Will Kolor be enough to lift the Superdrug brand?

The high-street retailer is working on increasing its appeal, Jenny Watts writes

When Superdrug decided five years ago to eschew the impossibly flawless people that traditionally front health and beauty advertising in favour of "real" folk shot using a home-video format, it was hailed as a welcome departure.

Now the retailer is hoping to underline that approach with a series of ads supporting Kolor, its new, own-label cosmetics brand. The ads, which display the range's shades to the strains of the 70s disco tune Popcorn, clearly aim to remain true to the irreverent spirit of the brand that was established in the previous work.

Patricia Manning, the head of marketing at Superdrug, describes the company's advertising as being something its target audience of "real" people can relate to.

Miriam Jordan Keane, the client services director at Bates, the agency that created the ads for Superdrug, says it is an extension of the previous brand strategy. "It is still about enjoying life. It has consistency, but is for a new and different brand," she explains.

However, the latest campaign is also intended to invite reappraisal of Superdrug itself. "It's about rediscovery, so that consumers can look again at the Superdrug offering," Manning says.

The retailer is right to rethink its offering at a time when its positioning is increasingly unclear. But whether a new FMCG product will be enough to help the company stand out is doubtful. In fact, the issue of what constitutes the Superdrug offering is up for debate.