Iconic Ads: Chlormint – Dobara Mat Puchna

Chlormint was launched in 1997. In 2003, the ice-candy version was introduced.

It was targeted at the young people independent of the strata, who want fresh breath, especially after smoke or chewing paan.

Confectionary is an impulse purchase, and brand loyalty is poor. Chlormint did have ‘Herbasol’ to differentiate – the ingredient to bring in the fresh breath.

McCann Erickson led by Prasoon Joshi handled the brand with the task to create top of mind recall.

The Paanwala exists in most big cities, especially above the Vindhyas, and it is where smokers typically pick up their cigarettes. He is a decision-making influencer for products such as candy, alongside the traditional Paan and cigarettes. Paanwalas have popularized the transaction of giving candy instead of change (either intentionally or lack of it). These aspects were leveraged to create advertising which resonated with the audience.

The focus of the communication was why Chlormint is eaten – bad breath. The challenge was to hide it, twist the story and make it a fun brand – a brand/ product which can be eaten anytime, and no ‘bad breath’ reasons was required.

It was indeed a quirky idea with an absurd answer to a seemingly innocuous question. However, the idea became popular, and more so with Zidane’s head butt incident, memes/ virals were created using the phrase Dobara Mat Puchna.