While most brands in the carbonated drinks category were seeing positive growth, orange drinks were consistently

losing relevance amongst the core consumers - teenagers. The contribution of orange drinks to the portfolio had dropped 5% in last 5 years. Consumers were simply not interested in orange drinks. Within a shrinking category, the two key brands- Mirinda and Fanta, were talking in a similar language – encouraging teens to indulge in crazy uninhibited fun. So much so, they had become almost interchangeable in the eyes of the consumers. Without any brand distinction, Mirinda was facing a serious loss of emotional connect with the consumers. We realized that, if we wanted to connect with the teens we had to break away from the category codes. We couldn’t just talk about crazy fun without any meaning, instead we needed to give playfulness a purpose in the lives of the teens.

We asked kids across India to write open letters to their parents describing how they feel under pressure. As emotional letters poured in from across the country Mirinda did the unthinkable by turning its 11 million bottles into media. Mirinda re-designed the bottle labels on 11 million of its bottles to carry authentic emotional open letters that were sent in by children. The cap of the bottle carried the message - ‘Release the Pressure’ to nudge parents in an empathetic manner to ease the pressure by twisting off the cap and holding it up to pledge their support to the cause. It became an iconic symbol of the movement. Millions of parents, including celebrities, turned the cap and posted their promise to release the pressure on social media. Television, internet and on-ground activation programs nudged more and more parents to turn the cap and pledge.

In a movement to become the voice of teens, we were committed to stay real. We asked hundreds of teens to write open letters to their parents describing how they feel under pressure. A hard hitting digital film brought out these open letters and sparked off a nation wide debate. Authentic open letters began appearing on 11 million Mirinda bottle labels. Bottle caps carrying the idea became an iconic symbol. Millions of parents posed with the cap to show their support. 2.75 million 'Release the Pressure' stickers were put in newspapers to enable parents to show their resolve. Mirinda tied up with Fortis Hospitals for live counseling sessions for parents andteens and meditation classes before exams. Study accessories were distributed to over 10,000 children Notebooks - with breaks on every 10th page.