The Advertising Approach Indonesia’s Halal Toothpaste Products

: This study aims to understand how the Halal Toothpaste Products in Indonesia differentiate themselves from one another through Advertising. This study was conducted to provide strategic Advertising recommendations. The study used the framework of the Elaboration Likelihood Theory Model and the Advertising concepting approaches to analyze the applied techniques on the executed Advertising materials. This qualitative descriptive try to describe narratively and visually the TV Advertising material that was collected from the official YouTube account of each brand. Data were collected from relevant literature, documents, and online publications. The result of the study shows that all the Halal Toothpaste products utilized the central route and approaches whereas each of the product Advertising materials elaborates their respective product ingredients and their benefits. Each of the Advertising materials communicates Halal and its nuances both verbally and visually. The Halal label of the Toothpaste is mainly influenced by the ingredient within the product that is perceived to be correlated with the Islamic culture by the Indonesian consumers, Siwak. To create differentiation, each of the Advertising materials applied the combination of several Advertising concepting approaches. In practice, the result of the study can be a reference for Strategic Planners and Creative Professionals in Advertising Agencies on ‘What to Say’ and How to Say’ in the Halal Product Category. Academically, the study will be a reference for more research ideas in the future on Halal Advertising Strategy and Halal Product Campaign.


Introduction
In recent years, the global market for halal products has expanded [1]. Companies, organizations, and governments from all over the world devise ways to participate in the burgeoning Muslim Marketplace. The global Halal market is no longer restricted to simply food-related items. In the Indonesian market, demand for Halal certified products is increasing across all categories, including in the oral product category. Indonesia, as the world's most populous Muslim country, is the largest market for Halal products. Muslims account for 86.9% of the country's population [2], and there has been an increase in domestic sentiment and awareness of Islamic ideals in recent years. The Hijrah movement was gaining popularity, as was the realization of the importance of upholding Islamic traditions. Some Indonesian enterprises and local businesses saw this developing attitude in the society as an opportunity to introduce a Halal product to the market. Toothpaste is one of the Halal Oral Care product categories studied in this study. This research was carried out to make advertising strategy recommendations.
In the Muslim consumer group, the Halal label is a must-have. In Arabic, the word halal implies permissible. When a product is certified as Halal, it signifies that it is allowed or acceptable under Islamic law. When it comes to creating an advertisement that positions a product as a Halal product and is targeted to the Muslim consumer segment, it requires a specific message and approach to be applied in the Advertising audio-visual materials to create the Halal positioning perception and message trustworthiness in the mind of the targeted consumer, just as it does for any other product category. To compete with the other Halal Toothpaste goods on the market, the advertising content must be able to establish such an impression. As a result, it's critical to first grasp the message and technique used in the Halal Toothpaste product category's advertising.
The study's goal is to figure out how is the advertising approaches of the existing Halal Toothpaste products on the Indonesian market applied to create differentiation. Only three brands undertook an advertising campaign between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2021, out of all the existing Halal Toothpaste brands, and within the timeframe allocated to conduct this study: Pepsodent, Formula, and Sasha. As a result, the current Advertising Campaign materials from the three brands will be examined in this study. In practice, the findings of this study will serve as a future reference for advertising professionals who want to create new marketing materials for various Halal product categories. This study will serve as a springboard for additional research and thought on Halal Product Marketing Communication, Halal Product Advertising, and Halal Advertising Strategy in the academic world.

Literature Review
The Advertising Association of the United Kingdom defines advertisement as a message that is paid for by those who send it and is intended to inform or influence those who receive it [3]. Advertising entails methods of raising awareness and persuading a specific public segment about specific products, services, opinions, or causes for the targeted segment to respond appropriately [4]. Advertising has long been recognized as one of the most effective marketing tools for selling products or services and developing a brand image. Some academics regarded it as the most persuasive tool for delivering the most persuasive message to a specific consumer segment. In Indonesia, television is still the most popular medium for conveying advertising messages. However, with the advancement of information and communication technology and the rise of digital products and services, marketers' attention has shifted to digital platforms to deliver their advertising messages. Whatever medium is used, the main aspect that affects the consumer's cognitive, affective, and conative domain is the advertising message.
In nature, advertising is a persuasion attempt by the sender of the message. As a result, it is appropriate to discuss Advertising within the framework of persuasion theory, such as the Elaboration Likelihood Theory Model (ELM), which is used in a variety of fields such as mass media advertising and selling [5]. According to the ELM, there are two divergent paths to take when attempting to influence others: the Central Route and the Peripheral Route. The Central Route is the more complex or elaborated route, involving a wealth of information, arguments, and evidence to support a specific conclusion or claim. The Peripheral Route, on the other hand, referred to the less complex and elaborated pathway. It is sometimes referred to as the 'short-cut' route because it is the path that receivers usually take when they lack the capabilities and motivation to mentally process the message delivered via the Central Route. The ELM suggested to all persuaders a different pathway of cognitive events or mental processing by emphasizing the importance of undersstanding the audience before creating a persuasive message [6].
According to the ELM, the more elaborated route, when compared to the Short-Cut Route, is more likely to result in a long-term change influenced by the persuasive message. The ELM, on the other hand, contends that the long-term effect would occur if the audience met the two fundamental prerequisites: Motivation and Ability. The term motivation refers to the audience's internal drive or desire to process all the information presented by the persuader. While the Ability refers to whether the audience is cognitively capable of processing the message [6]. When an audience has a strong interest in a particular subject, their attention will be drawn to the message's information, arguments, and evidence. They are willing to scrutinize each and every detail in the message. However, motivation alone is insufficient. The audience must also be cognitively capable of processing all the information, arguments, and evidence included in the persuasive message, which may be technical, sophisticated, and complicated. As a result, when crafting a persuasion message, including an advertising message, the audience's ability must be seriously considered.
To craft an Advertising message, brand as persuaders can use a variety of concept approaches. Every great advertisement begins with a concept, and every concept is preceded by great strategy and research [7]. When creating Advertising Messages, agency team members frequently combine the terms concept and creative ideas. Regardless of whether it is called a Creative Concept or a Creative Idea, the strategic message is contained within. A study proposed several approaches to Advertising Message Concepts or Ideas: (1) Show the Product; (2) Show the Benefit; (3) Show the Alternative; (4) Show the Comparison; (5) Show the Borrowed Interest; and (6) Show the Testimonial/ Case History) [7].
'Show the Product' as a concept approach is primarily concerned with establishing or reinforcing brand identity. The product is the physical component of a system that has established an identity. Simply displaying it to the audience reinforces a component of the brand's identity. 'Show the Product' is effective not only visually, but also verbally. The approach communicates the brand's product attributes, such as ingredients contained in the product or services comprised in a brand promise. This approach communicates the main offer of a product or service, which serves as the foundation for why audiences should use this product.
The 'Show the Benefit' approach is an extension of this approach. The 'Show the Benefit' strategy simply communicates what happens when audiences use the product or service. This approach is more consumer-centric than the previous product-centric approach. The approach conveys and demonstrates to the audience what a product or service does. To use the approach, the agency's strategist and creative team must further elaborate the product attribute and connect it to audience behavior. Another more elaborated approach is 'Show the Alternative,' which refers to the opposite of the previous approach: what happens to the audience if they do not use the product or services; or use the competitor's product or services. It is a more involved approach because it necessitates a deeper understanding of the product or service's benefits as well as the negative consequences if the audience does not use the product or service.
The 'Comparison' approach is another more elaborated approach. This method, as the name implies, attempts to compare the advertised product or service to others or competitors. The method of application can be a direct comparison or a metaphor. This is a more elaborate approach because of the effort to compare, which encourages persuaders to investigate their competitor further. This approach necessitates persuaders presenting bulletproof and verifiable facts that support the superiority claim of the product or service in comparison to the competition.
The 'Borrowed Interest' approach is the next approach that is commonly used to craft an advertising message. This approach tries to introduce the product or service with something seemingly unrelated but manages to pique the audience's interest in the Advertisement message by riding on the audience's interest. This approach is also known as the 'indirect approach' in some texts because it conveys no obvious direct connection with the product or service and its benefit. Although it may appear unrelated, this approach is usually understandable by the target audience -as it is based on their interests -and the brand can gain recognition by utilizing this approach. The final method is the 'Testimonial or Case History' method. This method sells products or services by presenting an endorsement, description, or what is done for a specific figure. That person can be a celebrity or an ordinary person. This approach is commonly referred to in today's digital era as the use of Key Opinion Leaders or Influencers to sell products or services. The difficulty in implementing this strategy is identifying a credible and trustworthy endorser to represent the brand. This table explains the attempt to connect the ELM's routes and the Advertising message approach.

Methodology
The qualitative approach and descriptive method were used in this study to describe the message and approach used in the Pepsodent Siwak, Formula Strong Herbal, and Sasha Herbal advertising materials. The qualitative descriptive approach and method were created to describe a phenomenon and its characteristics [8], which in this case is the message and approach used in the advertising of the three products. This study's data was gathered through a review of the literature. The information was gathered from both offline and online sources. The three advertising materials examined were obtained from YouTube, which was one of the advertising message distribution channels used by the companies to promote their Halal Toothpaste product.
To map the approach within the model framework, the Analysis process begins by connecting the Elaboration Likelihood Model as a framework with the Advertising Conception Approach. Following that, the Advertising materials of each product will be observed and both visual and verbal messages will be analysed to determine what message, approach, and persuasive route the three product Advertising materials used to advertise their product. This study compares the three advertising messages and approaches used and presents them in a table format for further analysis and understanding. This study will be able to provide advertising message and approach differentiation between the three Halal Toothpaste products based on the analysis.

Result and Discussion
This study focuses on the advertising messages of these Halal Toothpaste products that were advertised before the first quarter of 2021 (See Table 2). In terms of marketing communication cost, TV is still the most expensive medium for advertising in Indonesia [9], and it can reach many people at once. According to scientific evidence, TV advertising has a strong relationship and effect on consumer behavior change [10], and will thus be the primary advertising medium used for communication. Pepsodent Siwak, the market leader in the Halal Toothpaste product category, emphasizes the product's ingredients. Pepsodent elaborates all the product's ingredients visually and verbally in the advertisement. It describes Siwak as a natural anti-bacterial, Mint as an ingredient that strengthens teeth and refreshes breath, and Betel Leaves as an ingredient. Verbally, the Pepsodent Siwak advertisement employs one terminology or word that may be associated with the product's Muslim consumer segment: Sunnah, which means in accordance with the teaching or habit of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace be Upon Him. The Islamic association also communicated through the advertisement by displaying family talents dressed in Islamic attire. The Halal Icon was used at the beginning and end of the advertisement. The ad's tagline, 'Every Smile is Meaningful,' remained consistent with the regular product category tagline, which became the brand's famous property: 'Senyum Pepsodent,' or 'the Smile of Pepsodent.' Sasha, as a brand, had already established itself as a Halal toothpaste product. The Islamic nuances were clearly communicated throughout the advertisement. The word Halal was communicated both visually and verbally through Voice Over at the beginning and end of the advertisement. The use of Endorser is the primary differentiator of the Ad. Shireen Sungkar and Teuku Wisnu are a well-known celebrity couple who are strongly associated with the Indonesian Youth Hijrah movement. The couple endorsers testify and educate the audience about the product in the advertisement. Not only are the ingredients and their benefits discussed, but the couple also explains why Siwak is the (religiously) recommended ingredient. Although the words religiously recommended or recommended by sunnah are not mentioned, the verbal message'recommended' (dianjurkan) sends the religious code within. The tagline 'It's time to Hijrah' was also strongly associated with Islamic values. Hijrah refers to the Prophet Muhammad Shallallahu Alaihi Wasallam's migration from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina) to leave the land of shirk and enter the land of Islam. The term Hijrah implies the migration from the bad situation to the good one. The tagline is also a call to action for consumers to switch from a 'unrecommended' brand to the religiously recommended Sasha, and it is expressed in Islamic terminology. Following the tagline, the advertisement included a product promotion program that offered consumers the Umrah package. The combination of a couple endorsers who explain Siwak as an Islamic recommended ingredient, an Islamic Call to Action, and a sales promotion program strengthens the Halal positioning of the product, which is aimed at the Muslim consumer segment.
Formula Strong Herbal, unlike its competitors, wants to emphasize its herbal effect on fresh breath. The Ad uses the 'Show the Alternative' approach in a scene where a group of people in a gathering have their mouths locked to communicate the benefit of fresh breath. That scene conveys a contrast between the hero family talent in the advertisement who used the Formula Strong Herbal and the supporting group of talents who did not. The advertisement uses the fresh breath expression 'Tsaahhhh' to communicate the Halal-ness of the product and the benefit of having a lawful (Sah) act of religious ritual or 'Ibadah'. The Ad conveys, through musical composition and lyrics, that the Formula Strong Herbal product makes your prayer (act of religious ritual) more lawful (sah in Bahasa Indonesia). The Ad also explains the detail ingredients and its benefit within the music composition and lyrics. Aside from #tsaaahhh, the Islamic association includes product ingredients associated with the Muslim community. The ingredients in this case are Siwak and Habbatu Sauda. The talents in the advertisement who wear the Islamic clothing attribute represented the targeted Muslim segment.

Show the Product and Its Benefit
According to the ELM theory, the effective persuasion happens at its best when the audiences willingly engage with the persuader or the persuasion materials and analyse and mentally process the persuasion information meticulously. The theory also further explains such condition would happen if the audience had the motivation and ability to process the information. The more elaborated persuasion messages, if it is successfully processed by the audiences, it is more likely to affect audience behaviour change and it tend to have a long-term effect towards the audience. In the case of TV Advertising, brands as persuaders must consider the audience-related aspect to the information processing and consider the limitation of the Advertising format. One of the limitations of TV Advertising is the limited 30's duration. Although it is possible to place a longer Advertising version in the TV slot, the implementation would eventually affect the brand's Advertising budget. In order persuade audience, brands must be able to elaborate their persuasion message within the limited Advertising duration. Therefore, the 'Show the Product' and 'Show the Benefit' approaches are the mainly used approach in the TV Advertising of the Halal Toothpaste product.  The The TV medium itself allows brands to communicate the product visually and verbally through visual Copy and Voice Over. Primarily, the 'Show the Product' approach is very important as consumers ultimately needs identify the product in the marketplace. The approach includes application such as showing the set of identity of the product such as the logo, the product design, the product colour, the packaging and more. Not only showing the product identity, but the approach also includes application where the Ad must show how to use the product and aesthetically show the ingredients that are contained within the product. These product details are very important. For the consumers who have the motivation and ability to understand the function of each of the ingredients, the elaborated product information might interest them. As they are motivated and able to perceive the message, hence the 'Show the Benefit' approach might also work and interesting for them.
The 'Show the Benefit' approach is the most elaborated message in the Ad of Halal Toothpaste product. The approach is the further elaboration of the 'Show the Product' approach. Muslim consumer might be aware about Siwak or Habbatu Sauda as an ingredient. But there is potential that they might not understand the elaborated function of the ingredients within the product. Through the approach, the Advertiser elaborate further the function of the ingredients and what experience that the consumers will have when using the product. Visual and verbal execution applied to show and explain the benefit through the Ad, and the reflection or the image of satisfied consumers also signify the product benefit message. For consumer who have the motivation and ability to process the message might be interested to the product. The details elaborated in the Ad potentially drive them closer to action according to the theory model.
If there is a benefit of using a product, then there is a disadvantage of not using the product. The 'Show the Alternative' approach communicate from that point of view. By communicating the disadvantage of not using the product, the advertiser simultaneously communicates the product benefit to the consumers. This approach applied in the Ad of Formula Strong Herbal. The Ad begin by showing what happen if the consumers not using the product or using the competitor's product. From the scene that shows the alternative, the audience might learn that the strong herbal phrase of the product provides benefit of fresh breath. By applying the 'Show the Alternative' approach in the Ad material, Formula Strong Herbal able to differentiate the way their product advertised apart from the competitors. The Ad also apply musical elements in the execution that presumably make the Advertising message more interesting for the targeted audiences.
The only peripheral route application was in the Sasha Siwak Ad. The Ad used Celebrity Brand Ambassador to explain and provide testimonial on Sasha Siwak. The utilization of the Brand Ambassador in the Ad might interest the consumer who idolized the celebrity couple. If they see familiar faces endorsing the product, they presumably think that the product is the right product for them. However, the according the theory, the peripheral route is an indirect message which is not convey the substantial product information to the target audiences. The usage of the celebrity couple in the Ad simply for the purpose of getting attention and represent the imagery of the end consumers of the product. As same as the application of the 'Show the Alternative' approach in the Formula Strong Herbal Ad, the application of the 'Testimonial' approach in the Sasha Siwak Ad is able to differentiate the product Advertising from the competitors.

Combination of the Ad Approaches to Differentiate with One Another
From all the advertising materials, the audiences can learn that each of the products: Pepsodent, Formula, and Sasha, contain one similar main ingredient: Siwak. However, each of the product also has another complementary ingredient that differentiate one product to another. Pepsodent combines Siwak with Mint Leaves, Formula Strong Herbal Combines Siwak and Habatus Sauda, and Sasha combine Siwak with Betel Leaves. Logically, the combination of different ingredients might create different product benefit and experience. Therefore, the Advertising materials of each of the product must explain further of this differentiation. To communicate that differentiation, each of the brand also combine different approaches. Pepsodent simply used the 'Show the Product and Benefit' approach, Formula combines the 'Show the Product and Benefit' with the 'Show the Alternative' approach, and Sasha Siwak combine 'Show the Product and Benefit' approach with the 'Testimonial' approach. The result of the approaches combination was a differentiation in a way to communicate the product ingredients and experience. This differentiation in communicating the product through the Ad presumably will create brand or product differentiation perception.

Conclusion and Further Research
In their Advertising message, all the Halal Toothpaste products in the Halal Oral Care product category used the central route of persuasion. All the advertisements elaborate on their respective product ingredients and benefits while visually and verbally conveying Islamic nuances. According to the findings of the analysis, all Halal toothpaste products contain ingredients that are widely recognized and associated with Islamic teaching and culture by the majority of Indonesian Muslims: Siwak. Habbatu Sauda is also an ingredient in Formula Strong Herbal. As a result, it can be concluded that the 'Halal' label for toothpaste product category in the Indonesian market may be driven by the ingredients incorporated within the product that are associated with Islamic teaching, culture, or values. The question that arises from this conclusion is whether, if the product removes Siwak and/or Habbatu Sauda from the ingredient's equation, the rights to position the product as 'Halal' and to be perceived as an Islamic lawful product are lost. If this occurs, such application may limit general consumer perception and understanding of Halal terminology, ultimately limiting the possibilities for Halal product development and marketing communication of Halal brands to the Muslim consumer segment.