IIMC-CRC-2019-05

IIMC CASE RESEARCH CENTER (IIMCCRC)

RITU MEHTA, ABHI JAIN
MAY 2019

DEODORANT WARS IN INDIA: REVIVAL

CHALLENGE FOR AXE

Axe deodorant was launched by Hindustan Unilever Limited (known as Hindustan Lever
Limited until June 2007) in the Indian market in 1999. Axe led the Indian deodorant market
since its launch up to 2012. However, by the year 2016, Axe did not even figure in the top five
positions based on market sharei. Axe enjoyed a market share of over 20 per cent up to 2012,
which had reduced to about six per cent by the year 2016ii. Axe had succeeded to catch the
attention of Indian youth through its racy advertisements that portrayed Axe deodorants as
a tool for men to attract women. In the wake of Axe’s success, many other brands took up to
the same theme in their advertisements and some of these advertisements, including one of
Axe’s ads, were found going overboard with sensuality and ended up courting controversy. A
few of the late entrants in the deodorant market, however, succeeded in breaking the clutter
with a different proposition. For instance, Vini Cosmetics’ Fogg brand of deodorant, in 2011,
disrupted the market by launching itself as a product with all perfume and no gas that gave
consumers more number of sprays per bottle. This new concept redefined the expectations
of the consumers from a deodorant. It helped Fogg dislodge Axe from its top position for the
first time in 2013, and since then it continued with its leadership position in the Indian
deodorant marketiii.

During the same time, across the world, there was a growing criticism over stereotypical
gender portrayal and objectification of women in advertisements. Unilever, the parent
company of Hindustan Unilever Limited, consciously decided in 2016 to do away with sexism
from its advertisements and change the positioning of Axe on a global level such that it

Prof. Ritu Mehta and Abhi Jain of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta developed this case study
as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate the effective or ineffective running of an
organization.

This case study is meant for use in the PGP for a course titled “Marketing Management” taught by Prof.
Ritu Mehta of IIM Calcutta starting 10th August, 2020. Beyond limited printing rights, copying,
distributing or posting of this case study in any form on any media is strictly prohibited. The limited
rights to use this case is only valid for the duration of the program.

Copyright © 2019, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.

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inspired men to celebrate their originality and reject the traditional stereotypes of male
attractivenessiv. In view of this decision, Axe launched a new advertising campaign in the US
asking men to ‘find their magic’. The ads conveyed that it was not important to meet the
fashion norms to make oneself attractive, but men should figure out their authentic self and
then work on it.

In light of the above developments, should Axe India too launch a new advertising campaign
or should it continue with its ads relying on stereotypical ideas about gender that had worked
for it for a long period of time? Would the different campaign help Axe in regaining its lost
market share in the Indian market? Could Axe make a comeback by merely repositioning its
brand or did it need to alter its marketing strategy altogether? Did it even make sense to
invest time and money to chase a loser, or should it discontinue the product?

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED AND THE LAUNCH OF AXE

BRAND
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), the Indian subsidiary of the global British-Dutch company,
Unilever, enjoyed a heritage of more than eight decades in Indiav. It was the largest consumer
packaged goods company in the country. It had 40 brands present in over 20 product
categories across segments such as personal care, home care, water purifiers, and food and
beveragesvi. Many of its brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf, Wheel, Dove, Sunsilk, Pepsodent,
Vaseline, Vim, Lipton, and Kissan had become household names. More than 700 million vii
Indians, from the financial capital of the country to the remotest village in the country, used
its products. In a survey for Most Trusted Brands in 2014 by Brand Equity, sixteen of HUL’s
brands featured in the top 100 listviii.

HUL is known for many of its contributions to the management field in India. It had introduced
the practice of management trainee program in the early 1960s that ensured the company
produced good managersix. HUL’s emphasis on research and development and innovation
from the initial days, helped it in developing products specifically meeting Indian consumers’
needs. It also procured raw materials locally in order to optimize costs and enable it to
respond to market challenges quickly. Liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s saw
HUL expanding its horizons into food, cosmetics, and female hygiene through mergers and
acquisitions. Since then HUL consolidated its position in the Indian market. Recognizing the
growing importance of HUL to its business, Unilever raised its stake in HUL from 52.5 per cent
to 67.3 per cent in 2013x.

With HUL contributing around eight to nine per cent to Unilever’s annual revenue, it was seen
as a jewel in Unilever’s crownxi. The cumulative sales of HUL’s brands stood at ₹320 billion in

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2016, and six of its brands — Surf Excel, Brooke Bond, Wheel, Lifebuoy, Rin, and Fair and
Lovely had crossed the ₹20 billion-markxii.

Axe, a deodorant brand, was launched in India by HUL (HLL then) in the year 1999. It was
initially launched by Unilever in 1983 in France, with the intention to establish itself as a brand
that increased female attraction and defined masculinity. Having seen success in Europe and
Latin America, the company introduced it in other countries, including India and the US. India,
being a tropical country with less than one percent penetration of deodorants, was a
promising market. At that time, HUL had two other brands, Rexona and Ponds in the Indian
deodorant market. While Rexona was an entry-level unisex deodorant brand, Ponds was
targeted at women. Axe was introduced as a premium brand for male consumers. It borrowed
the same theme of female attraction in its communication messages as used in its
international campaigns. The sales of Axe soon exceeded that of Rexona, and HUL
discontinued advertising and promotional support to Rexonaxiii. Over the years, the Axe brand
extended to other male-grooming products like after-shave lotions, shaving creams, and
colognexiv.

DEODORANT MARKET IN INDIA – EARLY YEARS

The beginning
The first deodorant in India was launched by HUL in 1995 under the brand name Rexona. It
was surprising that in spite of India being a tropical country, shift to deodorants from
traditional methods of combating body odour didn’t happen earlier. It was primarily because
of the grooming behaviour and the attitude of people towards deodorants. People did not
see sweating and body odour as an issue that needed to be dealt with. Even if it was seen as
a problem, bathing twice a day or using talcum powder was seen as a solution. Talcum
powders served dual purpose in many Indian households, particularly the South and West of
India, where they were used as make-up products as well. These practices had existed for
generations together. Additionally, talcum powders were seen as a family product whereas
deodorants were perceived as a gender specific product for adult usagexv.

Deodorants were also seen as products of indulgence since they were typically priced higher
than talcum powder. A 75ml bottle of deodorant costed same as a 400gm pack of talcum
powder in 2007xvi. Hence the deodorants were not seen as a product for daily use and their
usage was limited amongst the handful of adopters of deodorants. Also, since most of the
deodorants focused on fragrance, they were perceived as a cheaper form of perfume. The
branded perfumes available in the market were mostly imported and costed no less than a

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few thousands. Consumer knowledge about the usage of deodorants was poor in terms of
when to apply, where to apply, and how frequently to apply. Sometimes consumers faced
issues of skin irritation because of incorrect application of deodorants. Unfortunately, very
few companies invested towards educating the customers on these issues. Soma Ghosh,
Marketing Director, Nivea, said:

“Many people use deodorant like a fragrance and spray it on their clothes. Hence our
packaging provides specific instructions to spray the deodorant on the body.”xvii

Growth in the 1990s

The economic liberalization of India in the year 1991 gave an impetus to the services sector
leading to an increase in the disposable income of many of the Indian youths xviii. There was a
gradual shift in their social manners and they no longer felt guilty about spending on grooming
themselves. They realized the importance of smelling good to get approval from the opposite
sex. These changes gave a boost to the sale of deodorants. The deodorant market saw volume
growth rates as high as about 100% in 1997-98xix.

AXE’S POSITIONING AND THE DEODORANT MARKET (1999 -

2012)
Axe positioned itself as a cool, iconic brand targeting the young male population aged
between 18 and 25 yearsxx. The proposition offered by the brand was cheeky - “Wear Axe,
and women instantly fall for you”. Axe was depicted as a product for average looking men,
who felt cool, trendy and confident about themselves after wearing it, something that was
desired by the target segment. It had struck the right chord with young, urban males who, as
a result of exposure to international brands and lifestyle, had become more aspirational and
conscious of their looks and body odour.

One of the earliest advertising campaigns of Axe in India was “the Axe effect”. This ‘effect’
was supposed to draw women towards men who sprayed themselves with the Axe
deodorants. The ads showed women getting irresistibly drawn towards Axe users who were
otherwise normal looking men, but high with self-confidence. The way Axe communicated
this message was witty and innovative. Axe’s communication strategy was one of the major
reasons for its success in India according to the spokesperson of Lowe Lintas, the advertising
agency that handled Axe’s account then. In her words:

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"Axe has always been supported by advertising that has been completely out of the
box and witty. Axe advertising is innovative, with a lot of tactical work and timely
surprises that the brand has sprung on its core target group. The style of advertising
has appealed to the Indian youth, and has helped boost the imagery of the brand and
garner an outstanding 21-per cent market share within the first year of its launch... it
was the first time Axe had got such a wonderful response in any country.”xxi

HUL was the biggest player in the market with its brands Rexona, Axe, Denim, and Ponds.
Other companies were quick to launch their products. The deodorant market was swamped
with numerous players. Some of the players in 2001 included Baccarose (Copper and Onyx),
CavinKare (Spinz), Cussons (Graphite), Henkel (Fa), J. K. Helene Curtis (Premium and Park
Avenue), and Sara Lee (Eva) xxii . Most of these brands followed Axe’s proposition in the
seduction category. At times, some advertisements of Axe and other deodorant brands were
charged of obscenityxxiii. In 2008, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry of India
raised objection against the advertisement of Axe’s ‘Dark Temptation’ deodorant calling it as
vulgar, indecent, and repulsivexxiv. In another instance, in 2009, a news item, which was later
revealed to be fake, went viral wherein an Axe user sued the brand for having failed to attract
any woman in spite of having used the brand regularlyxxv.

The deodorant market grew exponentially in spite of the fact that no brand made any serious
attempt to stand out in the market. As of 2010, the deodorant penetration was as low as 2-3
per cent xxvi . By 2010, other brands such as Paras Pharmaceutical’s Set Wet and Zatak,
Mankind Pharma’s Addiction, Godrej’s Cinthol, Reebok, Adidas, Gillette, and Nivea had joined
the fray. Almost all brands positioned themselves as a tool for young men to attract women.
Moreover, these deodorants were priced in the same range between ₹100 and ₹150xxvii. Only
a few brands positioned themselves differently. For instance, Godrej portrayed the user of its
deodorant brand, Cinthol as an active and outgoing guy. CavinKare’s Hi5 range of men’s
deodorants featured sporting activity related imagery. L’Oréal’s Garnier deodorants targeted
men with an active lifestyle. Vismay Sharma, Director of L’Oréal India’s consumer products
said:

“We will not play on insecurities and instead focus on the science and rational benefits
of the product. Our deodorant is enriched with perlite and absorbs five times more
sweat than a talcum powder.”xxviii

Srinandan Sundaram, Category Head for HUL’s deodorants and oral care, did not see the need
to reposition the brand as he believed that the area of attraction had not been exploited

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completely and the market for young males was large enough to ensure growth. According
to him:

“Axe will continue to position itself as the ‘cool iconic youth brand’, and the young male
(18-25 year olds) will remain the target for Axe... Youth today form a source of
knowledge in large families, and the use of novel products might trickle down to other
age groups. In addition, several families often share products; so even though a young
guy might buy a deodorant, the product is often used by other members in the
family...Many women liked the fragrance and started using it.”xxix

In 2010, HUL launched Sure, a leading anti-perspirant brand with the intention to create
another sub-category. It claimed to be the world’s number one antiperspirant brand which
worked even at 58 degrees Celsiusxxx. While anti-perspirants were seen as hygiene products
in matured markets, in India there was little awareness about this product and its use. By
2012, anti-perspirants share of the deodorant market stood at a meagre 10 per centxxxi. Axe’s
market share of 35% in the year 2002xxxii reduced to 30% in the year 2007xxxiii and further down
to 20% in the year 2012xxxiv. Nevertheless, Axe was much ahead of Wild Stone, the brand at
number two position with around 11% market share. In spite of the fact that Wild Stone was
from a little known company, McNroe Consumer Products, it had succeeded in catching
consumers’ attention through its bold advertisements showing women as yearning for men
wearing its deodorantxxxv. Falling market share, however, was not a matter of worry because
of expanding deodorant market as stated by Sundaram, then Category Head for HUL’s
deodorants and oral care. He did not feel the need to reposition the brand as he believed that
the area of attraction had not been exploited completely and the market for young males was
large enough to ensure growth. According to him:

“Axe will continue to position itself as the ‘cool iconic youth brand’, and the young male
(18-25 year olds) will remain the target for Axe... Youth today form a source of
knowledge in large families, and the use of novel products might trickle down to other
age groups. In addition, several families often share products; so even though a young
guy might buy a deodorant, the product is often used by other members in the
family...Many women liked the fragrance and started using it.”xxxvi

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AXE’S FALL FROM GRACE AND THE DEODORANT MARKET

(2013 ONWARDS)
Over the years, the deodorant market had become more and more competitive with new
product launches. There were 986 varieties of deodorants across 500 brands by the year 2014
with 103 new launches happening in 2014xxxvii. Two new players that had emerged strong
during this time were Vini Cosmetics’ Fogg and ITC’s Engage. Vini Cosmetics was founded in
2009 by Darshan Patel, the man behind many successful launches including Krack, Moov,
D’Cold, and DermiCool. According to Patel:

“My strength lies in identifying gaps in the market. It is what I have always done well.”

Initially, in 2011, Vini Cosmetics launched 18+ brand of deodorant which harped on “female
attraction”. It did not do well in the market. Eventually, Darshan Patel conducted market
research involving discussion with 35-40 groups in top eight cities of the country. Overall,
there was satisfaction with the options available in the market, but a concern iterated by
many in the groups was that the deodorants did not last long enoughxxxviii.

To resolve this issue, Patel came out with Fogg deodorant towards the end of 2011. The
deodorant had no gas that prevented the product from vaporizing easily, thereby reducing
wastage drastically. Patel travelled to China and identified a manufacturer of non-aerosol
pumps that could regulate the flow of deodorant. He positioned Fogg as “no gas, only deo”
and the brand promised 800 sprays, two times the sprays than any other deodorant. Fogg
was introduced at almost 15 per cent higher price than most other brands, but it lasted
longerxxxix. The consumer response was overwhelming. In less than two years, Fogg emerged
as the market leader. In 2013, Fogg overtook Axe to become the top player in the market with
a share of 13 per centxl . Fogg consistently remained the market leader from 2013 onwards xli.
By the end of 2016, Fogg had acquired 20 per cent of the market while Axe stood at six per
centxlii. Fogg avoided the racy advertisements for its brand right from the beginning. It targeted
larger audience in its campaigns by depicting wives, mothers, and other adults along with
young males, who were its primary target group. Patel felt pitching Fogg as a “family deo”
would be the key to its success and people from all age groups appeared in its advertisements.
Campaigns such as ‘kya chal raha hai? Fogg chal raha hai’ (what’s up? It’s Fogg) in 2015 and
‘pata nahin kyun, kuch log bas pasand aa jaate hain’ (we don’t know why, but we simply like
some people) in 2016 were some examples of how Fogg kept itself away from the
stereotypical deodorant advertisementsxliii.

Engage, the other new entrant was a brand launched by the multinational giant ITC in May
2013. Engage focused on the playful chemistry between men and women, treating them as

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equals. It was positioned as a deodorant for couples. Within one year of its launch, it became
the second largest selling deodorant. Engage’s growth was aided by the strong distribution
network of ITC because of which it was able to cover 75 per cent of the market within four
months of its launchxliv.

Another player that kept itself away from the seduction theme was Nivea. Nivea underwent
a rebranding exercise for its men’s range in 2013. It adopted a new brand name, Nivea Men
with the tagline “It starts with you” for its skincare and deodorant range. Using celebrity
endorser, Arjun Rampal, the brand called upon men to act and it conveyed that if one has the
right attitude, it gets reflected in the mirror alsoxlv.

Thus, many players had started promoting their unique proposition to break through the
cluttered deodorant market. By 2015, Axe was out of the top five positions with Fogg leading
the market with 17.4 per cent market share, followed by McEnroe’s Wild Stone (10.2 per
cent), Nivea (9.4 per cent), Park Avenue (7.3 per cent), and Engage (7.2 per cent), in that
orderxlvi.

THE DILEMMA
With growing social backlash over stereotypical gender portrayal in advertisements and
Unilever’s realization that unconventional advertisements are 25 per cent more effective,
Unilever decided to strip out stereotypes from its ads in 2016xlvii. Under this initiative, Unilever
decided to change Axe’s communication. It’s research revealed that there was immense
pressure on guys to adhere to certain notions of manhood. To empower men to be
comfortable in their own skin and live their own way, Axe launched a campaign ‘find your
magic’ in the US. The ad conveyed that there was no one way to ‘be a man’ and it was
important to explore one’s own self and find that unique trait that made one stand apart from
others. The ad received rave reviews and there was increase in advertisement awareness and
brand purchase consideration amongst US men and womenxlviii. Given the successful shift in
positioning of the brand in US, was it time to reposition the brand in India also? How could it
revive its falling market share in the deodorant market? How should it respond to the growing
competition in India from small and big players? Was there a need to alter the product such
that it could disrupt the market like Fogg did, or should Axe alter its overall marketing
strategy, or mere repositioning would help? Alternatively, was withdrawal of the product the
best option?

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i Sohini Das, “How Fogg stays ahead in deos”, Business Standard, January 25, 2017, accessed
August 10, 2017, http://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/how-fogg-stays-
ahead-in-deos-117012501355_1.html
ii Krishna Gopalan, “Fragrance King”, Outlook Business, June 23, 2017, accessed September 1,

2017, https://www.outlookbusiness.com/specials/the-power-of-i_2017/fragrance-king-
3619
iii Ibid.

iv JENNIFER F AULL, “AXE WANTS TO GIVE MEN THEIR OWN DOVE MOMENT IN FIRST GLOBAL BRAND

CAMPAIGN ”, THE D RUM , JANUARY 13, 2016, ACCESSED AUGUST 17, 2017,
HTTP://WWW .THEDRUM .COM/ NEWS/2016/01/13/ AXE- WANTS- GIVE -MEN-THEIR- OWN - DOVE-
MOMENT- FIRST- GLOBAL- BRAND- CAMPAIGN
v https://www.hul.co.in/about/who-we-are/introduction-to-hindustan-unilever/

vi Priyanka Pani, “Six Hindustan Unilever brands cross ₹2,000-cr sales milestone”, The Hindu

Business Line, June 3, 2016, accessed August 10, 2017,

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/six-hindustan-unilever-brands-cross-
2000cr-sales-milestone/article8687420.ece
vii https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustan_Unilever

viii ET Bureau, “India’s most-trusted brands on 2014”, The Economic Times, October 22, 2014,

accessed August 15, 2017 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/brand-

equity/indias-most-trusted-brands-of-2014/articleshow/44896800.cms?intenttarget=no
ix VIVEAN SUSAN PINTO, “40 YEARS AGO... AND NOW: HUL - FROM 'INTREPRENEUR' TO SUBSIDIARY”,

OCTOBER 30, 2014, ACCESSED AUGUST 10, 2017, BUSINESS STANDARD, HTTP://WWW.BUSINESS-
STANDARD.COM/ARTICLE/COMPANIES/40-YEARS-AGO-AND-NOW-HUL-FROM-INTREPRENEUR-TO-
SUBSIDIARY-114092400028_1.HTML
x Ibid.

xi Ibid.

xii Pani, op. cit.

xiii Purvita Chatterjee, “HLL may axe Rexona deos -- Focus now on Axe, relaunched Ponds”,

The Hindu Business Line, June 5, 2002, accessed August 19, 2017,
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2002/06/05/stories/2002060501990600.htm
xiv Sravanthi Challapalli, “Set to smell success”, The Hindu Business Line, June 21, 2007,

accessed August 19, 2017, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-

brandline/set-to-smell-success/article1679104.ece
xv Ibid.

xvi Ibid.

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xvii Preeti Khicha, “Can Axe retain its effect”, Business Standard, January 20, 2013, accessed
August 24, 2017, http://www.business-standard.com/article/management/can-axe-retain-
its-effect-110112200055_1.html
xviii Suneera Tandon and Mihir Dalal, “Deodorant makers sweat it out to build brand loyalty”,

LiveMint, September 24, 2012, accessed August 18, 2017,

http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/FtUnrB0jzZCbT4KQ5dYQFL/Deodorant-makers-sweat-
it-out-to-build-brand-loyalty.html
xix N. Shatrujeet, “Axe: Drawing attention through innovation”, afaqs!, February

16,2001,accessed August 16, 2017, http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/1828_Axe-Drawing-

attention-through-innovation
xx Khicha, op. cit.

xxi N. Shatrujeet, op. cit.

xxii Ibid.

xxiii Diksha Kamral, “Deo ads face the axe effect”, The Times of India, May 27,2011, accessed

April 29, 2018, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/Deo-ads-face-the-axe-

effect/articleshow/8585331.cms
xxiv Press Trust of India, “Govt brands Axe advertisement as indecent”, India Today, August 22,

2008, accessed April 29, 2018, https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/govt-

brands-axe-advertisement-as-indecent-28729-2008-08-22
xxv Himanshu Kakkar, “Long Lasting?”, Outlook Business, October 12,2013, accessed April 29,

2018, https://www.outlookbusiness.com/strategy/feature/long-lasting-1626
xxvi Khicha, op. cit.

xxvii Ibid.

xxviii Ibid.

xxix Ibid.

xxx Kakkar, op. cit.

xxxi Sagar Malviya, “Hindustan Unilever plans to extend Lux brand into the deodorant

segment”, The Economic Times, June 8, 2012, accessed April 29, 2018,
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fmcg/hindustan-unilever-
plans-to-extend-lux-brand-into-the-deodorant-segment/articleshow/13913518.cms
xxxii Purvita Chatterjee, “HLL may axe Rexona deos -- Focus now on Axe, relaunched Ponds”,

The Hindu Business Line, June 5, 2002, accessed August 28, 2017,
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2002/06/05/stories/2002060501990600.htm
xxxiii Challapalli 2007, op. cit.

xxxiv Gopalan, op. cit.

xxxv Ibid.

xxxvi Khicha, op. cit.

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xxxvii Aparna Dutt Sharma, “INDIA: OVER 900 DEODORANT VARIETIES TO CHOOSE FROM!”,
IBEF blog, July 21, 2014, accessed August 25, 2017, https://www.ibef.org/blogs/india-over-
900-deodorant-varieties-to-choose-from
xxxviii Krishna Gopalan, “Fragrance King”, Outlook Business, June 23, 2017, accessed August 29,

2017, https://www.outlookbusiness.com/specials/the-power-of-i_2017/fragrance-king-
3619
xxxix Virendra Pandit and Rutam Vora, “The scent of a man”, The Hindu Business Line,

February 13, 2014, accessed January 6, 2019,

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/the-scent-of-a-man/article23028786.ece
xl Namrata Singh and Udit Prasanna Mukherjee, “Fogg clouds Axe effect, rises to number 1

spot”, The Times of India, December 17, 2013, accessed August 27, 2017,
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Fogg-clouds-Axe-effect-rises-
to-number-1-spot/articleshow/27493278.cms
xli Sohini Das, “The race of deos: Why Fogg is winning”, Rediff, February 3, 2017, accessed

August 27, 2017, http://www.rediff.com/money/report/why-fogg-is-winning-race-of-deos-

ads/20170203.htm
xlii Gopalan, op. cit.

xliii Shephali Bhatt, “Brand journey: Fogg, a challenger brand that left category leaders with no

gas or steam”, The Economic Times, August 9, 2016, accessed August 27, 2017,
https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/brand-journey-fogg-
a-challenger-brand-that-left-category-leaders-with-no-gas-or-steam/53602698
xliv Writankar Mukherjee, “ITC’s Engage range takes second spot in deo market by volume”,

The Economic Times, July 14,2014, accessed August 27, 2017,

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fmcg/itcs-engage-range-
takes-second-spot-in-deo-market-by-volume/articleshow/38377802.cms
xlv India Infoline News Service, “NIVEA MEN Fresh Active Deo kick starts its new campaign with

Arjun Rampal”, IIFL, May 14, 2013, accessed April 29, 2018,
https://www.indiainfoline.com/article/lifestyle-buzz/nivea-men-fresh-active-deo-kick-
starts-its-new-campaign-with-arjun-rampal-113110818076_1.html
xlvi Sohini Das, “How Fogg stays ahead in deos”, Business Standard, accessed August 10, 2017,

http://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/how-fogg-stays-ahead-in-deos-
117012501355_1.html
xlvii Ravi Balakrishnan, "Unstereotype ads are 25% more effective", Brand Equity, August 4,

2017, accessed April 29, 2018,

https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/unstereotype-ads-
are-25-more-effective/59863777

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