History, Nostalgia and the good old days.
Since I am in the zone, I will attempt to write some historical aspects of my early childhood life. Today my focus is on advertisements of late 80’s early 90’s. India’s economy was going through a very delicate phase at this juncture. We were not ‘emerging’ then, but were trying to ‘evolve’ into some sort of market based economy. Hence, the advertisement of 80’s started selling hope and aspirations to an evolving nation. The great Advertising guru Alyque Padamsee once said 1980’s economic India was chained because of the restrictive policies, but the creative minds were not.
One more trip down memory lane…
Amul: The Company that brought the ‘white revolution’ in India also revolutionized the Indian advertisement industry by its witty one-liners which capture relevant events that have caught the fancy of the nation. Utterly butterly delicious, Amul
Bajaj Bulbs: The funny, bald man describing how his mischievous childhood acts were brought to light by the brightest burning Bajaj bulbs. Although Malavika Tiwari played an older version of her, this commercial was her claim to fame. Jab mein chota baccha tha…
Cadbury’s Dairy Milk: Who can forget the generation defining ad…Kuch Khas Hai Zindagi Mein. While today’s commercial revolves around creating stylistic ads using celebrity endorsements, Cadbury’s commercials, where young, old and almost everyone were shown living and enjoying some lighter moments were like a breath of fresh air.
Dabur Lal Dant Majan: How could one forget the brown stained teeth of Raju’s class teacher, teaching about dental hygiene? Class teacher does notices Raju’s pearl white teeth and gives the famous compliment, “Raju! Tumharei daat to motiyon jaise chamak rahey hain!”
ECE Bulb: The famous Paintal ad, reminds us of the days when people in the area knew each other. It showed a classic 80’s Indian mid-class family. “Bhool na jaana, ECE bulb laaan”
Fevicol: 3 Idiots fame director, Rajkumar Hirani’s first venture in the entertainment world was through this commercial. “Fevicol aise jod lagaye, aache che aacha na tod paaye”
Gold Spot: One of the first English ads, it talked about a generation that was discovering new crazes. Besides the characters that came under Gold Spot crowns, Gold Spot was indeed a great drink. And add to that the advertising punch line: “Gold Spot. The Zing Thing”
Hamara Bajaj: This commercial could only come out of a Bombay Club company. One of the most remarkable ads of that time. The ad shows how a scooter is a family treasure. It used ownership of scooter as part of the nation building activity. “Buland bhart ki buland tasveer, Hamara bajaj,hamara bajaj ,hamara bajaj"
India: Mile Sur Mera Tumhara… The un-official anthem of the nation. One of the very few government projects, which was a success. It was launched as a national integration and unity in diversity, campaign using the famous TV, Sports and film personalities.
Jungle Book: After Chacha Chaudhary, Mowgli was the only cartoon we knew…Jungle jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai
Kayam Churan: "Bhavnagar wale Sheth brothers ka Aruvedic utpadan…Kaayam Churn!" This ad reflects the tech-savvy 80’s. Rakesh Bedi in his khaki shikari costume, complete with hat and a gun is trying to kill 3 devils (rakshas) ‘Gas’,’ Acidity’ and ‘Stomach ache’. A sage comes to his rescue and says, “Inka ilaaj goliyaan nahin, aayurved hai”
Liril: It was the first color commercial to be shown on Doordarshan during the start of Asian games in 1982. Liril gave us the first glimpse of the dimple girl, the chulbully Priti; “Laaaaaa…laa…laa…laa…laaaaaa…laa…laa…laa…laa…la…la…la”
Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato Chilli Sauce: One of the first 80’s commercials that was launched as part of a series. It starred the famous pair of Javed Jaffery and Panaj ‘Karamchand’ Kapoor. The tag line “It’s Different” was indeed able to differentiate Maggie from its competitors.
Nirma: The iconic, young little girl swirling around in a skirt – the Nirma girl. The official advertiser of the cinema halls across India. All cinema halls always started there shows with the Nirma ad. “Washing powder Nirma, Washing powder Nirma”
Onida: It created larger than life product impact. Released on air during the 1980’s, its tag-line “Neighbor’s envy, owner’s pride” proved successful because it was derived from the analysis of middle-class mentality prevailing during those days J
Pepsi: Then known as Lehar Pepsi, the famous ad campaign starred Remo Fernandez & the kid singer, Penny Vaz. Undoubtedly the right ad of those times. “Yeh Hi Hai Right choice Baby…aaha!!”
Rasna: The simple innocence of a 3 year old, Ankita Jhaveri made the whole nation fall in love with the instant drink powder. Ad agency, Mudra’s classic from mid-80’s, “I love you, Rasna”.
Surf: First brand icon of the Indian advertisement, Laitaji. Lalitaji was brought to life on television by Kavita Chaudhary with the tag line “Surf ki Kharidari mai hi Samajdari hai”
Tata Salt: Coming of age of India’s 80’s consumerism, India's first packaged iodized salt brand. It positioned itself as “Desh Ka Namak”, signifying salt with trust.
Uncle Chips: One of the first domestic brands of potato chips. Noted film music director Shantanu Moitra started his composing career with the hit-jingle, "Bole mere lips. I love Uncle Chipps".
Vimal, Only Vimal: …and so the legend goes, ‘Apna’ Dhirubhai was briefing the ad agency and he said, "Only Vimal has the most sophisticated plant." "Only Vimal uses merino wool". "Only Vimal has the most designs". Only Vimal.... And very soon, a bright (or lazy) copywriter came back with the tagline "Only Vimal" which Dhirubhai bought.
And the rest as they say is history.
Woodwards Gripe water: Yes, the now famous question, “Kya Hua?” came from this commercial. The multi generation mothers shown in this commercial is a testament to the quality. And I know this for sure because we use to give it to Ashvy still last year.
Zadu Baam: The 80’s baam that took the avatar of Munni badnaam in 2010, still heals people’s backache and heartache! “Zandu Balm, Zandu Balm, Peeda hari balm”
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