Campaigns · India · 2000
Fevicol: The Unbreakable Bond
Fevicol turned glue into one of India’s most entertaining advertisers.
By Maer Media editorial teamPublished 4 October 20263 min readOgilvy IndiaCampaigns · Branding
- Brand
- Fevicol
- Market
- India
- Year
- 2000
- Category
- Campaigns
- Agency or team
- Ogilvy India
- Channels
- TV, print, outdoor
The context
Adhesive is a low-interest category, bought by carpenters and households without much thought.
A strong bond is the product truth.
The move
Ogilvy India, led by Piyush Pandey, created a long series of comic films around one idea: Fevicol bonds can’t be broken. One of the most famous shows an overloaded bus where nobody falls off.
How it was executed
- Made comic films around bonds that can’t break.
- Used rural and urban settings.
- Kept one consistent idea.
Fevicol turned glue into one of India’s most entertaining advertisers.
What happened Reported facts
Fevicol became one of India’s most recognised brands and a byword for a strong bond.
Why it worked Maer’s analysis
Humour made a functional product memorable.
What to take from it Maer’s analysis
- 01Make the product truth the punchline.
- 02Humour can build trust in functional categories.
- 03A single, repeated idea compounds over decades.
Functional Indian brands can find humour inside their product truth.
Where Maer applies this
The same thinking runs through these brand templates:
Sources: Pidilite; Ogilvy India. Figures are as publicly reported; Maer Media was not involved in this work and is not affiliated with Fevicol.
The Maer Media editorial team studies how brands are built, from positioning and packaging to launches and growth. Figures in each case study come from the public sources listed above; the analysis and the India notes are our own. More about Maer
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