Establishing night brushing as a habit meant leveraging another relatable habit – dessert post dinner. To this effect, each scene is crafted to dial up relatability, from the different settings, to the types of sweets, to the diverse cohorts shown.

The device of 'brushing teeth with sweets' combines oddity with humor to redirect India’s favorite behavior back at them, in a way stark enough to take notice, yet quirky enough to chuckle at. Even the soundtrack mimicked the one habit Indians seemed to have forgotten. And they’re reminded about it in the most unexpected way.

To say that India loves sweets would be an understatement. To say it accounts for over 35% of the global sweet consumption would be more accurate. Sweets are the quintessential way to celebrate all cultural, religious and family events. Even Indian festivals are incomplete without exchanging and eating sweets.

But that doesn’t mean Indians need an occasion to indulge their sweet tooth. For them, the day feels incomplete without biting into sweets. To the extent that dessert post dinner has become a tradition of its own. One thing that hasn’t, however, is brushing after that.

Shockingly, 80% of Indians still don’t brush at night – a simple act that would cut the risk of cavities by half. No wonder 9 out 10 Indians suffer from cavities, making dental issues a ‘silent epidemic’.

What’s interesting is that despite being aware that sweets are bad for their teeth, Indian’s felt that simply rinsing their mouth with water would provide sufficient protection, underestimating the true gravity of the consequences.

As the leading dental care expert, Colgate wanted to show them the reality of their own habits, in a way that was as hard to ignore as the sweets in their fridge. Because the only way India’s dental health would improve, was if brushing with toothpaste post dinner became a nightly ritual.

The Sweet Truth highlighted the peculiar night-time habit of millions of Indians. The film shows how most Indians end their night with dessert and therefore leave the door open for cavities. It showcases people from different walks of life happily ‘brushing their teeth with sweets’, culminating in a message about how millions of Indians end their night with sugar, and not toothpaste.

These arresting visuals made a powerful argument for a much-needed habit – brushing before bed with toothpaste, thus reducing the risk of cavities.

The simple act of brushing at night can cut the chances of cavities by 50%. Yet, 80% of Indians still didn’t adopt this habit, causing 9 out of 10 to wake up to cavities. For the small percentage that did brush at night, the step was a reactive one, often triggered by dentist recommendations in response to serious oral issues.

There was, however, one habit that Indians did enthusiastically practice each night – eating dessert post dinner, making sweets the last thing they’d put on their teeth, increasing the risk of cavities.

Colgate, the leading dental care expert, wanted to hold up the mirror to India’s post dinner habits in a way that would make them take notice. The goal was to spark a 10% behaviour shift in the adoption of night brushing and gain an additional brand volume growth of 3%, as compared to the previous year.

(The film follows different Indian families and individuals indulging in their favourite post-dinner habit – eating sweets.)

We begin with a middle-aged family man, sneakily opening the fridge to grab some cheesecake. Instead of biting into it as expected, he takes it onto his finger and smears it vigorously against his clenched teeth. As he rubs the dessert onto his teeth, we realise that he’s mimicking the action of brushing.

A refrain kicks in, capturing the familiar sound of brushing teeth:

SFX: Chik — chik — chik — chik — chik — chik — chik — chik

This refrain becomes the musical bed that ties the film together.

What follows is a montage of different people doing the same odd act with their favourite desserts.

We see a family that has just finished dinner, reaching for their favourite mithai (traditional Indian sweetmeats). We focus on the father, using his fingers to vigorously rub a piece all around his teeth, followed by the mother doing the same with another piece.

Two young flatmates, engrossed in their late-night TV show, are mindlessly rubbing dollops of ice cream onto their teeth.

Similarly, we cut to two boys in their student hostel room, brushing their teeth with some traditional sweets as they cram a textbook for next-morning’s exam.

Quick shot of a young girl doing the same with a chocolate bar while staring at her home aquarium.

A married couple at a house party brushes their teeth with the wafer roll from an ice cream sundae, while making small talk with another guest.

We see an elderly woman brushing her teeth with a raspberry lolly ice cream by the window. In the background, two friends play the iconic Indian game of Carrom while doing the same with ice cream sticks.

A young live-in couple that has just finished doing the dishes sits by the kitchen counter, looking at each other lovingly while rubbing ice cream sticks against their teeth.

Another family does the same with some homemade sweetmeats, all while reading their phone or the newspaper before bed.

Next we focus on an elderly gentleman, dressed in a traditional kurta, smearing a paan (Indian digestive treat made of betel leaf) against his teeth. We pull out to show him and his friend sitting in their stately vintage home with the plate of paan in front of them. Instead of popping it in their mouths as usual, they’re busy smearing their teeth with it.

Next we see a great big Indian joint family, seated on the living room sofa at night. They’re engaging in the country’s favourite pastime – watching cricket. On cue with the music, they begin vigorously rubbing their respective sweets onto their teeth.

The montage culminates in a young mother gently lulling her baby for bed as she rubs a bar of chocolate onto her teeth.

As the intrigue of the visual device has reached a crescendo, the camera pans to the nearby bathroom sink and a super appears to punctuate the point.

SUPER:

Millions of Indians end their night with sugar.

Not toothpaste.

Prevent Cavities

#BrushTonight

(Colgate logo)

Issued in dental interest