Fevikwik’s Kabadiwali Ad: Turning junk into instant value

Summary

• Campaign Name: “Phenko Nahi, Jodo!” (Don’t Throw, Join!)
• Product/Focus: Fevikwik (Super Glue/Instant Adhesive)
• Core Message: Fevikwik creates economic value by instantly fixing broken goods, promoting thriftiness and resourcefulness over waste

The FeviKwik: “Phenko Nahi, Jodo!” (Don’t throw, join!) – Kabadiwali ad is a humorous and insightful commercial that was part of a larger campaign launched in 2019 to promote the idea of repairing items instead of contributing to a “use and discard” culture.

The ad’s plot

The commercial takes place in a typical middle-class Indian household: 

• Characters: 
  It features a mother and her young daughter.
  
• The Plot:
  • The ad begins with the daughter excitedly showing her mother a new phone.
  • The mother is seemingly distracted, waiting for the kabadiwali (scrap dealer) to arrive to sell old items.
  • The doorbell rings, and the daughter opens the door to a surprise: the scrap dealer is an older woman with a distinct, stylish look.
  • The daughter is shocked to see the kabadiwali wearing her own previously discarded sunglasses, earrings, carrying her bag, and wearing her sandals.
  • The mother, nonchalantly, explains that since the daughter threw them away after they broke, the kabadiwali took them and simply fixed them using FeviKwik.
  • As the daughter stands in shock and accidentally drops her new phone, the kabadiwali looks on and says, “Oh no!” to which the mother replies, “Oh yes!”. 

Reception and recall

The campaign won a Gold Effie award for its effectiveness.

The ad effectively delivers the campaign’s central message: “Phenko Nahi, Jodo!” through a relatable and humorous scenario.

• The Message: It encourages resourcefulness and highlights FeviKwik as a quick, simple solution for extending the life of everyday objects. The ad taps into the insight that people value their belongings and that fixing them is a smarter alternative to discarding them.
• Humor and Relatability: The humor stems from the unexpected “swag” of the kabadiwali and the daughter’s shock at seeing her broken, discarded items restored and reused. This simple, visual storytelling made the message universally appealing without heavy dialogue.
• Agency: Like the “fish” ad, this campaign was also conceptualized by the agency Ogilvy (Mumbai).