RSH Global’s new range of products for acid attack survivors — a marketing gimmick or an important innovation?

• Meghna Gulzar’s Chhapaak is scheduled to be launched on January 10 and brands have flocked to associate with the movie already.
• One such brand is RSH Global’s Joy, which has launched a new range of products called ‘Joy Sensitive,’ meant for hyper-sensitive skin type -- including acid attack survivors.
• While the ad uses Chhapaak’s impending popularity to create a buzz, we speak to experts to find out if it is all just a gimmick to tie into the film’s marketing or an important innovation.

Right before the launch of Meghna Gulzar’s Chhapaak, which is about an acid attack survivor starring Deepika Padukone, RSH Global has launched a new range of products called ‘Joy Sensitive’, which is for people with hyper-sensitive skin, also suitable for acid attack survivors.

This hypo-allergenic product range includes a face-wash, moisturiser, cream and sunscreen. According to RSH Global, India tops the list of countries for acid attacks globally and victims are often from a modest background. Given that the existing products available in the market are either scarce, expensive or belonging to the derma category, affordability played a key role in the development of Joy Sensitive.

Before the launch, the brand conducted a research study on a sample of 20 people with extreme-sensitive skin, which started in September 2019. Interestingly, it was after the launch of the movie’s teaser that the brand decided to hit the shelves.

To further latch on to the movie buzz, RSH Global launched a campaign called #skinofcourage that celebrates Malti, the protagonist from Chhapaak, and her courage. The voice-over reminds the audience what beauty truly is — beyond the physical appearance — happiness, courage, and talent.


Explaining why the brand waited until now to launch this range of products, Poulomi Roy, CMO, RSH Global, said, “After our R&D in September, in the month of December, we came to know about the detailed storyline of the movie Chhapaak from trusted sources and hence decided to associate with the 'larger cause'. We were clear that we are not looking for a film integration or a conventional co-branded promo. We spoke to Fox Studios and explained how the brand's association with the cause highlighted in the movie can help us reach a wider audience, we thus began our endeavour of association.”

She said it took a long-pitch to convince Fox Studios about their genuineness.

“The producers, director and cast of the movie were very cautious to associate with any brand but when vetted with the fact that our endeavour was pre-planned and genuine, the synergy matched,” added Roy.

After the promo, RSH Global got in touch with Pragya, an acid attack survivor, who runs an NGO. The brand has started an employment drive with her, wherein it will hire two acid survivors and through LinkedIn, will further reach out to corporate HR and act as a mediator.

“We also spoke to a few NGOs and counselors before deciding on the employment drive as part of the campaign. This was the time when we discovered that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid is completely upside down for acid survivors as compared to others. We realised there is a life after the incident and as a brand, we need to ensure safety and employment. To our mind, this was the space where we wanted to engage and make a difference in their lives,” explained Roy.

Idea Behind the Brand Partnership

According to N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, most products usually arise out of an identified consumer need and a large market. And in the case of Joy Sensitive, he feels that as there is a social objective involved, the brand should handle their communication with utmost care.

“The movie and the product both will help bring out the 'real' lives of the survivors, and make audiences more sensitive to their personal suffering and triumphs. This is an extremely sensitive brand association and must be done in a completely natural and subtle fashion so that the brand rides on the message and not the other way around. I am hoping the brand does not squander this association and remains true to the victims' cause,” he noted.

Social Media and Brand Expert, Karthik Srinivasan, took a closer look on RSH’s website to understand the actual products. He found that while the ‘Sensitive' range is present, there is no page dedicated to it yet, which made him wonder if it all could be a gimmick to tie into the film's marketing.

“I would have expected them to walk the talk and mention who the product range is for, on the product. But I see the product being generic enough to be sold to all other kinds of people. I would still like to give them the benefit of the doubt since I have not seen the actual product's packaging - the back of the pack... if it mentions that this is sensitive enough for acid attack survivors since they claim R&D with that intent started late last year. At this point, without further information and only PR-speak available, it looks like an opportunistic repositioning of a product range to suit the film's theme,” added Srinivasan.

On the other hand, Ambi Parameswaran, Brand Strategist and Founder of Brand-Building.com, thought that associating with Chhapaak was a smart move to amplify its reach.

“The concept of skin cosmetics for hyper allergic women have been in existence for a long time. But they are often very expensive. From what I can understand, Joy is launching a range of ‘hypo-allergenic’ range of skin care products and has tied up with a new movie release. This seems to be a smart move given the buzz around the movie. But it is a tall claim that this range was created only for acid attack survivors. So it is an opportunistic ride on a trend.”

Considering that the victims are often from economically-weak background, Parameswaran also highlighted the importance of the ‘affordability factor’ and how it could determine the success of the product range.

“I do hope their range of hypo-allergenic products are affordable as they have claimed. If so, it is a good move. The danger is that the brand may actually get stereotyped as a skin care brand for acid attack survivors only. That is a danger and Joy should worry about that too,” he added.

A Look at the Research Study

The product was dermatologically tested on 20 people with hypersensitive skin and Roy says “post our launch, we are looking forward to getting real-time feedback.”

Shubho Sengupta, Brand Consultant, says lack of research indicates the brand’s true intention.

“This is a gimmick, which has not been tested on real-life acid attack survivors, as the brand’s response clearly says. They are just trying to latch on for some paid publicity. But it's okay as some publicity for acid attack survivors is also good. They are also hiring two survivors, as they claim,” says Sengupta.

How will it affect the Brand Image

Harish Bijoor, Brand-expert and Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults, fears that this might portray RSH Global in a negative light for using the movie as a ploy for consumer attention.

“I do believe this is marketing opportunism at work. For a product in this sensitive category, I do not think it will work. Consumers will sit up and see through it all. Marketers need to be more sensitive than this. Marketers will be seen as vultures who wait to swoop. And that's not a positive image to hold,” he shares.

Past initiatives

Joy, even in the past, has taken quite an unconventional path with its advertising. It had chosen a comedian -- Bharti Singh, to be its brand endorser and this time, Joy has ventured into an unusual category altogether that aims to break the stereotypes surrounding physical beauty.

Sharing the brand credo and idea behind this path, Roy explained, “We don’t try to be different, we just like doing things differently. Getting Bharti on-board was for a similar purpose. When we want to have a strong point-of-view on beauty as a brand, our first step should be to internalise that. Taking her as a brand ambassador and not merely using it as a gimmick, was the right thing to do.”