Why the latest slice commercial is likely a miss?

If you have been watching the IPL, chances are that you have been bombarded with a slice commercial. You wish it was the Katrina Kaif commercial for the Slice drink, but this time it’s the namesake credit card challenger. Every time I see the ad, I have heartache and feel bad about the sub-optimal utilization of marketing dollars on this commercial.

Check out the commercial here if you haven't already: For the fast ones - slice super card

In this article, I share my 5 key concerns with the commercial:

What is even the USP?

First things first, if you have seen the ad, what do you think is the key USP of this card? Speed, right? That's what the commercial says. But speed in terms of what? I find my HDFC and AMEX cards to be perfectly swift in terms of processing payments; which leaves out areas of purchase experience, customer service, rewards redemption, etc. Now here's the catch, say you are influenced by this campaign and go to the website (as of 25th April 2022), you will find no mention of the word speed or fast.

Their USP suddenly becomes the ability to split credit card bills into three parts, no joining fees, a high credit limit, and no requirement for a credit score. There is no consistency in the messaging between the brand campaign and the product landing page. ?

I rolled out a survey to understand what other people thought about the commercial and what was the impact of the ad on the target segment. (16 respondents)

Only 37.5% of the respondents mentioned that they understood the USP of the product.

Among those who did understand the USP as “Fast”, several questioned “what does the brand mean by fast? Stating that other cards are already quick enough”

A laser-focused campaign doesn't mean anti-target the other segments:

Okay I get it, slice wants to target the Gen Z and Millenials, and since these user groups liked a graphic Netflix series called Squid Games, they are more likely to resonate with the visuals utilized in the ad. However, there is a fine line between laser-focused and unnecessarily narrow. The ad shows heads being chopped off, which is not a pleasant sight for a lot of people outside the target audience, and furthermore, the ad makes very limited effort to offer any explanation on how a credit card, makes the cashier go faster. It doesn’t make any sense. Not only does the campaign fail in showing the use case of its USP, but it also goes further to repel certain user groups. ?

A staggering 0% of respondents mentioned that they are more likely to get the card for themselves after seeing the ad.?

Ultra-high Frequency with low creative rotation:

There is a well-researched relation between creative frequency and brand perception. A very high creative frequency can lead to a negative brand impact. On average, the slice commercial is shown to me 7-10 times during an IPL match. Each creative variant is aired for 2 weeks. Given there are 8 IPL matches in a week, and assuming an IPL enthusiast watches 5 matches a week, they are bombarded with 100+ repetitions of the same creative variant. This in no way is pleasing.

43.8% of respondents mentioned that they feel that they feel bombarded with the ad. None wished the ad was aired more.

The brand should at least, rotate more creative variants to make the ad more exciting if they want to operate at such a high frequency.

Uninspiring results:

Sometimes absurd commercials generate great results by creating virality and brand awareness. However, that's likely not the case with slice. The previous slice campaigns, which ran 7 months ago, generated 2.5x more uplift in search interest compared to the current campaign as per google trends.

62.6% of survey respondents reported that they did not like the ad. Not a single respondent said that they liked the ad.

A business model that is digging its own grave:?

Zero Joining Fees, Zero Annual Fees, and Free 3-month EMI conversion might sound like good offerings to acquire users. However, network effects typically only work out when there is a marketplace in the middle. Marketplaces like Amazon/Facebook can provide free/discounted services to acquire and retain users because more users will attract suppliers and that will set the flywheel effect in motion. However, a company like slice needs to monetize its userbase. Well, the company can monetize from the interest rates levied on part payment of bills, however, this is more likely to cause harm than good. If they go back on their promise of zero fees, then there will be churn. The only audience that this campaign will attract is desperate early career professionals, looking for another credit card to max out. With no credit score requirement, this would only increase the default rates for the company going forward, slowly digging its own grave.

What I do like about the commercial?

With all due credit, I do appreciate that the commercial was unique and has a high recall factor. The music in the commercial is exciting and makes one want to get up and do something; I can only hope that something is to visit their website and apply for the card.

My recommendation to the brand:

Spend time to figure out what your product is about.?The core of your current ad seems to build an appeal to GenZ and you think that appeal for them is speed. But is it? In my opinion, a metal card appeals more to the target segment than speed. Another credit card challenger is promoting the fact that they offer a metal card, without talking about the utility of the card. I feel that's a better campaign honestly because they are clear about what they are selling and what the consumers want (right or wrong). A commercial with a clear-cut USP, which doesn’t damage the business model in the long run and is consistently aligned to the product’s offering?is something that a consumer will appreciate.

If you too have an opinion about the commercial, do share it in the comments.

PS: I do accept that I do not have access to data that the brand has, and hence may not be able to understand certain aspects of the rationale behind the campaign. This article is purely from an outsider's POV.

Link to the short survey I conducted for this analysis: https://forms.gle/Vh7atqujD4gswWh78