Monday, May 18, 2009

Me & Meri Maggi

I have ALWAYS wondered why Maggi instant noodles has consistently targetted only school kids. (In India)

Though I must admit I quite liked the Maggi ads when I was growing up. I can still sing out the whole jingle, particularly the one which went:

"mummy badi gazab ki bhook lagi...* "

No matter how much kids loved Maggi, it was still a forbidden food in India. It fell in the 'junk food' food-group. I have eaten a lot more Maggi as a grown up than as a child. In the college canteen, and later when I lived alone, away from home. And at the cafeterias of the offices where i worked! Even now, after being married, I enjoy an occasional evening snack of Maggi noodles with some cheese on the side.

Which is why the new "Me aur meri**" Maggi campaign makes SO much sense! They seem to have suddenly woken up and smelt the coffee or should i say Maggi on their 25th birthday!

It feels like finally having your love reciprocated. Maggi suddenly took notice of me.

Maggi, in India is much more than a kids answer to sudden hunger. You can see all that Maggi stands for on their beautiful website meandmeri.in where consumers have themselves sent in their Maggi stories.

You can see the ad and read more about the campaign and the people behind it here.

There's even a Maggi time-machine on their website where you can find the Maggi ad of my childhood days.


* loosely translated - mummy, feeling REALLY hungry!!!"

** me and my maggi

9 comments:

mathew said...

You know what the first time i have had maggi was when i was in primary school..there was this quiz competition conducted by them in school..dont remember whether you were there around then...

They had given something like 12 packets of maggi as prize...i stuffed myself with maggi for the next few days...;-P

I have learned to respect it a lot ever since bachelor cooking days began...its a luxury on lazy days...

meraj said...

"It feels like finally having your love reciprocated. Maggi suddenly took notice of me." - nicely put

and, couldnt agree more with you on the subject

DPhatsez said...

'me aur meri Maggi
aksar yeh baatein karte hain
Tum hoti to Kaisa Hota'

Bas do minute ;)

Nostalgic!

Vivek Menon said...

One question - Does Maggi not targeting the grown up segment stop you from having Maggi???
I guess the answer is NO!!

By already targeting us at a young age, Nestle has got us hooked on to one product that they know will bring out the child in us - how ever old we are..

Now if they start targeting Maggi to grown ups, then the whole game changes isnt it...!!!

Pooja Nair said...

Hi vivek!

it was logical to allure kids when they first entered the market.

Over the years Maggi garnered a lot of relevance amongst the college-goers and bachelors which i always felt was being ignored by the brand managers. (conciously or unconciously )

To answer your first question, no it doesn't. I'd have Maggi even if they stopped advertising! :)

thats purely because they have hit bull's eye when it comes to understanding the Indian taste bud - especially with their 'masala' variant!

Anyway, this is a great way to celebrate 25 years of Maggi in our lives! :) great job, website and all!

lilmorethanamommy said...

As a kid, I had my worst fights with my bro over Maggi. Have eaten Maggi at every stge of my life. It is kind of comfort food for me. After relocating to Panama, I pay about 8 times the price of Maggi but still make sure to pick it up from the Indian store.
And will you believe it, I make Maggi for myself only when my 4 year daughter is not around!!

kochuthresiamma p .j said...

The noodle per se is ok - only as junk as carbs can be-it's the taste maker that's the villain -contains MSG which, among other things ,is also carcinogenic.

chanu said...

Much more than a chicken fry i was allured to aroma of maggi ever since i was a child of aged five...this is what my mother says...even now delicious snake like snack tingles my taste buds..even my granpa binges on maggi....

Anonymous said...

Thank You for the post and the links to http://www.meandmeri.in/.. was looking for something like the time machine..