Dishum, dishum: SRK to fight for Pepsodent

Hindustan Unilever has roped in Shah Rukh Khan to promote its flagship oral care brand Pepsodent that has been losing marketshare to rival Colgate, and even smaller brands like Babool and Anchor.

This will be Khan’s second association with HUL — he endorsed Lux soaps — and the first time that the company had to bring in a celebrity to endorse flagship Pepsodent. The campaign will launch in a few days and, according to HUL, what clinched the deal for Shahrukh is ‘his superstar and devoted dad’ image.

"Shahrukh Khan is the best choice for the campaign as this super successful actor also practices what he preaches. He is the perfect role model of a father," Srinandan Sundaram, HUL category head for oral care, told ET.

The campaign, it is learnt, addresses fathers to spend couple of minutes with kids to brush their teeth.
The 17-year-old Pepsodent brand was launched on the positioning that it came with an anti-bacterial agent that could check germs hours after brushing. The brand has been through several communication platforms -- from ‘long lasting protection for hours after brushing’, to ‘germ fighting’ to ‘dental insurance’ to the dishum dishum’ tagline.

According to market researcher AC Nielsen, the toothpaste market is estimated at Rs 3,000 crore. Colgate leads the category with a 52.5% share. HUL’s toothpaste brands Pepsodent and Close Up together accounted for 22% share in 2009-10, down from 24.5% the previous year.

Dabur ranks third in the category with a 13.6% share with its three toothpaste brands – Red, Meswak and Babool. While Colgate and Dabur’s market shares inched upwards between 2008-09 and 2009-10, HUL’s shares in toothpaste have slipped.

Analysts attribute this to several reasons. Aashish Upganlawar, FMCG analyst at broking firm Sharekhan said that both HUL’s oral care brands Pepsodent and Close Up have been losing market share. "HUL hasn’t been concentrating too much on branding. On the other hand, rivals like Colgate have been very aggressive on brand promotions," he said.

Besides, HUL did not have a strong presence in the price warrior segment, though last year it did slash prices and upped its trade spends to regain Pepsodent’s market shares. In the mass, entry-level segment, smaller brands like Anchor and relatively new entrant Babool have taken away share from established players riding on aggressive price pricing and localised consumer promotions.

Few months back, analysts speculated that HUL may be divesting its oral care business in India – although it was strongly denied by HUL.

Other celebrities who have endorsed toothpaste brands include actor Kajol who is associated with Anchor, and Saif Ali Khan for Colgate.

While HUL is the country's single largest advertiser, its ad spends on oral care have been significantly lower than what it spends on soaps and detergents.