Iconic Ads: Maggi Noodles – Bas Do Minute

1982, Maggi Noodles were launched in India, targeting working women. It was positioned as a “convenience product” – an alternative for lunch and dinner. By creating a new category called “Instant Noodles”, Maggi was the first of the blocks.

Nestle believed that the taste would help in penetrating the market. They were unable to do so as Indian consumers did not want to change their traditional behaviours.

So, the Nestle team led by Sangeeta Talwar started looking for occasions, where habits would be weak and change, easier to make.

“Evening snacks” was a slot available as there was no strong solution, and the existing ones had problems.

Importantly, it was seen that when children came home from school, they were generally hungry and housewives had to cook something fast and give them. (Evening Snacks). The problem was there were ready to eat products like chips, biscuits which were not necessarily filling and healthy; homemade snacks were time-consuming and doing it every day was an irritating chore, more so with working women; snacks from outside were expensive and also unhealthy.

So it figured that “Maggi” had to be promoted as an “in-between” meals product and as an alternative to “Evening Snacks” to children (kids also liked the taste of Maggi noodles). It helped that the kids’ behaviour was easier to change than adults with habits entrenched.

This brand was positioned as a mother-child indulgence, playing on the understood psychology of mothers.

HTA was briefed and the film was by Prahlad Kakkar. It is suggested that he insisted on ‘2 minute’ instead of instant as this could be translated in any language and showed convenience, saving time and effort.

“Mummy, Bookh Lagi hai…..Bas 2 Minute” changed all that

This film shifted the focus to the mother and the kitchen. It added an element of cooking through the addition of vegetables etc. Mummy made it, so it would be delicious and nutritious. The catchy jingle, the cute kids, the imagery of a posh house and the noodle-slurping sound – all helped.

This simple ad got the message across – moms trust Maggi for their kids. So it had to be good! Mummy knows best.