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<ul><li><keyword id="270001" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="surf-excel" source="Orion">Surf Excel</keyword>’s ‘<keyword id="10994328" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="daag-acche-hain" source="Orion">Daag Acche Hain</keyword>’ was conceptualised by <keyword id="274876" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lowe-lintas" source="Orion">Lowe Lintas</keyword> in 2005 and the brand has made us look beyond the obvious through each of its advertisements since then.</li><li>This Holi, we look back at <keyword id="37850" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="daag" source="Orion">Daag</keyword> Acche Hain’s evolution and its popular advertisements.</li></ul>Every year, during the Hindu festival of Holi, detergent brand Surf Excel drops a campaign that never fails to win our hearts. Holi is one of the most important occasions for the brand as it brings an opportunity for Surf Excel to talk about colorful stains and celebrate togetherness. <br /><br />Over the years, through its core message of ‘Daag Acche Hain,’ Surf Excel has tried to mirror the ever-changing socio and political issues in its campaigns and reminded us that the most powerful virtue is kindness. It has been able to carve a niche for itself in the market through this powerful proposition. <br /><br />Its latest Holi advertisement is about keeping your inner child alive. The heart-warming campaign shows a little girl who reminds her aunt how to bring back colours into her life. <br />  <div type="Youtube" id="Y1MdAxeRgz8" title="Surf excel Holi 2022 | Jo rang bachpan lautaye, woh #RangAchheHain" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y1MdAxeRgz8/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />The spirited child protagonist is seen playing colours with her friends when she notices her aunt setting the table of colours and sweets, and enjoying their game, subconsciously wanting to join in. When the little girls insists that her aunt join them, the aunt moves away, saying it’s not her age to play like them. As the girl watches her aunt consciously throw away the colours she had unconsciously picked up in her palms, she covers herself with the colours and runs to her aunt for a hug. This action imprints the aunt’s clothes with a colourful silhouette of the child. Pointing towards the imprint, the girl suggests that this child could play with them. The heart-warming message “Jo rang bachpan lautaye, woh rang achhe hain” makes us examine the boundaries that keep us away from finding the joy of keeping our childhood alive.<br /><br /><strong>Daag Acche Hain’s evolution<br /></strong><br />It came at a time when advertising in the detergent category was limited to its functional aspects of cleaning and adding fragrance to your clothes. Surf Excel, in association with Lowe Lintas, thought of moving away from this functional proposition in 2005. The company already had a campaign ‘Dirt is good’ running in Brazil which was conceptualised by BBH, and ‘Daag Acche Hain’ was an extension of this proposition in India, with a desi twist. <br /><br />In the 80’s, Surf Excel (then Surf) was carried forward by an iconic character ‘Lalitaji.’ The white sari-clad woman educated the audience about the difference between cheap and effective products. Surf’s Lalitaji was also an answer to rival Nirma’s catchy and evergreen ‘Hema, Rekha, Jaya aur Sushma’ campaign. <br />  <div type="Youtube" id="ALxiXkHxqCc" title="Surf Excel Lalitaji" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ALxiXkHxqCc/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />In 2012 came ‘Dhondte Reh Jaoge’ starring a woman in a white sari again, she tells us her husband that he would have to really look for the ‘daag’ once she washes his stained shirt with Surf Excel. He stains his shirt as his kids’ carromboard’s coin hits his Samosa. He blames the wife for spoiling ‘her kids’ and she cleans his stain with a handkerchief for him. <br />  <div type="Youtube" id="sbxP8IGj_x4" title="Surf Excel Dhondte Reh Jaoge" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sbxP8IGj_x4/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />It is only now that detergent brands have woken up to realise that household chores are equally a man’s job. Until the early 20’s, detergent brands were only targeting women and portraying them as nurturers of the family, who didn’t have the agency to make a decision for themselves. Women were seen as someone’s wife or mother, who is supposed to be a good role model for her family by taking care of them, even raise her husband like a baby who can’t wipe a stain off his shirt himself.<br /><br />Before Daag Acche Hain, stains were just stains that people would think about washing away because, who likes dirt on them? Bollywood has also compared Daag with women’s ‘pride’ and for a long time, had us believe that stains cannot be washed away, especially if you are a woman. <br /><br />Surf Excel, on the other hand, made us accept our flaws and reminded us that flaws make humans, humans. Through its metaphorical campaigns, it said stains are only temporary and with just one attempt, relationships can be mended and differences are washed away. (It also subtly comments on our country’s poor infrastructure where you can manage to find a puddle anywhere you look).<br /><br />While it was easy for Surf Excel to walk away from this stereotypical representation of women because they cast kids, Daag Acche Hain was still like a fresh breath of air that didn’t push career-oriented women down a guilt trip.<br /><br />Surf Excel’s first ‘Daag Acche Hain’ ad featured two siblings. The little sister steps into a puddle and starts to sob. Seeing her little sister upset, the big brother does what any desi parent would do if an inanimate object hurt their kids. Hit it. He also apologises on behalf of the puddle and this innocence, we are certain, does not fail to bring a smile to your faces even today. The ad concludes with a voice over, “Daag lagne se agar kuch accha hota hai, toh daag acche hai na? (If something good comes out of staining, stains are good).” <br /><br />  <div type="Youtube" id="7D3rvf9WvEw" title="Surf Excel TVC" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7D3rvf9WvEw/mqdefault.jpg"></div>Below are a few campaigns and the common themes Daag Acche Hain has used over the years: <br /><br /><strong>Using your privilege to help out those who aren’t as lucky:</strong><br />  <div type="Youtube" id="GV2TsgY2uw4" title="Surf Excel Ramazan 2017 | #NekiEkIbadat" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GV2TsgY2uw4/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />  <div type="Youtube" id="iVkZsFGF4ls" title="Surf Excel #AbLagRahiDiwali - Share the Joy of Diwali with Everyone!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iVkZsFGF4ls/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />  <div type="Youtube" id="C-jPrQzvE9E" title="Are your kids #ReadyForLife?" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C-jPrQzvE9E/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br /><strong>Helping others out</strong><br />  <div type="Youtube" id="tNE3l2LPiEY" title="Surf Excel &quot;Dog&quot;" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tNE3l2LPiEY/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />  <div type="Youtube" id="FbXHbvnNZ7s" title="Surf Excel Classroom 2011, My New Friend" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FbXHbvnNZ7s/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br /><strong>Surf Excel’s colourful relationship with Holi<br /></strong><br />Holi is a natural fit for Surf Excel. We all stain our clothes while celebrating this festival of colours and the brand has never missed this opportunity to replug ‘Daag Acche Hain.’ <br /><br />Surf Excel’s Holi ad from 2019 titled ‘Rang Laaye Sang’ had evoked a controversy. As its beautiful Ramadan ads, Surf Excel had chosen to portray Hindu-Muslim harmony in 2019. The only difference, however in 2019, was the political scenario. <br /><br />Surf Excel’s minute-long Holi ad ‘Rang Laaye Sang’ (colours bring people together) featured two kids, a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy. The girl dressed in white, rides on a bicycle and challenges neighbourhood kids to splash her with Holi colours. It is later revealed that it was in order to protect her Muslim friend who had to go to a nearby mosque for prayers. As she drops her friend at the mosque, she said, “I will colour you later” and he agrees, with a bright on his face. However, Twitterati took the ad rather badly and said that the ad portrayed Hindus in a bad light and promoted “Love Jihad.” <br />  <div type="Youtube" id="Zq7mN8oi8ds" title="Surf Excel Holi 2019 | This Holi, let colours bring us together!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zq7mN8oi8ds/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />However, the last two years have been unusual. We haven’t celebrated Holi like we did before the pandemic hit our country. We don’t get to see our relatives, play Holi or cherish sweets together like we used to. So, in 2021, Surf Excel showed the audience how to play Holi while maintaining a safe distance from their loved ones.<br />  <div type="Youtube" id="MocKmftqNI8" title="Surf excel Holi 2021 | Jo dilon ko paas laayein, woh #RangAchheHain" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MocKmftqNI8/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />

From promoting religious harmony to urging the audience to keep their inner child alive, how Surf Excel’s Daag Acche Hain has evolved over the years

<ul><li>Surf Excel’s ‘<keyword id="10994328" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="daag-acche-hain">Daag Acche Hain</keyword>’ is one of the most loved campaigns in India.</li><li>It was conceptualised by <keyword id="274876" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lowe-Lintas">Lowe Lintas</keyword> in 2005 and the brand has made us look beyond the obvious through each of its advertisements since then.</li><li>Holi is one of the most important occasions for the brand as it brings an opportunity for Surf Excel to talk about colorful stains and celebrate togetherness.</li><li>With Holi around the corner, we speak to Prabha Narasimhan, Executive Director and VP – Home Care, South Asia, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, to discuss Surf Excel’s evolution from Lalitaji to Daag Acche Hain.</li></ul>Surf Excel’s Daag Acche Hain came at a time when advertising in the detergent category was limited to its functional aspects of cleaning and adding fragrance to your clothes. Surf Excel, in association with Lowe Lintas, thought of moving away from this functional proposition in 2005. The company already had a campaign ‘Dirt is good’ running in Brazil which was conceptualised by BBH, and ‘Daag Acche Hain’ was an extension of this proposition in India, with a desi twist. <br /><br />In the 80’s, Surf Excel (then Surf) was carried forward by an iconic character ‘Lalitaji.’ The white sari-clad woman educated the audience about the difference between cheap and effective products. Surf’s Lalitaji was also an answer to rival Nirma’s catchy and evergreen ‘Hema, Rekha, Jaya aur Sushma’ campaign. <br /><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="ALxiXkHxqCc" title="Surf Excel Lalitaji" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ALxiXkHxqCc/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />In 2012 came ‘Dhondte Reh Jaoge’ Starring a woman in a white sari again, she tells us her husband that he would have to really look for the ‘daag’ once she washes his stained shirt with Surf Excel. He stains his shirt as his kids’ carromboard’s coin hits his Samosa. He blames the wife for spoiling ‘her kids’ and she cleans his stain with a handkerchief for him. <br /><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="sbxP8IGj_x4" title="Surf Excel Dhondte Reh Jaoge" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sbxP8IGj_x4/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />It is only now that detergent brands have woken up to realise that household chores are equally a man’s job. Until the early 20’s, detergent brands were only targeting women and portraying them as nurturers of the family, who didn’t have the agency to make a decision for themselves. Women were seen as someone’s wife or mother, who is supposed to be a good role model for her family by taking care of them, even raise her husband like a baby who can’t wipe a stain off his shirt himself. <br /><br />Before Daag Acche Hain, stains were just stains that people would think about washing away because, who likes dirt on them? Bollywood has also compared Daag with women’s ‘pride’ and for a long time, had us believe that stains cannot be washed away, especially if you are a woman. <br /><br />Surf Excel, on the other hand, made us accept our flaws and reminded us that flaws make humans, humans. Through its metaphorical campaigns, it said stains are only temporary and with just one attempt, relationships can be mended and differences are washed away. (It also subtly comments on our country’s poor infrastructure where you can manage to find a puddle anywhere you look).<br /><br />While it was easy for Surf Excel to walk away from this stereotypical representation of women because they cast kids, Daag Acche Hain was still like a fresh breath of air that didn’t push career-oriented women down a guilt trip.<br /><br />Surf Excel’s first ‘Daag Acche Hain’ ad featured two siblings. The little sister steps into a puddle and starts to sob. Seeing her little sister upset, the big brother does what any desi parent would do if an inanimate object hurt their kids. Hit it. He also apologises on behalf of the puddle and this innocence, we are certain, does not fail to bring a smile to your faces even today. The ad concludes with a voice over, “Daag lagne se agar kuch accha hota hai, toh daag acche hai na? (If something good comes out of staining, stains are good).” <br /><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="7D3rvf9WvEw" title="Surf Excel TVC" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7D3rvf9WvEw/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />Sharing the campaign’s purpose, Prabha Narasimhan, Executive Director &amp; VP – Home Care, South Asia, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, said, “Surf Excel is one of the most loved brands in India, and for over fifteen years, we have stayed consistent to our brand philosophy of ‘Daag Achhe Hain’ or ‘Dirt is Good.’ Surf Excel’s communication platform evolves from this philosophy and shows children getting dirty in the process of doing something good and demonstrating good values. By ridding parents of their worry of stains, we become partners in enabling their children to learn (while getting dirty), thus becoming truly meaningful in their lives. Our purpose-led philosophy is in line with our company’s belief and commitment to building brands with purpose.” <br /><br />Since 2005, all of Surf Excel’s ads have chosen kids as their portaganist. <br /><br />Telling us why the brand casts kids in their ads, Narasimhan said, “We believe that children should have the freedom to get dirty, because its only then that they can truly learn and develop. And if kids get dirty in the process of doing something good, then dirt is good.”<br /><br />Below are a few campaigns and the common themes Daag Acche Hain has used over the years: <br /><br /><strong>Using your privilege to help out those who aren’t as lucky:<br /></strong><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="GV2TsgY2uw4" title="Surf Excel Ramazan 2017 | #NekiEkIbadat" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GV2TsgY2uw4/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="iVkZsFGF4ls" title="Surf Excel #AbLagRahiDiwali - Share the Joy of Diwali with Everyone!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iVkZsFGF4ls/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="C-jPrQzvE9E" title="Are your kids #ReadyForLife?" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C-jPrQzvE9E/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br /><strong>Helping others out</strong><br /><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="tNE3l2LPiEY" title="Surf Excel &quot;Dog&quot;" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tNE3l2LPiEY/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="FbXHbvnNZ7s" title="Surf Excel Classroom 2011, My New Friend .mp4" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FbXHbvnNZ7s/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />It further extended the campaign with #HaarKoHarao, reminding the kids who deal with exam pressure that failure is a part of life.<br /><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="g4-BsyNLq1A" title="Surf excel: The Falling Test - A Social Experiment" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g4-BsyNLq1A/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="YicuKTFPxX0" title="Surf Excel: Daag Achhe Hain - #HaarKoHarao" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YicuKTFPxX0/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br /><strong>Surf Excel’s colourful relationship with Holi</strong><br /><br />Holi is a natural fit for Surf Excel. We all stain our clothes while celebrating this festival of colours and the brand has never missed this opportunity to replug ‘Daag Acche Hain.’ <br /><br />“Holi is one of the biggest and most loved festivals in our country, and a natural fit with our philosophy. We have been able to create a strong emotional connect with our audiences through our Holi campaigns in the last two years,” said Narasimhan.<br /><br />Surf Excel’s Holi ad from 2019 titled ‘Rang Laaye Sang’ had evoked a controversy. As its beatiful Ramadan ads, Surf Excel had chosen to portray Hindu-Muslim harmony in 2019. The only difference, however in 2019, was the political scenario. <br /><br />Surf Excel’s minute-long Holi ad ‘Rang Laaye Sang’ (colours bring people together) featured two kids, a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy. The girl dressed in white, rides on a bicycle and challenges neighbourhood kids to splash her with Holi colours. It is later revealed that it was in order to protect her Muslim friend who had to go to a nearby mosque for prayers. As she drops her friend at the mosque, she said, “I will colour you later” and he agrees, with a bright on his face. However, Twitterati took the ad rather badly and said that the ad portrayed Hindus in a bad light and promoted “Love Jihad.” <br /><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="Zq7mN8oi8ds" title="Surf Excel Holi 2019 | This Holi, let colours bring us together!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zq7mN8oi8ds/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />However, years 2020 and 2021 have been unusual. We haven’t celebrated Holi like we did before the pandemic hit our country. We don’t get to see our relatives, play Holi or cherish sweets together like we used to. <br /><br />So, this year, Daag Acche Hain was about being together from a distance. <br /><br />    <div type="Youtube" id="MocKmftqNI8" title="Surf excel Holi 2021 | Jo dilon ko paas laayein, woh #RangAchheHain" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MocKmftqNI8/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />Explaining the idea behind the latest ad, Narasimhan said, “This year is a bit different as we are all still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, which has created both physical and emotional distances. Addressing the emotional needs of the vulnerable segment of population, the ad shows how a young boy endeavors to include the elderly in the festive fervor through a simple yet creative way of making colors reach where hands cannot. It is a natural extension of our brand philosophy of ‘Daag achhe hain’, in which we have always shown children getting dirty while doing good deeds and demonstrating good values. We do hope that people are inspired to find their own unique ways to connect with their families this festive season.” <br /><br />“And our current Holi campaign takes forward its unique 'Daag Acche Hain' brand proposition and continues to use colours as a medium of ‘togetherness’. This year, it shows how the colours of Holi can help bridge emotional distances and bring hearts closer, despite physical distancing,” she added. <br /><br />Over the years, Surf Excel has tried to mirror the ever-changing socio and political issues in its campaign and reminded us that the most powerful virtue is kindness. It has been able to carve a niche for itself in the market through this powerful proposition. <br /><br />    <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75422860" title="#BTSwithInsiders: Arun Iyer on how Surf Excel’s ‘Daag Acche Hain’ came into being" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br />

How Surf Excel’s Daag Acche Hain has evolved over the years

<ul><li><keyword id="270001" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Surf-Excel" source="Orion">Surf Excel</keyword> has launched it annual <keyword id="12076094" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="holi" source="Orion">Holi</keyword> campaign and this year it wants people to celebrate their inner child.</li><li>The brand wants to send out the message that ‘acting your age’ is all about preconceived notions. The campaign wants to inspire its audience to keep their inner child alive and give into playful impulses, age no-bar.</li></ul>Surf excel is back with a Holi campaign bolstering its unique 'Daag Achhe Hain' brand proposition.<br /><br /><div type="Youtube" id="Y1MdAxeRgz8" title="Surf excel Holi 2022 | Jo rang bachpan lautaye, woh #RangAchheHain" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y1MdAxeRgz8/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />Growing older comes with a myriad of responsibilities. It also comes with pre-conceived notions of ‘acting your age’. What you should or should not be doing, in order to fit into the propriety structures that we have been conditioned towards. But we occasionally find ourselves spontaneously reminded of the days of climbing trees, splashing in rain puddles, or hiding colours in our pockets to stealthily include someone into our Holi celebrations. It is indeed the moments of letting the inner child out in spontaneous abandon that make our lives fuller. With the festival of colours fast approaching, <br /><br />The new 360 campaign shows a heart-warming gesture by a little girl to include her aunt in the buoyant celebration amongst children. The spirited child protagonist is seen playing colours with her friends when she notices her aunt setting the table of colours and sweets, and enjoying their game, subconsciously wanting to join in. When the little girls insists that her aunt join them, the aunt moves away, saying it’s not her age to play like them. As the girl watches her aunt consciously throw away the colours she had unconsciously picked up in her palms, she covers herself with the colours and runs to her aunt for a hug. This action imprints the aunt’s clothes with a colourful silhouette of the child. Pointing towards the imprint, the girl suggests that this child could play with them. The heart-warming message “Jo rang bachpan lautaye, woh rang achhe hain” makes us examine the boundaries that keep us away from finding the joy of keeping our childhood alive.<br /><br />Commenting on the launch of the campaign, <keyword id="7230683" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prabha-Narasimhan" source="Orion">Prabha Narasimhan</keyword>, Executive Director, Home Care, <keyword id="87377" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hindustan-unilever-ltd" source="Orion">Hindustan Unilever Ltd</keyword>, said, “This year we wanted to steer our ‘Daag Achhe Hain’ towards bringing the inner child within each of us to life, and experiencing the joy of child-like abandon. With our latest TVC campaign we aim to strike an emotional chord in a slice-of-life context that appeals to every adult. While the context in the film is that of Holi, the message is an all-pervasive one. We hope our consumers connect with it as much as we did while conceptualising it.”<br /><br />

Through its latest Daag Acche Hain campaign, Surf Excel wants you to keep your inner child alive

<ul><li><keyword id="270001" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Surf-Excel">Surf Excel</keyword>'s 'Daag Acche Hain' was a unique proposition from a detergent brand back in 2005 when all other brands were simply talking about how to get rid of 'ziddi daag'.</li><li>The first 'Daag Acche Hain' ad featuring two siblings was conceptualized by <keyword id="274876" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lowe-Lintas">Lowe Lintas</keyword> and aimed at presenting a different proposition, in an attempt to stand out in the category.</li><li><keyword id="185767" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arun-Iyer">Arun Iyer</keyword>, the brain behind the ad, shares some heart-warming anecdotes from the making of the campaign. </li></ul><em></em><em></em>Over the years, Surf Excel has evolved its communication with changing times. While in the eighties, it was the iconic Lalitaji educating people about the perks of buying the detergent with ‘Surf ki khreedari mein hai samajhdaari’, the brand later came up with ads like ‘Dhundhte reh jaoge’ and ‘Surf Excel hai na’, that spoke about what made the brand special and most effective.<br /><br /> It was in 2005 that we were introduced to the cute siblings, one of who slips on a puddle, and the other, who then punishes the puddle for hurting his sister. That’s when Surf Excel’s ‘Daag Acche Hain’ came into being. The brand already had a campaign ‘Dirt is good’ running globally, and ‘Daag Acche Hain’ was an extension of this proposition, while Indianizing it. In India, the campaign was conceptualized by Lowe Lintas. We spoke to Arun Iyer, the brain behind the campaign on our latest episode of #BTSwithInsiders, to unearth some never-heard-before stories behind the ad and he did not disappoint.<br /><br /> While the campaign was launched in 2005, the groundwork had been done in 2004, shares Iyer, who was working on Surf Excel since 2003. “At that point of time, we were trying out a bunch of things because the brand’s growth had stagnated. The competition was coming down heavily, Ariel was doubling down on India and there was a lot of stuff happening in the category at that point in time. At the same time, ‘Dirt is Good’ had been launched in Brazil and there were attempts to bring it to India in various forms but it didn’t really resonate with people here because in India, dirt isn’t necessarily a good thing,” he shares.<br /><br /> In 2004-2005, <keyword id="521074" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gopal-Vittal">Gopal Vittal</keyword>, who is now the CEO of Airtel, along with <keyword id="1557780" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sudhir-Sitapati">Sudhir Sitapati</keyword>, Executive Director, Foods &amp; Refreshment, Hindustan Unilever Limited, were a part of the brand. It was Vittal who said that talking about values could work because mothers want to instill values in children. “It is also during this time that children stop sharing what’s going on in their lives with their mothers.When they come back home, the stories are actually carried by the stains. You can make out what’s transpired through the stains. We realized that behind every stain there’s a beautiful story and that was the starting point,” says Iyer.<br /><br /> However, it still took the team sometime to come up with the perfect story. “We came up with alot of stories until one day, it was around 8 pm when Preeti Nair, <keyword id="72976" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="R-Balki">R Balki</keyword> and I were sitting together in Balki’s office and there was this moment. Its classical, how we hit a table if I kid gets hurt by it. We reassure a child saying we will punish the table for what it has done to him. It’s a very innocent thing that people do and that was the behavioral insight we picked up. We thought why don’t we do this with stains? So this is how the story panned out,” he revealed. <br /><br /> Once the idea struck, the creative team decided to share it almost immediately with the brand. “It was at 10:30 at night and Gopal was at a dinner with his team at Olive in Bandra. And Balki and I called him and told him we are coming there. The meeting was supposed to happen the next morning at 8 am but we drove down to Bandra at night and shared the script with him. Then Sudhir came over, we did a bit of research and that’s how the campaign saw the light of the day,” added Iyer.<br /><br /> The film was directed by <keyword id="1874192" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="abhinay-dev">Abhinay Dev</keyword> and was shot by Hemant Chaturvedi in Ooty, and there was a reason for choosing the venue too. “In India, too much dirt is considered a bad thing. Too much interaction with dirt can lead to illnesses and that’s not something mothers are generally comfortable with. So we said it should be a place where even if you get dirty, it feels clean. A very innocent thought was, where was the place where if you dropped a chocolate, you could simply pick it up and eat it. That’s when Ooty came to our mind,” shared Iyer.<br /><br /> However, in Ooty, for a child to play with a puddle full of water in the cold weather was a big challenge. The team had to think around this problem and they came up with an innovative solution. “While we were shooting there, it was really cold, muggy and was even raining a little. The shoot kept getting interrupted. And this was for the first time that the boy was acting in anything, and since it was really cold, he couldn’t take it after a point. So we devised a strategy and put hot water in the puddle. What happened after that was quite fascinating. After that, he just did not want to come out of the puddle because it was so warm and cozy in there,” laughs Iyer. <br /><br /> It was perhaps this ad that helped the brand stand out in the category because while every other player was talking about how to get rid of stains, here was a brand saying something quite the opposite, that stains are good. And it has worked well for the brand as that still remains the brand’s core proposition and we have seen many more gems from the brand’s stable on similar lines over the years.<br /><br />

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From promoting religious harmony to urging the audience to keep their inner child alive, how Surf Excel’s Daag Acche Hain has evolved over the years

BI India Partner

How Surf Excel’s Daag Acche Hain has evolved over the years

Karuna Sharma

Through its latest Daag Acche Hain campaign, Surf Excel wants you to keep your inner child alive

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#BTSwithInsiders: Arun Iyer on how Surf Excel’s ‘Daag Acche Hain’ came into being

Samarpita Banerjee

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