Salvage national pride. Pop in some Rajnigandha paan masala

Does the name 'East India Company' ring a bell? Of course, it does. That's the same British company which ruled over undivided India for close to 100 years until Indians became British subjects under a decree by Queen Victoria in 1858.

That was history. The company's recent claim to fame was to be featured in a paan-masala TVC, where a young Indian businessman acquires the firm on a trip abroad.

Now, you and I may not be aware of this, or suffering from a simple bout of amnesia, but the once-mighty British East India company is actually owned by an Indian now. ZEE group chairman Subhash Chandra had purchased this defunct company in the mid-'90s.

So, was the Rajnigandha paan masala advert inspired by Chandra's exploits? Not quite, says Rediffusion DY&R's Delhi branch head Santosh Kumar Sood.

“We were aware about Mr Subhash Chandra's momentous purchase. But the concept of the TVC came from entirely different sources,” he says.

According to Sood, the DS group, which produces and markets Rajnigandha paan masala, was keen to achieve a thought-leadership for the brand. “Despite being a volume-leader and a popular brand in the premium segment, getting a top-of-mind recall among target customers somehow eluded the brand.”

The client's brief, therefore, was to come out with a communication which will give a high recall value to the brand and make it relevant to the target group.

“Now, India is resonating with an entrepreneural spirit these days. So much so, the entire world is looking up to Indian talent. Today, we have world-class entrepreneurs such as the Ambanis, the Mittals of Airtel, Lord Swaraj Paul, steel magnate L N Mittals and others. These people are being feted by the world. These sons of India are making all of us proud of their achievements.We wanted to capture this phenomenon in the Rajnigandha TVC,” Sood explains.

The TVC, thus, focuses on a young entrepreneur, who on a trip abroad, chances upon a building with a sign-board 'East India Company'. Perhaps to salvage national pride, the young man puts in an outright bid to purchase the property – all the while flaunting his Rajnigandha paan masala pack. (Comment on this ad)

“The advert, apart from stoking Indian patriotism, also stresses on the fact that how a young Indian is not apologetic about consuming paan masala. The product, as you must be knowing, is uniquely Indian. In fact, our research showed that there are quite a few successful Indian businessmen who love their paan masala,” he explains.

“I am sure that a lot of Indian minds and hearts will resonate with patriotism after seeing this advert. Rajnigandha, which does not contain tobacco or any of its substitutes, is an ideal Indian answer to mouth-freshners of the West.”

Since there's a Subhash Chandra Goel connection in the story, did Rediffusion DYR or the DS group try and get in touch with the ZEE group before running the TVC? Or, better – did they try roping in a celebrity such as Chandra to endorse the brand?

“Our lawyers were in touch with the ZEE group. As for the celebrity angle, we purposely avoided any celebrity endorsement for Rajnigandha. So, the character shown in the TVC has no resemblance whatsoever with the ZEE boss,” Sood informs.

Two random thoughts: First, while the British East India Company is now owned by Chandra, not much is known about the current whereabouts of the Dutch, French and Portugese East India Companies. All of these had an Indian connection in the past. Since the advert is sufficiently vague about the nationality of the 'East India Company', would Indian businessmen be now inspired to make similar acquisitions? Second, would India have suffered under the British for close to two hundred years, if Siraj-ud-daullah had access to Rajnigandha at Plassey?

© 2005 agencyfaqs!