I hate the new(ish) Cinthol commercial.

It has no respect for the pristine environment it was shot in. It has no ‘green’ value system, and it assumes, even encourages you bring a soap bar to a perfectly natural environment. I am also really surprised by Leo Burnett’s comments on it on Brand Equity. The commercial scored a surprising 5.5 on the Leo Burnett 7+ ranking system. But yes, it probably appeals to the youth looking for adventure and repeatedly saying the word, ‘awesome’. It just doesn’t make sense to me to carry bars of soap into clean, green, refreshing natural settings. If we did that, those places won’t exists any more.

If it’s really aiming at the youth of India, it’s just saying, “Go ahead and bring chemicals and act irresponsibly around your natural heritage.” Which brings me to the conclusion – shouldn’t we be advertising responsibly? Shouldn’t there be rules against protecting the environment with your messaging? Or am I just too analytical now?

What do you think, check out the commercial for yourself here:

Don’t forget to give me your two cents!