Vicks has been a household name in India for over 50 years. While the idea of family care is in its DNA, it was increasingly being seen as old-fashioned. We needed to connect with our core audience – young Indian families – in a whole new way.

In 2017, we launched the ‘Touch of Care’ Campaign to celebrate true-life stories of extraordinary care, leveraging the insight that in India today, the idea of ‘family’ has evolved. It is no longer defined by just blood ties, but by who cares for you, and who you care for.

Our aim was to make Vicks a stronghold of every family once again, and to take part in meaningful transformations by engaging in conversations and supporting initiatives that furthered our campaign.

We inspired conversation by pushing the boundaries on what family and care mean in today’s day and age. We brought to life the extraordinary story of Nisha, a girl with a rare skin condition called ichthyosis, and the extraordinary love and care provided by her adoptive parents Aloma and David Lobo. Through this story, we brought forth our creative idea that care is transformative and everyone deserves it.

Our research said that the very definition of ‘FAMILY’ was changing in India. No longer were people related just by bloodlines or common surnames. It was being defined by who you care for and who cares for you. With this premise, we tried to connect with our core audience – young Indian families, who were spending a considerable amount of time online – in a whole new way.

Despite being a modern nation, there are time-worn traditions and beliefs in India that have been ingrained in the psyche for generations. One such belief is that people who are born disabled are repaying their karmic debt from a previous lifetime.

Disabled orphans have been greatly affected by this. They generally get ostracised from society and are rarely adopted.

However, Vicks believes that ‘Everyone deserves the touch of care’. And hence, we challenged an entire belief system by sharing this incredible story.

We tried to re-establish Vicks’ ownership of care by giving the idea of family care a fresh and contemporary meaning. We not only aimed to credibly tell a story of extraordinary care but also go beyond just a film. So, we launched the Touch of Care Fund to inspire more acts of care.

To connect with modern India with a relatively small budget, we needed to rethink our usual TV-focused approach. With urban India spending significant time on online entertainment, we decided to capture the story in long-form video content distributed purely on social media. The film was launched on 9th October 2018.

We also connected with prospective adoptive parents as the film was shared with them by CARA – the government organisation for child development.

This film was also played in cinema halls.

The film sparked conversations and as the numbers show, it resonated well with younger audiences. While complete acceptance of disabled people is a million miles away, this film made people aware of an issue that wasn’t being spoken about in the public forum.

31.4 million film views through all social platforms.

243.6 million overall campaign reach across channels.

+21% sales in the month of launch (YOY)

+1.5pts in overall Vicks share

Launched the Touch of Care Fund to inspire more acts of care

Inspired Indians to consider adoption of disabled children as an option. There was a definite spike in the number of inquiries for disabled children. (Exact numbers cannot be divulged by the government according to the law.)