Considering the sheer number of consumers and the variety of consumer segments in India, the advertising sector is among the largest in the world. Even though the modern advertising ecosystem includes digital, broadcast, radio, print, and outdoor, the year 1974 was crucial in determining how advertising developed in India.
That was the year of the release of the Liril commercial, which starred Air India stewardess Karen Lunel and completely altered the way Indians interacted with the media.
The commercial featured a bikini-clad Karen taking a bath under a waterfall and enjoying the outdoors. The advertising agency Lintas (Lever International Advertising Services) created the commercial, which was filmed at Kodaikanal’s Pambar Falls.
Alyque Padamsee, best known for playing Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Richard Attenborough’s multiple Oscar-winning films, served as the agency’s director. A thorough understanding of the target female consumer base and what they desired from a soap helped to shape the concept for the ad.
The results of the consumer survey revealed that taking a bath was the only private moment for the average Indian housewife.
The concept, which originated from customer insight, focused on the escape-seeking desire to take women from the cramped interior of the bathroom to the spacious area of a waterfall that took the place of the showerhead. Customers were drawn to the physical location because it introduced elements of freshness and nature, breaking up the monotony of bath time and allowing people to enjoy their “me time” without worrying about being watched.
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A successful commercial relies on both compelling storytelling and increased sales of the product; this advertisement film did both, causing the product’s sales to soar and making it an instant hit with the Indian public. Many Bollywood actresses used it as a springboard and a legacy, including Deepika Padukone, who made her Bollywood debut opposite megastar Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om; Pooja Batra, who went on to star in the Hindi version of Kamal Haasan’s film Thevar Magan; and Preity Zinta, the owner of the IPL team Punjab Kings.
Even though it looks so good on screen, the commercial was logistically difficult to shoot. It was shot in the winter when the mercury slipped to 5 degrees Celsius in Kodaikanal.
Karen had to gulp brandy between shots to keep herself warm in the bone-chilling cold of the south Indian hill station, which further ascends to Coonoor and Ooty towards the north.
The commercial served as the basis for the electronic advertising sector, which reached its creative zenith in the 1990s with such iconic ads as those for Coca-Cola, Pepsi (Ye Dil Maange More campaign), Captain Cook Salt (voiced by Javed Jeffrey), Cadbury Dairy Milk’s Asli Swaad Zindagi Ka (sung by Padma Shri Awardee and Grammy winner Shankar Mahadevan), and Fevicol (created by Padma Shri Awardee Piyush Pandey).
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