Ghadi Detergent takes the narrative on stains forward...

Surf Excel has been saying 'Daag Acche Hain' for long. Now Ghadi Detergent takes a stance around 'Mann ka mael'.

What comes to mind when you hear of 'Ghadi Detergent'? Most likely you'll remember the brand's jingle, 'Pehle istemaal karein fir vishwaas karein...' However, the brand has now moved away from its early advertising days and has turned a new leaf in its recently launched ad campaign - '#SaareMaelDhoDaalo'.

Ghadi Detergent's new ad titled - Is Diwali #SaareMaelDhoDaaloUnder this umbrella theme, RSPL's laundry detergent brand, Ghadi Detergent, has released its latest 'Diwali' ad that aims to shatter stereotypes. The brand has already released two ad films in '#SaareMaelDhoDaalo' earlier this year on the occasion of Holi and Eid. All these films have been crafted and conceptualised by ADK Fortune.

Ashish Makhija

Akashneel DasguptaIn the past, Ghadi Detergent used to come up with ads that focussed solely on describing the functional benefits of the product. However, the newer ads are purpose driven. So, when and why did this transition take place? Ashish Makhija, brand manager, Ghadi Detergent, says, "Ghadi, as a brand, was known to have a very humble and sincere tone of communication. It is through this that we could earn the trust of millions of consumers. In 2015, our association with the 'Swacchh Bharat Mission' lead to us doing a lot of groundwork which was appreciated by everyone. That's when we realised we could connect with our consumers a lot more by giving out a more meaningful message. Having said that, we have not moved away from the functional platform, instead, both 'Saare Mael Dho Daalo' and our core platform of 'Pehle Istemaal Karein Fir Vishwaas Karein' will go hand in hand."

Speaking on the same, Akashneel Dasgupta, senior vice-president and executive creative director, ADK Fortune, adds, "...until and unless you have something dramatic to say about the product there is no point talking about it. Despite having very high sales, Ghadi (Detergent) always lacked that pride of ownership. We wanted to elevate the brand from being looked at as a very local Indian brand to a brand that people can proudly own. We have now seen a shift in terms of the brand equity scores of perception through this campaign."

Ghadi Detergent's old ad titled - Is Eid Saare Mael Dho Daalo... Ek sorry hi to hai... bol daalo!In the past, brands like Surf Excel have already elevated the concept of dirt to a higher level. Even though both Surf Excel and Ghadi Detergent are not identical, they still operate in the same space. So how does the new Ghadi ad differentiate itself when this concept has already been used by Surf Excel as its advertising shorthand? Dasgupta explains, "I beg to differ! All the stories that we have told (Holi, Eid and Diwali ads) are very personal stories. For me, Surf (Excel) is not a social campaign, it is a formula. They have an international format which is coming out of South America and has been adapted in India as 'Daag ache hai'. Surf (Excel) always tells its stories through kids where there is always an angle of 'do good' involved. In our case, we are not saying to do any good. We are not preaching to the world to do good acts."

Ghadi Detergent's old ad titled - Is Holi Saare Mael Dho Daalo

Echoing similar sentiments, Makhija says, "Ghadi (Detergent) has simply identified social ills that we are all surrounded by, but somehow avoid discussing them in public. It all began with a small idea where we were trying to tackle one such ill of women harassment and that's when "Saare Mael Dho Daalo" came out as an interesting way to integrate with the brand. Following that, the Eid film was about saying sorry and not letting egos come between relationships. Our latest take is on stereotyping people based on their appearances. Why else would you be scared of a cop who is actually there to protect you?"

Ghadi Detergent's old ad which used to showcase product's functional benefitsComing to the more interesting dope, we managed to sneak some trivia out from the behind-the-scenes-action. "For the Diwali ad, we had earmarked one guy for the role of the Police inspector. The cop in this ad is the guy who played a corrupt politician in the movie 'Masaan' and people remembered it. Most of the roles that he has done are of corrupt cops. We hunted him down, made him agree to do an ad in order to give viewers that sense of dread when they see him for the first time and feel that he could be corrupt anyway!" informs Dasgupta. Interestingly, Dasgupta also told us that the girl in the Holi ad was a PR girl from Dentsu India!

A clear winner?

Ankeet Guha

Amyn GhadialiAnkeet Guha, creative head, Mad About Digital, a Bengaluru based digital agency, tells us that despite the fact that all Diwali ads look the same, this one will work because of the "realistic performances". He elaborates, "While the emotional ad isn't exactly clutter breaking, it does highlight a very real prejudice that exists today against police officials. I like the fact that the ad sticks to the core idea of the campaign rather than pushing us to consume the product, which would have watered down the emotional connect."

Amyn Ghadiali, group director, brand communications, Gozoop, tells us that the ad initially felt like an OLX ad. "I believe a majority of people might feel the same. It is definitely not advisable for any brand to be mistaken for another and hence, while scripting, it is imperative that each instance is pared-down to the first recall it creates," shares Ghadiali.

Agreeing with Ghadiali, Guha adds, "...while it runs the risk of being confused for an OLX ad, it touches on the online marketplace for a brief enough period, before shifting the narrative to its intended theme."

Ghadiali tells us that he has been following the strategy of Ghadi Detergent for the past seven months and on every occasion, the communication, the thought, the story, and the instances are very focused and tight. He elaborates, "The first 30 seconds is where everyone usually witnesses the maximum drop and the ad doesn't establish that it is a Diwali related film (barring the title). What doesn't really strike a chord for me, is the fact that the expectations are set so high, this film fails to deliver the same emotion. However, I analysed the comments on the page and believe that the sentiments are very positive. In fact, the comments and shares are from the TG they are targeting i.e. 15+ female, SEC B, C, D + PAN India. So I believe it does the trick for them."

With inputs from Suraj Ramnath

Agency Credits:

Client: RSPL Ltd.

Joint Managing Director: Rahul Gyanchandani

Brand Team: Ashish Makhija, Geet Kiran, Varun Chauhan, Vaibhav Rai

Agency: ADK Fortune

Managing Partner: Subroto Pradhan

SR V.P. & ECD: Akashneel Dasgupta

AVP & Sr. C. D.: Tamanna Virmani

Creative Team: Manish Negi, Manish K, Vivek Bhagat, Raman, Abhishek Sharma

Account Management: Kunal Sharma, Akhil Nijhawan, Vrinda Khurana

Production House: Full Circle Films

Director: Rahul Srivastava

Producers: Anand Wagle, Gautam Vaze, Surbhi Bafna