Horlicks Case

7/30/2019 Horlicks Case

1/7

Horlicks: Does It Really Make Children

Taller, Stronger and Sharper?

Prepared for:

Mr. Rezwanul Huque Khan

Course Instructor: Integrated Marketing Communication

Course Code: M606

Prepared by:

Rehan Azad (Batch: 47th E; Roll: ZR-16)

Naziha Najmul Chowdhury (Batch: 47th E; Roll: RQ-30)

Shibli Md. Faiz (Batch: 47th E; Roll: ZR-32)

A. K. M. Asadujjaman Noor (Batch: 47th

E; Roll: ZR-38)Razia Binte Iftekhar (Batch: 45th E; Roll: RQ-38)

Laila Farzana (Batch: 45th E; Roll: RQ-49)

Nusrat Haque (Batch: 45th E; Roll: RQ-57)

Institute of Business Administration

University of Dhaka

December 22, 2012
http://iba-du.edu/index.php/page/all_faculty/48http://iba-du.edu/index.php/page/all_faculty/48


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Horlicks: Does It Really Make Children

Taller, Stronger and Sharper?

Horlicks - a household name in the upper and middle class homes in Bangladesh, India,

Pakistan and Malaysia. The health drink from GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), Horlicks, has been

traditionally targeted at elders and positioned as a 'great family nourisher'. Horlicks first

came to South-East Asia with British Army, end of World War I. Indian soldiers of British

Indian Army brought it back with them as a diet supplement. Soon the whole region

became adopters of Horlicks and lot of well-to-do families took to drinking Horlicks as a

family drink in early 1940s and 1950s. It became a sort of status symbol in upper middle

class and rich classes in the region.

Claims are often made that malted milk drinks such as Horlicks assist sleep, but these

claims have been difficult to verify. GlaxoSmithKline tells inquiring customers, with a

surprising degree of honesty: While research indicates that Horlicks drinks can help you

to sleep better, the exact way in which Horlicks works is not clear. According to them

Horlicks, being a malted drink, may help to stave off hunger overnight, which can lead to

sounder sleep.

Back in the 80s Horlicks was a drink for the elderly and the sick.

Whenever you go to a hospital to visit someone sick you could find a

bottle of Horlicks in their room. However, about five years ago, the

communication was changed to 'pleasurable family nourisher' with

the introduction of different flavors such as chocolate, vanilla and

elaichi (cardamom). In 2003 Horlicks was repositioned as a health

drink for children. The TV commercial had children going around the

town, cheering Epang Opang Jhapang a chant without any meaning.

Meanwhile Horlicks' main competitor, Complan, was promising to make the kids taller.

Shorter kids' friends coaxed them to request their mothers to give them Complan. So in2005, Horlicks decided to go a step further in promising not only height, but a stronger

body and a sharper mind. One of the recent Horlicks ad claimed: Children have become

taller, stronger and sharper. The Horlicks challenge now proven!

For a short while, Horlicks has also come up with a packaging innovation in which the

Horlicks bottle will be placed inside a graphical can to attract attention at retail stores.


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At the same time, Horlicks hasn't neglected the elders altogether. It has a sugar free variant,

Horlicks Lite, especially for diabetic patients and those who are health conscious. Besides

Horlicks, GSK also has brands such as Boost, Maltova and Viva in the health drinks

category. The segment also has competitor brands such as Bournvita (Cadbury), Complan

(Heinz) and Milo (Nestle).

The major issue arises when the following ad, broadcast in Bangla, was broadcast on a

private TV channel in the UK to cover 58 countries in Europe and surrounding areas as part

of a rebroadcast deal. The storyboard of the ad goes like this:

The ad featured children during school assembly. Three men with backpacks get out of a

car and the voice-over says, The Horlicks challenge starts at a famous boarding school.

Children were shown in various classroom

settings being taught by different teachers.

The voice-over states, 869 students were

given the same quality of teachers, the same

kinds of food, with the children were shown

eating in the school canteen and going

through physical exercise like swimming and

being timed by one of the men.

The difference? Only one.

Half of the children were given Horlicks and the rest, provided with an unbranded drink

are shown looking longingly at those drinking Horlicks. Then, after 14 months

comprehensive research, came the day of result.

Would the Horlicks challenge be successful? Would the children be taller, stronger and

sharper? Children were shown cheering and running across a giant scrabble board and

being timed by one of the men. Other children were shown with painted hands, running up

to a wall and making a hand print as high as they could reach.

Other children were boxing or performing the ballet. One of the men assessed the height of

the hand prints, as the children wait for the results of the trial.

Finally, the three men emerge from behind a big set of double doors, jump in the air and

cheered. Yeahhh! Proof has been found! Children raise their arms, cheer and run out of

the school following the men.

Children have become taller, stronger and sharper. The Horlicks challenge now proven!

See for yourself!


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This particular advertisement was created in India by advertising agency JWT and was

later dubbed in other languages to be shown in TV channels in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The truth emerged after GlaxoSmithKline claimed that the ad had been broadcast in the UK

without their knowledge or consent. Interestingly GSK said that its claims were accuratefor children in that part of the world and they complied with the regulatory requirements

of Bangladesh. A GlaxoSmithKline spokesman added that the Horlicks sold in Bangladesh is

a completely different formulation and product to the one in the UK.

However, the UK advertising watchdog, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), rapped

GlaxoSmithKline for the ad. Despite being a big brand in both UK and South-East Asia, GSK

could not cut much ice with the ASA. Later the TV channel admitted that it was an error on

their part that has lead to GSK landing in a soup on account of unsubstantiated claims.

The ASA said that monitoring staff challenged whether the TV channel held evidence tosubstantiate the claim that Horlicks made children "taller, stronger and sharper." In

response, the channel did not comment but eventually withdrew the ad. Reports quoting an

unnamed GSK spokesperson said that the contents of the advertisement contain facts that

do not apply to audiences in the UK. They said that the ad was shown in the UK 'by

mistake, even though GSK does not have plans to change ad for the Bangladeshi market.

For its part, the ASA has banned the ad from being repeated again in the UK in its present

form, and has ruled that the product should not be advertised without adequate

substantiation for the claims made for it.

Question arises that if the claim does not stand at the UK, why is it applicable on

Bangladeshi kids? When asked, GSK officials replied that Horlicks is sold in Bangladesh on a

nutritional platform. It has different formulation of the product considering the nutritional

requirement of the target group in different countries under the same brand name. The

major difference between Horlicks available at the UK versus Bangladesh is, in Bangladesh

it is fortified (additional nutrition value) unlike in the UK. The nutrition that lacks in the


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food habit of 6 to 14 years old children, who belong to the target group of Horlicks, are

added in the Horlicks in Bangladesh. This is the age when children develop their brain,

height and stamina. Independent research indicates what the nutrients are that provide

support in this development stage. Considering the specific lack of these required nutrients

in the country, a fortified Horlicks is made for Bangladesh. They contended claims were

true for children in that part of the world, and were supported by clinical studies

undertaken by the National Institute of Nutrition in India, Hyderabad.

Next question arises, why was the research done in India and what is the evidence of the

claim at Bangladesh? GSK replied that Bangladesh is not as much advanced in term of

nutrition value related research as the other sub-continental countries. The last research

on nutrition was updated on 1998. In this situation, an independent clinical study by the

National Institute of Nutrition was conducted on 869 students of India testing the nutrions

that Horlicks claim can make children taller, stronger and sharper. Since the children of

India show similar pattern of mal-nutrition as Bangladeshi children, GSK Bangladeshapplies the experience here in this country. They added that the product complied with the

regulatory requirements in Bangladesh, the product was not available in the UK and the

company had no intention of advertising it here.

As evidence, GSK follows the RDA, which are WHO and FAO standard for South Asia. Every

pack of Horlicks contains the ingredients matrix, mentioning the benefit, nutrition and the

presence of the nutrition as percentage of RDA. So this evidence can be claimed by Horlicks

in Bangladesh.

Even after all these controversies GSK did not take down the ad in Bangladesh as theybelieved that the ongoing campaign can defend the claim in Bangladesh. So as the normal

process, the campaign was completed.

However, this wasn't enough. Horlicks got into more controversies by getting into a direct

tussle with Complan. A slightly different ad was made clearly targeted for attacking

Horlicks main competitor Complan. Horlicks has now arrived with an ad which entails a

discussion between two kids and their mothers. Both the products are compared based on

the nutrients, the claims and finally the price. The "Taller, Stronger, Sharper" campaign of

Horlicks is used to counter the claims of Complan. They even used a Complan Bottle in the

ad without any pixilation - no attempt to hide whatsoever, and compared it with Horlicks.The ad communicates the price advantage of the product and the functional benefits.

Overall, it shows the supremacy of the brand over the competitors. Well, Complan decided

to come up with an ad claiming that Complan consumers grew taller at a rate twice than the

growth of the non consumers.


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It now remains to be seen how GSK plans to substantiate the claims of being ''taller,

stronger and sharper'' by drinking Horlicks. Given the history, there would be no point in

holding one's breath to wait for either GSK, or the National Institute of Nutrition,

Hyderabad, to come out with the results of the study that clinically proves' their claim, or

carry label markings to clarify their claims for the benefit of consumers of the product.

For now, it remains just a claim, or rather, a market repositioning exercise for a brand that

was said to ensure good sleep.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Identify the key feature on which Horlicks is positioned in consumer market?2.

Do you think the company is following the right communication strategy formarketing of its product? If so, justify. If not suggest what can be the right

communication strategy?

3. Do you think GSKs response to the controversy was good enough to stop all therattle that was created?

4. Do you think Horlicks should set aside the whole taller, stronger and sharpercampaign and start afresh to build a different image altogether?

5. Discuss the initiatives that GSK can take to rejuvenate its brand with visually provenreference to the positioning and advertising aspects. In light of the changing market

dynamics and the intensifying competition, will the current strategies help GSK

sustain its position in the market?


7/7

References:

1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7683259.stm2. http://www.domain-

b.com/companies/companies_g/GlaxoSmithKline/20081024_horlicks.html

3. http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=223734&cid=24. http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC951/fc951.html5. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Brand-Assessment-Of-Horlicks-585566.html6. http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/archive_details.php?date=2012-02-

27&nid=51693

7. http://www.coolavenues.com/know/mktg/index.php38. http://mysharpthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/12/health-drink-war-from-beginning-

health.html

9. http://marketzeal.com/taller-sharper-stronger-and-fatter/10.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9148401/

Horlicks-and-Complan-criticised-in-India-over-claims-they-can-help-children-pass-

exams.html

11.http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/84726/Trademark/Glaxo+Fails+At+Establishing+Its+Ad+To+Be+Taller+Stronger+Sharper

12.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horlicks
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Horlicks Case