MxMIndia

Tag: Surf Excel

  • Surf kids are an integral part of the films, and they have been significantly evolved and mature for their age, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    For, some ‘daag’ are ‘achche’

     

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaHoli Hai. Bura Na Mano Holi Hai. And if it’s Holi, can Daag (dirt spots) be far behind. Despite the government’s proposed control and appeals from environment groups, it’s Holi after many years. So all are eagerly awaiting the day, ready for some fun and some Daag.

    There is therefore no surprise that Surf Excel has extended its ‘daag achche hai‘ – a 17-year-old campaign insight with yet another Holi film in 2022.

    Holi and Daag and detergent go hand in hand. After all, even the ignorant Hindu agrees that  Holi is all about remixing-forgiving-cleaning and recreating the magic of relationship.

    There is only that much advertising magic in ‘Daag Achche hain’. And the craftiness required to keep it alive with newer expression and intent is getting tougher with every passing year.

     

     

    ‘Jo rang bachpan lautaye, woh rang achhe hain‘. (Dirt spots that can bring back the childhood- are good)- a desire to bring alive the child within and enjoy childhood is a nice thought.

    The mega-solution suggested by the kid in the film is unexpected and not of her age. A stretch of the imagination. Surf kids are an integral part of the films, and they have been significantly evolved and mature for their age. They are too woke. Childhood is hidden behind the tricky crafty twist and finding the solution to every problem.

    The first time it did with the puddle, it was fresh and made you appreciate the thought. “Daag lagne se agar kuch achcha hota hai, toh daag achche hai na? (If something good comes out of staining, stains are good).’ It was definitely fresh.

     

     

    Overall the new 2022 version does the job. Its cast, execution and straining vocal collectively make it a feel-good film. It does not evoke a wow and does not push the viewer to see the brand differently.

    In the campaign journey, kids have played with dirt and stained their clothes, and in the process, they solved some problems. Remember the kid watering the pitch, the sack race buddies and the so emotional ad of the teachcher losing her pet.

    All of them were wonderfully directed, and they mostly brought a smile to the face of the viewer. But, I am not sure if it has the same pull- surprise and engagement. The template of kids’ freedom to get dirty, the wokeness of the solution needs a mega uplift.

     

     

    And the extensions at times open for debate and discussion. ‘Rang Laaye Sang’- the Hindu-Muslim unity raised many eyebrows, and questions were raised. And if such questions (Daag) are raised on such communication, I agree ‘Daag Achche hai’. Though I know, like the Tanishq ad, people will always rightly question if the reverse could have been true or even thought of.

     

     

    One does appreciate some of the extensions of the campaign. ‘Agar ungli pe daag lagne se achhi sarkar banti hai, to daag achche hain’ . If the staining of a finger results in forming a good government, then the stain is good was good and is relevant even today.

    Many may disagree with me- but then the daag of disagreement is achcha for further thinking. Maybe we have stretched the thought too far for too long.

     

    Daag– Not A Flaw- But An Opportunity To Better.

     

    Daag– the dirt stains symbolise imperfection- a defect- unwanted. Chaand pe Daag. The daag on izzat is defined by the Bollywood masala films. Wherever expectations are not met, Daag is imprinted. If the kid does not qualify in an exam- Daag on the family. If a movie does not run- a Daag on producer- actor- director’s career. A dent on the car- a Daag on its beauty. Pimple on the face-  Daag on the face.

    Daag may be as versatile as OSHO’s famous narration of the other four-letter word. Daag is just a flaw- temporary or permanent. And has always been an unwanted aspect of life.

    Surf Excel have, in the past, done wonderfully well to remind that flaws only make her human. And that flaws/Daag/stains can be as transient as the stains on the cloth. That the flaws in relationships, in society, and may be in the individual attitude could be more than repaired- removed and amended. However, the brand should remain cautious of the dirt it refers to.

    Some dirt should never be cleaned. It is an essential part of life, and it helps create society and retain human flaws.

    Some emotions that the woke brands and intellectuals find archaic and unwarranted actually make life what it is. There is no point in practical life to be DEVTULYA- like God- and then even God has flaws. And somewhere, the kids and elders in Surf are so Devtulya that they make the consumer realise- Saab Daag Achche Nahi hai.

     

     

    Style Note: Achche is spelt variously by people: Achhe, Achhe or an accented Achché. MxMIndia spells with with Achche. Here and in the Achche Din Aane Waale Hain line – Ed

  • The campaign will be live across TV, outdoor and digital

    Surf Excel cuts through cultural barriers in latest Holi-themed ad film

    By A Correspondent

     

    Surf Excel has released its new campaign around Holi. The campaign, that appeals to the festive mood of the country has been conceived by Lowe Lintas Mumbai.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Carlos Pereira, Regional Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas, said: “We felt the festival of Holi gave us the opportunity to highlight the true spirit of togetherness. By making colour the medium of oneness, we could seamlessly bring forth the larger thought of Rang Laaye Sang – a sentiment that kids truly believe in.”

     

    Added Priya Nair, Executive Director – Home Care, Hindustan Unilever Limited: “Holi is one of our biggest festivals, celebrated with much fanfare across the country. However, in the midst of the fun and revelry, one can often forget the true spirit of the festival. The #RangLaayeSang campaign from Surf Excel beautifully captures how the colours of Holi can be a force for good, melting differences and bringing people together. It seamlessly brings to life our decade long ‘Dirt is Good’ philosophy – ‘Agar kuch accha karne mein daag lag jaaye, toh daag acche hain’.”

     

     

  • Good, fun stuff. Kids will enjoy it, but more importantly, so will the moms, who are the target audience for Surf Excel

    Debrief: Surf Excel: The power of idea

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Surf Excel is back with another commercial in the long-running ‘Daag achche hain’ campaign. Before I get to the new TVC, must say the idea has worked marvelously for the brand over all these years. It has allowed Surf Excel’s advertising to be different, and it’s quite extendable. A very good example of the importance of idea in advertising.

     

    The commercial features a group of kids playing on a cricket field. A turf war breaks out between two teams (and this is quite usual!). The team consisting of older kids bullies the younger ones. One of the lads is pushed into a dirt puddle. But instead of crying, he smartly uses his dirty clothes to drive the older boys out of the field. Elated, his team mates join in for a dirt fest.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7VyizsCss0[/youtube]

    Good, fun stuff. Kids will enjoy it, but more importantly, so will the moms, who are the target audience for Surf Excel. Also, I like the idea of directly using the stains to win the day; this makes the communication quite powerful. Clearly, ‘Daag achche hain’ is on a roll, and the way it’s panned out since inception, I believe this property will live for a very long time.

     

    My own favourite ad though is still the original brother/sister commercial, but the continuing ads have been cool too.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4. Smart and humorous

     

  • Continuing with the internationally adapted concept of 'Dirt is good', Lowe lintas has devised another campaign for Surf Excel

    Lowe Lintas unveils new Surf Excel campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Detergent powder brand, Surf Excel, has historically stayed away from making laundry problems and solutions the hero of its communication. This started in 2005, when Surf Excel launched the unique concept of “dirt is good” in India with the iconic puddle war ad. And every year since, Surf Excel has come up with commercials propagating this brand philosophy – whether it is to make a little sister smile, or stop a raging fight between adults, or being a bigger person and forgiving friends. Surf Excel repeatedly demonstrates to mothers that children experience and learn about life through dirt.

     

    The new commercial conceptualized by Lowe Lintas and Partners is set in the context that kids today are exposed to lots of violence and anger and grow up believing that this is the way of life. With this commercial, Surf Excel demonstrates the value of “baddappan” and how a situation can be turned around without any negative overtones by a child who thinks and behaves differently

     

    We see a team of young kids engrossed in their post-school cricket match, when a team of seniors enters the pitch and bullies these kids to abandon the ground in the middle of their session. While a heated brawl is underway between the bowler and the senior, a member of the younger team calmly walks up to the two of them and attempts resolving with reason. On being met with a violent response, the kid then takes adopts a unique path – he cheekily offers to make peace with the elders by offering them a muddy hug!

     

    Since most of us may have been in a similar scenario of bullying at some point in our lives, this ad leaves us with the good feeling that not always do we need to resort to violence. The ad in its own tongue-in-cheek way communicates the good of being the bigger person in a situation.

     

    CREDITS

    Creative: Arun Iyer, Ramkrishna Gopi Yadav, AP Zeth, Aarti Srinivasan, Sushant Joshi

    Business: Virat Tandon, Tarannum Romani, Suchana Sarkar, Haripriya Mishra

    Planning: Saji Abraham, Mani KB

    Films: Riddhi Mehta

    Production House: Footcandles Films

    Director: Vinil Math

     

  • On Day 1 (Thursday being the Ad Conclave), awards for the Media Abby & 3 Creative Abby categories were presented

    @Media Abby: Mindshare bags Grand Prix; MEC, Lodestar sparkle too

    The Grand Prix-winning Mindshare team with Jury Chair Ashish Bhasin

     

     

    By a Correspondent

     

    Having put an embargo on declaring the results of the Abby Awards before the event was to be staged, the Goafest Awards committee rewarded the patience of the media by calling in a press conference to declare the results much before it was made known to the audience at large. But the criterion to release it after 10pm remained -a diktat which was honoured wholeheartedly by all.

     

    In keeping with its attempt to play up the awards in as simple a way as possible, the committee was generous in stating that there was no big winner for the Media Abbys – a decision which was left for the media to decide. The reason was simple. For the first time the organisers had introduced a Grand Prix in the Media Abby awards and didn’t want that award to deter the attention from the other noteworthy winners. The points too were not awarded against individual metals, leaving it open for the media to decide the winner for the night.

     

    So if one went with Grand Prix as the criterion for the award, it was Mindshare that emerged as the No 1 agency having bagged the only single Grand Prix at the Media Abby. But then there were no points allotted for the individual metals leading to no clear winner at the top. The total count for Mindshare read: 1 GP, 1 Gold, 2 Silvers and 2 Bronzes (total metals 6).

     

    If one went by the gold count, it was MEC that emerged at the top, bagging 2 Golds, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze. Lodestar was next having bagged a total of 6 metals (the same as Mindshare) leading by 1 Gold, 2 Silvers, and 3 Bronzes. Madison Media Infinity was next as it bagged 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze followed by Starcom bagging just 1 Gold. Maxus follows with 2 Silvers and 3 Bronzes. (full table below)

     

    The Grand Prix was bagged by Mindshare for Surf Excel in the Best Use of Branded Content, which also won the gold in the same category. The GP was chosen from amongst the Gold winners. Other Gold winners include MEC that won two including one for Reliance 3G in Best Use of TV and the other for Best Use of Newspapers and Magazines. Lodestar UM won a Gold in Pro Bono Marketing for Bombay Psychiatric Society.

     

     

    Ashish Bhasin, chairperson of Media Abby said that the attempt this year was to reward the hard work put in by agencies, and therefore the Grand Prix. There were 16-17 per cent more entries from 31 agencies that were received this year, totalling 628 – last year the number was 530. It involved the efforts of more than 61 juries in putting this act together.

     

    Reacting on the agency’s win, Nandini Dias of Lodestar UM said: “I think we have performed very well this year. The total number of awards this year is only 27, which I guess is quite a small number. But within that we have won 6 awards, which is amongst the highest this year. So all in all, we are very pleased with our performance.”

     

    Also staged at the same night were awards from three verticals in the Creative Awards category including Design, Digital & Interactive and Direct. While the other categories would be announced on day 3, these three awards were awarded on day two itself. Ogilvy emerged the big winner as it won the Grand Prix for Fox Crime in the category – Online Integrated Campaign. DDB Mudra, BBDO, Leo Burnett were the other notable winners across the three categories.

     

    In all there are 101 awards that were given out in the Creative Abby awards on Friday night. An ecstatic Shashi Sinha said that the Creative Abbys were different this year as they received a record 4,250 entries as against 3,600-odd last year but what was remarkable was the participation of agencies from South Asia including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In fact the big winner tonight from South Asia was Grant McCann Erickson that won two Silvers across two separate categories.

     

    The awards were validated by research firm KPMG who have been doing it for two years now.

     

    Photograph: Shailesh Mule/Fotocorp

     

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