Chennai:

The press meet was supposed to start at 12 noon, but started half-an-hour late. Nearly 50 people attended the meeting, which resulted in sizeable loss of productive manhours.

Addressing the gathering Shubhajit Sen, general manager, marketing (nutritionals), said, the company, jointly with the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, had conducted a `clinical trial' spread over 14 months on 869 children (6-16 age group) studying in a boarding school in the same city.

The children were divided into two groups with one being served Horlicks everyn day and the other with different beverage.

At the end of the study, he claimed, the children who drank Horlicks were taller, stronger and sharper than the non-Horlicks drinkers. Sen specifically drew the attention of the media to the words `clinically proven' in one of the power point slides he presented.

Soon after, questions from the reporters flew thick and fast. When asked whether the company had the permission of Drug Controller of India to conduct the clinical study, Sen replied in negative saying, such studies did not require permissions. However, he added that the permission of the parents had been obtained.

When asked to share the study report, he replied that the National Institute of Nutrition would do that soon. Interestingly, no one from the institute was present at the press meet.. Sen was also silent on the nature of the drink given to the other group of children - whether it was competing brands available in the market, its mode of preparation and other details.

While the new Horlicks pack contains the logo `Now proven- taller, stronger, sharper', it is silent on the name of the agency that conducted the study.

With the press questioning GSK's claims and Sen offering nothing but a spin, an official of the public relations agency wanted to end the meeting abruptly leaving a behind the foul odour of fobbing semi-scientific studies on the media.

Sen also declined to share any numbers as to the volume of Horlicks sold last year. It may be noted that Horlicks was repositioned as an energy drink for children in 2003.  The company's website in the UK, positions Horlicks as a bedtime drink that enables good sleep (www.horlicks.co.uk). In India for nearly 100 years, Horlicks is known as a drink for the sick and the elderly. What is clear from GSK's 'taller, stronger and sharper' claims is that the company is simultaneously pitching Horlicks against Heinz's Complan (a drink for growing children), Nestle's Milo- energy drink for children and Cadbury's Bournvita-a brand associated with quiz contests.

It will be interesting to see how the competition reacts to this strategy once the new Horlicks commercials go on air.