In an effort to rejuvenate its leading brand, Tortoise Mosquito Coils, manufacturer Bombay Chemicals Limited today launched a new campaign comprising two television commercials on Zee TV. Interestingly, the new campaign created by Clea Advertising & Marketing Limited, features a dog and a cat explaining the merits of the product.

Says Praveen Kenneth, chief operating officer, Clea Advertising: ``On Feb 25 1999, we will be airing the new commercial on Zee TV. To promote the brand in key metro cities, we'll opt for DD and Sony too. As there was a need to make the brand contemporary and relevant, the company has opted for new television commercials.''

According to Kenneth, the product is being positioned as a safe, herbal mosquito repellent in the highlycompetitive category. ``The product is 100 per cent herbal and 100 per cent safe. Being herbal, the coils are safe for babies and pets. The campaign is aimed at a wide range of audience--from peons to chief executive officers,'' said Kenneth.

The company opted for the new communication route as the market research showed that many consumers were unaware of the herbal ingredients of the product. ``Crest Communications has created the films by using a technique called Picture Compositing--which is very similar to the technique used in Hollywood productions of `Babe'--which features a pig talking,'' explains Kenneth.

Hitherto too, the company had adopted a humourous route in its advertising campaigns, to deliver the benefits of the product. A popular tagline for the previous television commercial was ``Kacchuwa jalao aur macchar bhagao.''

But now, to keep the Tortoise in pace with the changing times and trends, the company has decided to focus on educating the consumers about the herbal merits of theproduct.

According to Kenneth the duration of the campaign is two months. In the second commercial, a cat will describe the herbal benefits of the product.

``Today the brand has become generic in the mosquito repellent category. With the entry of the multinationals into the Indian repellent markets, the competition is hotting up in the category,'' said Kenneth.

Kenneth strongly believes that effective advertising can reduce the clients marketing cost. ``There's nothing like effective campaigns to deliver the message,'' adds Kenneth. True wisdom, from the mouth of babes.