MUMBAI: Some campaigns whisper. This one smacked Mumbai across the face with a floral flourish. Colgate-Palmolive India has launched a campaign that’s equal parts science fair, social experiment, and solid marketing theatre. Dubbed the ‘Indianis Dentris,’ it’s a flower you didn’t know you needed to fear—because it’s made from your overused toothbrush.
Over five days in March, Mumbai’s Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo was quietly hijacked by Colgate’s marketing imagination. Unsuspecting visitors were drawn to what appeared to be high-definition botanical panels showcasing a stunning new floral species.
Latin name? Indianis Dentris.
National pride? Implied.
Scientific description? Convincing.
What it really was? A close-up of your toothbrush head after six months of denial and dental negligence.
“Breaking through consumer inertia wasn’t easy. The biggest challenge wasn’t awareness, it was action,” said Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited EVP-marketing, Gunjit Jain. “People know they should replace their toothbrush regularly, but they don’t. We had to break that cycle, not with facts alone, but with an experience that made them feel the urgency.”
Colgate’s stunt turned stale hygiene habits into blooming horror. The campaign highlighted one uncomfortable truth: millions of Indians hold onto their toothbrushes long after their bristles wave the white flag. The flower was more than symbolism. It was a dirty mirror held up to a national habit.
“A flower truly rooted in Indian culture, the Indianis Dentris is as Indian as it gets. More than a just a symbolic flower, it’s the portrait of a national habit. Reflecting on the behaviour that needs change,” the brand explained.
WPP@CP executive creative director Juneston Mathana said, “The real task was making them experience the realization for themselves. Once they made the connection, the behaviour shift was how we set out to achieve.”
Through macro photography, museum-style placards, and cheeky pseudo-science, Colgate didn’t just push a product—it staged a public intervention. The Indianis Dentris didn’t just bloom in Mumbai, it seeded conversations everywhere from kitchen tables to dental clinics.
