hink health and oralcare is not really the first thing that comes to mind. Over the past one month, however, the two top players in the oralcare market, Colgate-Palmolive (India) and Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), have made a determined bid "to raise awareness about oral hygiene". While Colgate-Palmolive joined hands with the Indian Dental Association to create a month-long awareness campaign in October, HLL is using Pepsodent Germicheck in a campaign to educate consumers about the necessity of brushing twice every day.

The concern for pearly whites aside, the plight of the toothpaste market has been a cause for great worry for the two. Over the last two years, companies have tried almost everything - promos, freebies, dental insurances and finally price cuts - as they watched volumes fall by 5.2 per cent and value drop about 12.4 per cent (ORG-Marg data for 2003). So, when Debjit Rudra, marketing manager, Oralcare Activation, HLL, says that "we are focusing on this campaign with the objective of promoting good oral healthcare in the country", he probably sums up the sentiment of the entire industry. "This is definitely not a myopic initiative for short-term incremental volumes," he insists. "This campaign will impact the industry positively." ... more