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It isn’t everyday that a brand like Nirma wakes up and decides to undergo a personality transplant. Again, it isn’t everyday that a whopping Rs 1.5 crore is spent on that thought.
A new commercial by Nirma – created by the Aggi-Paddy venture TapRoot India – has underwater ballet as its theme, while the clamorous Nirma jingle has been modernised to an opera-like track to go with it. The ad is a celebration of what Nirma has represented for nearly three decades: washing clothes and maintaining their colour.
In this report, afaqs! explores the link between the old and the new, the filming tricks employed to craft the underwater sequences, and what the ad industry makes of this endeavour.
A walk down Nirma lane
The Nirma story dates back to1982 – a year that witnessed the birth of the first film for the brand, with the effervescent jingle, ‘Washing Powder Nirma’ (created by composer Vedpal). Vinod Sharma of Purnima Advertising was the creative director, while the film was directed by SS Oberoi. Purnima Advertising has been in charge of the creative and media duties since the beginning, with occasional projects given out to other agencies.
The second commercial, directed by Kailash Surendranath, featured the superstar of those days, Sangeeta Bijlani, along with models such as Shikha Swaroop and Anuradha Patel. The jingle, with its twang, has always been a part of Nirma’s communication, and was rarely tweaked. Other constants in a Nirma film included the Nirma girl in a frock on the pack shot, and the swirl and twirl of saris by models in outdoor locations.
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In 2005, Prasoon Pandey of Corcoise Films brought about a little change when he worked on a Nirma film that was different from its predecessors – this was the food throwing ad (Hema, Rekha, Jaya, Sushma). The idea, a brainchild of Pandey, lent names – and profiles – to Nirma housewives. This was followed by another ad in the series that showed the four housewives, with their beaus, up to mischief.
A few years ago, Nirma came full circle with an ad featuring model and actor Simone Singh: a commercial that brandished the exact song and dance idea as the very first ad. “We aired that ad longer than we should have,” says Manan Soni, director, Purnima Advertising, “but we were in an interim stage of figuring out what to do.”
Enter TapRoot India, which was awarded a project for Nirma three months ago. The brief was to essentially showcase Nirma in a new light, while retaining some of the constants that it has come to be known for.
This TapRoot grows underwater
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The new film shows ballet dancers sashaying about underwater in an artistic manner, forming arches and random shapes with their colourful, flowing garments (costumes by designer Aparna Chandra). The crescendo builds up to a point where the Nirma banner makes its appearance in the water, while an opera version of the Nirma jingle starts playing. The film ends with the Nirma girl and the twirl in her frock as the pack shot settles with a thud on the ‘ocean bed’.
According to Santosh Padhi, co-founder and chief creative officer, TapRoot India, the whole attempt is to own the premise of ‘water’ in this category. “It’s such a simple thing: Nirma has always conjured up the image of washing clothes in a bucketful of water. So, an underwater ballet was our answer to owning the ‘water’ premise. We wanted to take this fresh approach to the brand as a celebration of its lineage.”
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The brand wished to clearly move past the formula advertising trap that it had fallen prey to over the years. As Nirma’s proposition is well established, this ad is to remind people about Nirma in a feel-good, poetic way, says Paddy, while keeping away from a set storyline.
Some mnemonics associated strongly with Nirma – such as the jingle and the girl with the frock – were retained (although the jingle was modernised by composer R Anandh).
“We couldn’t leave it all out,” shrugs Paddy, hence the integration of the Nirma banner and the pack shot underwater, instead of a mere pack shot towards the end.
The longer version of the film is playing in cinema halls, while some degree of outdoor is also being used for the campaign.
Take my breath away
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The film has been directed by Shantanu Bagchi of Illusion Films, while Suparna Chatterjee has produced it.
The first task for the team was to find a troupe specialising in underwater dances. Russia and China were the two choices for shooting the film as there are local groups known for their aquatic dances there. However, these groups use oxygen tanks while dancing underwater, which was not what Illusion was looking for. Finally, a troupe from the US, called the Lux Aeterna Dance Company, was flown in to India.
All the shots have been done with the troupe holding its breath for 40 seconds to a minute, while the waterproof cameras rolled. There was no external oxygen support, although there were about six or seven scuba divers with oxygen supplies swimming around to help out of breath dancers in a sequence.
Once the camera started rolling, the dancers had to be in a specific position to capture the lighting just right, and to hold the correct posture and expressions. With the dancers holding their breaths, little time could be spent in getting this right. To ensure that the dancers were on the go from the moment they dived in, Illusion had the scuba divers mark their positions with ‘stands’: signals on where each dancer had to be, and the route to be taken by her for a particular shot.
The film was shot at Kalidas premises in Mulund, Mumbai, which boasts of a 15 feet deep swimming pool, while the dancers were easily 11 feet under. The team had to be particular that the tiles in the pool did not to show in the film, and to maintain the aesthetics of a sea-like sequence, a set was created inside.
The set – designed by KK Muralidharan of Xheight Design Studio and executed by art director Eldridge Rodrigues of Structural Fantasies – was made of fibre glass and had elements such as underwater plants and coral reef-like structures thrown in for effect. Vikas Nowlakha (incidentally, a scuba diver himself) was the director of photography.
The steps were choreographed by Jacob Kujo Lyons. The shoot took three days, while the pre-production went on for about two months.
Swimming in creativity?
To understand whether Nirma’s attempt to be contemporary stands out in the ‘sea’ of ads on TV today, afaqs! sought opinions from ad-land and here’s what some of them had to say.
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Ambar Chakravarty, executive creative director, Publicis Ambience, likes the attempt – in the staid world of detergent advertising, it’s certainly fresh. “Top marks for execution,” he says. “The only thing I miss though is the point. I have a vague idea that it has something to do with colours, but a little more explanation wouldn't harm.”
Amit Akali, group creative director, Ogilvy & Mather Bengaluru, feels this is a half-way attempt to contemporise the brand – while it looks radically different, it is still in the space of women dancing around, although in a different setting. “Also, just when you start appreciating that the look is dramatically non-Nirma, old elements are suddenly resurrected – the big branding, jingle and the Nirma girl – maybe they should have gone all the way and not just half way forward,” he muses.
Chakravarty is more forgiving about the marriage of the old with the new. To him, the brand now needs to move to a more defined space where it stands for something and this commercial may just be the start of that. “I'd like to believe that this attempt is a transitory one, where old vestiges such as the jingle and the girl-in-the-frock still find mention, even as the brand takes on an edgier avatar,” he opines.
Having said that, he observes wryly, “I’ll bet the client forced that silly banner down the agency’s throat, though. So on the whole, like my teachers always said, ‘Good attempt, but can do better’.”
On the music by R Anandh, Akali says that the operatic music gives it a larger than life, big film feel, but the jingle in the end ‘jars’. “The music is obviously an improvement on the earlier films, where the jingle came throughout the film!” he exclaims.
Déjà vu?
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Some tongues from the industry are wagging that the execution for Nirma borders on the same lines as the Cannes-winning ‘Waterworld’ ad for Ariston Aqualtis washing machines released in 2006. The ad showed an aquatic paradise of clothes, where laundry took on the shape of sea creatures, and only once the camera pans out does one realise that the water world is actually the view inside a washing machine.
Clearly, the Nirma attempt follows no such idea: the underwater ballet is a far cry from the washing machine world. But theories are floating around on execution references. Says Pushpendra Mishra, ad filmmaker, Flying Saucer Films, “I don’t get the idea for Nirma as it is unclear what the film is trying to say. The core conceptualisation looks inspired from Ariston Aqualtis; one cannot escape that the execution is in the same space as the Cannes winner.”
Shivendra Singh, ad filmmaker, Dungarpur Films, has ‘no issues’ with the supposed similarities. He allows that underwater shooting is a generic idea and the commonalities end with the fact that the two ads are for washing aids, and both rely on execution to make their mark. “But having said that, the Ariston Aqualtis one could well have been a reference point – the thought of rejoicing underwater and the ceremony feeling to it is similar,” he infers.
Padhi of TapRoot will have none of it. “Neither Ariston nor Nirma invented films shot underwater. Johnnie Walker, Antiquity and many more brands have done it before. That is why waterproof cameras were invented,” he quips. “The Ariston film shows clothes taking the shape of aquatic life inside a washing machine – I’ll allow that it is a similar setting but a different thought altogether.”
© 2010 afaqs!From arnimaal, Tue 15 Sep 2009 06:48:34 AM The fact that so many people here online are commenting on this ad proves that its a hit. All ads are not aimed at increasing sales. Reinforcement is also an aspect. Apart from that, all Nirma is trying to do is introduce a contemporary feel to its products, and I think it was about time they did.
Changing the packaging is a silly suggestion considering the fact that those who do buy Nirma buy it for the value for money it provides and not for the attractiveness of the package. Also, improving the packaging might mean increased cost and therefore kill the idea of a low cost detergent.
Let us not fool ourselves into thinking the guys managing the company are so naiive as to ignore something as obvious as a packaging revamp. Undoubtedly the ad has run into crores, but what matters is that people noticed it, and there is a feel good factor involved for all the actual users of the product. Thats all that really matters.
I am sure there are a lot of users out there who feel not so left out by using a cheaper product when they see the product they use flashed across the screens in this new refreshing and modern avtaar.
From Band Bajaoo, Fri 05 Jun 2009 08:35:44 PM To all the ad-gyaniz who think (with all their professional / emotional judgments) this ad is no good...let’s take some time out from our chairs of judgment and just for a second...for a tiny miny sec...Think what have we achieved in our professional life??...please step up if anyone has performed even closer to what the owners of Nirma have. Karsanbhai patel and team have created this company forget the brand and for years kept it alive and kicking in such competitive markets...so going by all your comments backed by your so called pro experience and understanding...are you suggesting that the owners, the business brains behind such a mammoth brand / business that even took Uniliver's pants down, are morons??...i think because we have the liberty to comment...we make our own presumptions and assumptions and start retrofitting it post seeing something like this. Don't you think it’s a brilliant way to differentiate and redefine the category communication… without knowing his objective and the consequence will any businessman and specifically of this caliber make an attempt to invest crores in making this and in its media?...I think lets leave it here…cheers to true strategic thinking displayed here by the owners and equally brilliant creative thinking by the agency.
From Branded, Thu 04 Jun 2009 03:20:10 PM Wow! The new Nirma Ad is out. And what a furore it has created. Who new that a tiny 63 seconder(OK..not so tiny!) would cause so many people, including yours truly, to burn away litres of midnight oil to write, criticise or simply gush about it.
I hope that by now the debate about it being a copy or Ariston Aqualtis has been settled once and for all, coz its not. Frankly guys, if you call this a copy, then every single car ad would have to be a copy of every other car ad that you have come across. Well, yes both of these ads are shot underwater with some very creative visuals but other than that I don't see how the Nirma Ad could be called a copy of the ad above.
As for it being a creative fantasy of a few industrywallahs, well 2 words for you - Grow Up! The Indian middle class(the supposed Target Audience) is not as dumb or tasteless as you might think it to be. Just because You did not come up with this idea, does not mean that it's no good.
I'm a brand enthusiast from Lucknow and for me the Ad is a definite clutter breaker. It made me take notice of it the first time I saw it and that is precisely the job it was supposed to do.
My only concern is that it might become a one-off TVC and too much may be expected out of a single TV Ad.Without a complementary strategy to go along with it, it might just end up becoming another Ad that was.
From sushil biswas, Wed 03 Jun 2009 02:16:35 AM Alright I was intrigued enough to see the famous ad from which this ad is supposed to take a reference. This is their story. Computer graphics are used to turn clothes into aquatic creatures like octopus, shoals of fish and water lilies all made out of clothes which are inside a washing machine because the point is it is a large washing machine. There are no people. For god's sake how is this similar to Nirma. This one is a contemporisation of an old classic done immaculately well and positioned with just the right nuance to bridge the transition. Commendable.
From jhelum kaur, Wed 03 Jun 2009 02:12:19 AM I am an NRI who had left iNdia to settle in Canada when Nirma first came out. I am now here on holiday and am amazed and proud of the way the brand has decided to evolve. MNCs in the west are still stuck in a rut as far as detergents go. they are still trying to teach people that detergents are for washing clothes by showing all scrubbing and drying scenes. As Indians we should be proud of brands like Nirma that don't treat our consumers like morons. The way MNCs do.
From priyaraj dholakia, Wed 03 Jun 2009 02:09:05 AM I used to love the original Nirma ad when it came out. And never understood why all scholars were laughing at people like me. Then people like me made Nirma a multi crore brand and nobody was laughing anymore. Today my daughter and me both love this ad and she is in college. Again these people are searching for message and all that. Arre baba, do you always need a flow chart to like somthing.
From Rahul, Sun 31 May 2009 01:19:10 PM The Brand name Nirma is well known in our middle class homes.
This new underwater ad will target the upper class.
accha hai!
From sandesh patil, Sat 30 May 2009 05:43:11 PM whatever said by these creators is good for satisfying themselves with their creature, frankly speaking less than 1% audience will think in the way described by mr santosh padhi. Already people gets something new from nirma after a huge period of time & having received something like this after so long is just a disappointment!
From g rao, Wed 27 May 2009 09:09:21 PM It's a very nice film. people like it. why break our heads of splicing it into strategy, music, execution etc. The TG adores it I have seen with my own eyes everywhere. And even non-tg like me love watching it.
From g rao, Wed 27 May 2009 09:08:59 PM It's a very nice film. people like it. why break our heads of splicing it into strategy, music, execution etc. The TG adores it I have seen with my own eyes everywhere. And even non-tg like me love watching it.
From Pramod Rathilal, Wed 27 May 2009 03:51:40 PM I am a pensioner who used to work in anand Gujarat. I remember when the original nirma came, everyone said the same words as some peoples are saying now. But it became superhit. Now this one is come. It is also goings to supehit. Because its much better than old ones at that time.
From suresh thakuir, Wed 27 May 2009 03:47:36 PM Funny how everyone is trying to sermonise what the Nirma consumer would feel except the Nirma consumer herself. I come from a Nirma consumer joint family and we all love the ad. And one more thing, normal people do not dissect ads into treatments, well shot, strategy, jingle and pack shot. they just like the whole ad or don't like it. And no amount of post mortem will tell us exactly which parrt they like or hate. And this ad is huge hit where it matters.
From p shashi, Wed 27 May 2009 03:42:06 PM I do not understand owning all the water premise and all that. But I like the ad. It is better than the old nirma ad. And ads don't always have to have a mathematical logic to be liked. Look at Sony Bravia balls and later Colours, Look at zoo zoos, is there any other rationale except that they are cute? I have seen people using this ad as screen savers also. Great show.
From Deepak Anand, Wed 27 May 2009 01:15:47 PM It would have rather been great if the focus was on changing the packaging instead of the ad which has already become the detergent anthem... The underwater idea is great but the suspense comes to an end with the dull finish of the sequence. Again "owning the water premise"... seems to heavy to digest... I wonder if the new ad does any good to the brand or else the brand comes back to its original jingle and TVC.. Time to wait and watch...
From dev chandra, Wed 27 May 2009 01:01:58 PM There are dozens of soft drink commercials shot in the desert, 4X4 commercials shot in the forest and extreme wear commercials shot in snow. Does that make them all copiesof each other? Come on, it's a very, very good film from a brand that we least expected something like this from. Let's be honest, we all would have loved to have cracked something like this for a dinosaur brand like this. super show.
From Prathamesh Rao, Wed 27 May 2009 12:44:36 PM As an avid industry watcher i think taproot should be commended for ignoring tha farce of award shows and bringing high end creativity to real brands in the real market place. It's a super film and precisely crafted for positioning I have seen a wide swathe of TGs captivated by it.
From leena satpathy, Wed 27 May 2009 12:19:23 PM I am a middle class mother and am writing from my daughter's email id. She studies mass communication and told me about this site. I want to say that me and all my friends in Secudnerabad stop everything we are doing when this ad comes on air. We love to watch it and we are so happy that our Nirma has come back and shown all these city types that we can be cool too. it is much better than the old nirma ad. It looks so different, not only among other washing powder ads but among all ads on Tv. the floating pack is also very nice.
From Nawaz ahmed, Tue 26 May 2009 10:20:44 AM The early nirma ads had clear faces of which made consumers to associate with their happiness and even the maids felt proud that they are using powder used by actress and had thoughts of being upscale by using Nirma which was powder for middle class. But the present ad has water premises which clearly is not in connect with any attirbutes of Nirma which present middle class consumer can connect to.
Lets not forget that it was middle class consumer who accepted Nirma and brought the down fall of others in the market.
From K P N, Mon 25 May 2009 02:32:44 PM Right, now about that consumer...
If i was using Nirma, my brand just got uber cool and, i'd continue buying it.
So it keeps yer old faithfuls.
About those other guys using other detergents... they're all lost in a haze of soap-suds anyway,
making this ad still more refreshing.
From ranjan shankar, Mon 25 May 2009 02:05:01 PM what is this? new advertising for the old nirma?! what a pointless exercise if the packaging was to remain the same. sad.
From R A Jeev, Mon 25 May 2009 01:41:38 PM Another 'execution for execution sake' ad after Livon dolls. Only this time, TapRoot being a small place obviously doesn't have enough employees who'll come here and gush about the ad unlike Mudra. Goodness. We're talking to consumers not an art critic. Why should she consider Nirma just because its ad was shot in a new way? I can't see this topping Surf or even Ariel in any way. At least those brands are a lot more relevant and meaningful to the consumer than this art house effort from Nirma is suggesting.
From Vishwanath, Mon 25 May 2009 12:42:19 PM An underwater idea feels good but not eyecatching for the audience since it restricts the expression of the cast. This ad lacks jubilation and delight then the previoous ads of Nirma.
Celebration could have been big and better....
From meg, Mon 25 May 2009 12:40:58 PM wow. this is the biggest scam ive ever seen. kudos to the servicing guy who sold this really expensive, well executed no doubt, but throughly clueless ad to the client. and whatever does owning the 'water premise' mean? im stumped mr padhi.
From AJ, Mon 25 May 2009 11:33:24 AM I agree with Amey.. Everyone of us has raved about the execution, though that too had a little rough edges, but the concept as a whole did not get the NIRMA point across. The ad itself was very Neo modern and classy, but what exactly is Nirma trying to tell the consumer here. I, for one, could not figure it out..
From sadhna sargam, Mon 25 May 2009 11:05:36 AM execution is clearly referenced from aristone but not as good. and no idea to the film. women are enjoying washing in a large imaginary bucket or is this an underwater washing sequence in a public pool? not very hygienic. & next time i suggest bikinis: easier for underwater aerobics & easier on the eye.
From rks, Mon 25 May 2009 10:57:03 AM the ad is a case of INDULGENCE.....more LIKE a BRAND statement rather than PRODUCT sell...nice shots, underwater etc....however to give agency/ client benefits would be great if the same was TRACKED....
From Amey Nadkarni, Mon 25 May 2009 10:54:47 AM I loved the begining...it was a set up for something exciting to follow...until nothing really followed! However i agree with the need and effort needed to break free from a rural or rough edged face of Nirma thats been promoted for so long and as such there was a need to stretch that much harder to break free from that mould. However current effort although comes closer is a case of being.."almost there". I was tempted to think what would have heppened if the ads would run uptill the point before the Nirma banner floating in...and then were followed with a product centric ending! You could get a break away from the old approach and get a little more time to end the tale better!
From Hansveen, Mon 25 May 2009 10:50:37 AM The execution is great...but had Nirma though about re-branding in 360 deg terms - with changing the packaging n all...Though Nirma is a household name & has been used since ages, the TVC seems a little upscaled for a normal middle class consumer. The previous ads & jingles were very hard hitting & delivered the message right away - but will the new one be able to create the same magic ??
From Rajesh Kalyanaraman, Mon 25 May 2009 10:14:49 AM Nirma, as a brand name is quiet well known and remembered, i'm not sure if the present advt will penetrate and captivate the house holds. i still prefer the old jingles or adaptation of the same to this world of slots. Though the concept is good but lacks the punch the way the previous advts has delivered. The advt shows the execution very well, but will the concept make people understand how the clothes are treated in a machine is a big question.
From Rajan Lodha, Mon 25 May 2009 09:57:58 AM The Nirma consumer does not work with an ad agency. A lot of people, it seems, think otherwise.
