fails+At+Establishing +Its+Ad+To+Be+Taller+Stronger+Sharper 12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horlicks