Surf Excel’s new campaign presents Shabana with a '2-bucket advantage'

When Surf Excel’s Quick Wash low-foam variant was launched in Tamil Nadu last summer, the state was reeling under an acute water crisis. Low-foam implied that less water was needed vis-a-vis other detergents without compromising on stain removal. Based on the insight that an average family uses four buckets of water for rinsing, the brand’s core proposition was an 'opportunity for consumers to save two buckets of water everyday'. This also implied saving money because people in Tamil Nadu paid a premium for every bucket of water.

It helped to have actress-director and activist Revathy urging people to use Surf Excel Quick Wash, to save two buckets of water per household and eventually save water for the perpetually thirsty state.

The campaign struck a chord with the target audience. Siddharth Singh, marketing manager, detergents, HLL, does not share exact figures but stresses that “all indicators such as sales and market share” went on an upswing since the campaign was launched.

A year down the line, the regional concept is getting transplanted into the national arena. For the national campaign, Surf Excel Quick Wash has gone for Shabana Azmi.

Singh says, “Besides being a well-known public figure, Ms. Azmi is also known for her work for slum dwellers, riot victims and water crisis.” Azmi has, till date, appeared in a commercial for Ariel MicroShine (1997), Good Knight (2000) and an AIDS awareness campaign (1993); the last creative still enjoys good recall.

The timing of the launch, according to Singh, is perfect because most of India begins to feel the pinch of water shortage from the first week of March.

Created by Lowe, the agency on the account, the commercial shows protagonists (Mrs Sharma, Mr Mehta, Mr Kulkarni and Miss Rupali) carrying two buckets of water each that they have saved.

The jingle goes “Do bucket paani ab rozana hai bachana.”(We can save two buckets of water everyday). A large crowd then gathers around a tank to empty all the buckets into it.

Says Shabana, “Agar aapke paas Surf Excel Quick Wash hai, toh aap bhi rozana do bucket paani bacha sakte hain…zara sochiye sari Hindustan mein kitna paani bachega.”(If you have Surf Excel Quick Wash, you too can save two buckets of water everyday. Imagine how much water the entire country will be able to save in the process).

Preeti Nair, national creative director, Lowe, is optimistic about the campaign. “Water crisis is an issue that affects all of us. And who better to voice the concern than Azmi, who comes across as a no-nonsense person,” she says. While addressing a problem every individual can identify with, the attempt is also to link it to a larger social cause, she adds.

The creative team included, besides Nair, Arun Iyer, Jaywant Dhabholkar and Kapil Bhagat, while the film has been directed by V K Prakash. Incidentally, it was Iyer, the Chennai boy, who brought in some real insights into the campaign. Waking up at the crack of dawn and rush to the water tank, queuing up for a trickle from the pipes and fist-fights over a bucket that you’ve paid for – were just some of the inputs that strengthened the Tamil campaign. “In fact for the Southern campaign, we put a price tag to highlight the cost-effectiveness of the product. This, however, is not a part of the national campaign,” explains Iyer.

The agency hopes that the 'two buckets' idea will also appeal to people, who are not directly affected by the crisis, thanks to the advert's larger social message. A print campaign based on the same idea is also in the pipeline.

© 2005 agencyfaqs!