RIP Time Machine: HMT

The announcement of HMT's imminent shutdown seems to have rejuvenated interest in the brand and its memorable timepieces. It definitely gave me a dose of nostalgia, having worked on the brand in the late 80s in my stint at Mudra in Bangalore.

The technology was then shared by Citizen

Somehow, the marketing division in HMT figured that quartz watches would not work in India and concentrated on manufacturing its mechanical range. Indians who were going to the Gulf to get their watches suddenly found alternatives in Titan, with its elegant range, and HMT failed to see that. The communication then positioned owning an HMT as a point of patriotism, but this did not work with the evolved Indian consumer. 

You can read more on my take on what set back HMT, in this piece in Open Magazine, here.

‘Hema, Rekha, Jaya aur Sushma’ get calorie conscious

FMCG company Nirma, the brand synonymous with detergent cakes and powders, recently launched global artificial sweetener brand Nutrasweet in the Indian market via its healthcare arm Nirlife. Yes, we all heard it right! Nirma has a healthcare division and in fact the company had forayed into the pharmaceuticals business way back in 2006. Not known to many, the pharmaceutical business of Nirma, has been producing medical products related to the critical care industry, it is now that the company is focusing on a more consumer centric approach with the launch of Nutrasweet. The company also launched a TV campaign, created by Ignite Mudra, to drive home the point that Nirma indeed has a stake beyond detergents.


According to Ravinder Siwach, Executive Creative Director, DDB Mudra the brief given by Nirma for the ad campaign was to launch Nutrasweet in a market that is dominated by Sugarfree. “Sugarfree has almost been synonymous to artificial sweeteners and the remaining few others have failed to make any dent. Thus, we had an insight and a fact. ‘Insight’ was that even if people were not overtly health conscious they like to do what they can for their health. And the ‘fact’ is that Nutrasweet is quite close to real sugar in its taste. Hence the idea of people hesitating in eating everything sweet and Nutrasweet urges them to indulge without a care. Hence the coinage and the refrain ab sweet ban gaya nutrasweet,” adds Siwach. Thus, towards the end of the TVC, the campaign clearly states the parentage of Nirma as the brand that has launched the global brand in the Indian market.

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