| Title | PADDLE POP GAMING LEAGUE |
| Brand | HINDUSTAN UNILEVER |
| Product / Service | ICE CREAM |
| Category | A06. Best Use of Special Events And Stunt/Live Advertising |
| Entrant | MINDSHARE INDIA Mumbai, INDIA |
| Entrant Company: | MINDSHARE INDIA Mumbai, INDIA |
| Media Agency: | MINDSHARE INDIA Mumbai, INDIA |
Credits | |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Manesheel Gautam | Mindshare | Director |
| Raji Abraham | Mindshare | Director |
| Nilanjan Bhattacharya | Mindshare | Director |
| Peeyush Shekhar | Mindshare | Business Manager |
| Ankita Singh | Mindshare | Business Manager |
| Tanmay Maheshwari | Mindshare | Executive |
Pyrata movie was one of the top rated kids programs on Cartoon Network. The gaming league got 160,000 registrations to become country’s biggest gaming league for kids. There were over 1.2 million game plays and 2 million page views leading to as many brand interactions. PaddlePop Gaming League became so popular that the Pyarata Game CDs and Paddlepop merchandise were sold along with the ice creams to generate extra revenue for the brand. Walls portfolio exceeded sales by 30% before end of summer season. The adventure and thrill attached to Paddle Pop got kids 'gaming' a lot more.
We created a fantasy world of paddle pop & brought it to life it in form of an animated movie “Pyrata”. After making friends with the kids the brand decided to play with them. Paddle pop gaming league based on the lion’s adventure was launched. The league had a six city format similar to that of popular Indian premier cricket league(IPL). Kids from each city had to battle online with each other to become city gaming champions. These city champions then competed on-ground for national title. Kids were invited to compete on ground in an arena which was a physical stimulation of the fantasy world of paddle pop. Kids were made the hero and were asked to save the paddle pop kingdom by playing a 3d stimulated Paddle Pop Pyrata Game. Direct brand engagement was done by having an ice cream eating competition amongst the kids and PaddlePop lion.
India has over 200 million kids between age 6-12 representing the purchasing power of 30 Mn $. With this opportunity at hand, Walls entered the kids’ segment with PaddlePop in ice-cream portfolio in 2008 and positioned it on the platform of fun and adventure. After doing traditional advertising in its launch year the brand registered low awareness levels of 1% and the kids failed to see brand as a ‘partner in fun and adventure’. The marketing objective was to increase the awareness of paddle pop by engaging with kids in a meaningful way! For this the brand needed to befriend with the kids and play with them during their summer vacation period. (peak sales time for the brand). A unique engaging strategy involving the fantasizing adventure series and interactive digital gaming league was woven to achieve the same.