Olay Inspires Indian Youth to 'Glow Up' in Campaign from Publicis Singapore

Olay is one of the world’s best-selling skincare products and one of Procter & Gamble's multibillion-dollar brands. But in India, brand Olay has little to no awareness and may also be suffering from its image as an 'older person's' product. A huge challenge for the agency and the brand was to make Olay look younger. But why would young Indian women buy something their mums’ use? 

According to research done in India by P&G and Nielsen, the modern Indian woman has stepped away from old Indian ways of living and wants to live her life to the fullest while upholding her family values. She no longer believes in compromising her dreams and aspirations for the benefit of society or family. She is unapologetic, flawed, and real. She has no qualms for being who she is. And she tries not to hide anything from her parents. She is extremely self-indulgent now, believes in ‘pampering’ herself – likes to reward herself for the things that she does be it big or small. The insight here is to show she is a Power Duo herself. While one side desires her parent’s and society’s respect and approval, the other side fights for her freedom to explore and push boundaries. And she will not short-change either side. But this means she’s a busy girl, and her skin pays the price as a result.

To help launch Olay as a brand for young women in India, Publicis Singapore came up with the film ‘Meena’ - a progressive take on the life of a young, middle-class Indian woman who lives the life she wants, no matter what. The idea was to link Olay India with its new edgier image, which arrived in Asia last year under the 'Glow Up' concept. 

“It’s great to be able to launch this kind of film that speaks directly to our target and breaks the codes of classic beauty ads,” said Axel Grimald, executive creative director, Publicis Singapore.

The ‘Meena’ concept is strong. The humour in the film will add to the message, making the proposition more memorable, progressive and is probably the best way to grab the attention of the young, affluent, aspirational audience. We believe that any advertising that breaks clutter usually has recall. And, this is going to be remembered.

An edgy script needed an edgy director, someone who could balance beauty, humour, and storytelling in a film. So, Publicis chose one of India’s most radical, disruptive and clutter-breaking directors, Sanju Ayappa of Early Man Films. Known for entertaining an award-winning film and armed with humour as his main weapon, Ayappa’s execution of the film beautifully brings out the story of Meena without labouring over it.