Resonating #MeriAwaz Minus Males!

It has almost been a month that Dalda came up with its new campaign which was both unique and distinct in the cooking oil category. Commonly the brands in this particular category use slice of life appeal, show happiness and communicate a healthy and happy family under the umbrella of hygienic edible oil brand.

Carrying the tagline along "Jahan Maamta Wahan Dalda" the latest campaign has been bolstered with strong slogan #MeriAwaz! The concept seems strong and the tone has been kept loud enough that it hits the consumers.

Interestingly, a new page on Facebook with the name of "Mothers of Pakistan" has been created which has already attained 90k plus likes within a months time which may be an achievement unlocked through high budgets. The question arises what next? spending has been done to get massive likes but we dont know how many of them are genuine likes that will create real interaction and high engagement levels with content on the page. Mere likes cant create a community of heavily engaged audience so what will be the brand brewing out of the page in future days, as we now see groups that are very active and have formed small communities over Facebook already like Soul Sisters Pakistan or Soul Brothers Pakistan

As per the brand it wants to communicate;

"Eating right is about eating healthy." 

Dalda's  #MeriAwaz campaign vows to end the double standards in our society regarding the weight and size of young kids.

Aamina Sheikh encourages mothers to make their kids eat healthy and make them feel comfortable in their own skin without thinking about turning "moti aur patli".

The brand has touched upon various stereotypes that run in the society along with encouraging the audience to eat healthy. The point to ponder is, Dalda has only emphasized on females while leaving behind the other gender in the commercial in order to package the campaign in a way that the brand is raising voice for women in the society. This may rightly have been done as females are usually the users and decision makers in this category. Having the sort of communication strategy, Dalda is passionately pouncing over the ongoing wave of "Women Empowerment" which is common around all the social media platforms across the country.

Despite the message being strong, I feel it may be wrongly anticipated by the target audience that being fat is also healthy as the brand is communicating its not about "Moti or Patli". Obesity being a major issue in the urban society (due to fast food chains and unhealthy food), the communication of the brand may be adapted as escape goat by foodies to eat more and more.

Talking about the mediums touched by the campaign so far, we have seen it live on ATL with multiple adapts, social media, PR event and OOH including smart execution of illustrations through an artistic mural art painting on the walls of Civic Center Karachi, painted in a series of events that shows what girls have to go through just because of their weight or physique.

The Verdict:

Overall the campaign is well crafted and nicely executed. Production quality is good with multiple adapts which might retain the interest of audience while maintaining the brand recall. As per my opinion, males have been neglected in the campaign, as staying fit and healthy is as important for males as it is for the females. The brand has boldly raised voice through a campaign over a topic which wasn't highlighted by other brands in the same category.

For me the most enticing part of the campaign is to know what is going to happen in coming days on the new community formed by the brand on Facebook and what will the brand acquire out of it.