Clean Revolution

‘‘Though I didn’t look like her at all in public since I usually dressed in Western clothes and my hair was never in a bun, so people hardly recognised me,’’ says Choudhary. The biggest challenge of the mother campaign was to tackle Nirma that was winning over the market by sheer price value. (While Surf was priced approximately at Rs 21, Nirma was priced at Rs 7) ‘‘Even loyal Surf users were switching to Nirma, and I remember being ensconced in a flat with my art director while we cracked the brief,’’ says Anita Sarkar, the then Creative Group Head of Lowe, who worked on the campaign along with art director Anita Kaycee.

1992 brought in a new generation of washing. It was no longer just value for money, but whether or not your washing soaps fought stubborn stains. So Padamsee again struck gold with Dhoondte Reh Jaoge. ‘‘Though it’s a pity that Lalitaji was put to bed,’’ he says,

‘‘The client persisted that the market was no longer about bargains, but we could have changed her lines, since she is so believable.’’

The launch of Surf Excel four years later firmly established that the brand was willing to take on any of its competitors be it Germany’s Henko Stain champion or Procter & Gamble’s Ariel Washing Powder or Wheel. Since 1998, Surf Excel saw a change in its brand strategy every year, but even the likes of Mani Iyer who was formerly with rival agency Ogilvy & Mather feels that the brand has lived on. ‘‘The promise is the same though the positioning has changed,’’ he offers. Today, over the Surf Excel franchise boasts of a sales figure of 60,000 tonnes per annum. Also, Ad film-maker Prasoon Pandey feels that the new generation of Surf advertising has come of age. ‘‘The ads have developed well. There are no more Lalitaji-like characters talking down to the consumers, but these ads understand that the audience has evolved and the consumers are intelligent.’’