Surf Excel advertising journey, the detergent brand, has established a mark in the world of detergent with its creative and emotional advertisements. It is now more than 50 years since that journey which began in 1959, it continues to be a case of how great brand storytelling can do wonders. At its core, Surf Excel has loved stains and its consumers, encouraging them by converting mess into lessons. Now let’s head over to the impressive advertising campaign of Surf Excel, a brand that definitely made stains look good.
The Rising Star: Enter Surf Excel
Surf Excel was launched in India in 1959 following its introduction in Pakistan just a year earlier. It was first marketed as a product to deal with laundry problems and developed good brand recognition. Surf was marketed as a quality detergent in the 1960s, providing a good wash compared to competing brands. But the turning point was when Nirma stepped into the market in 1969 and Surf Excel needed differentiation to stand out.
The Birth of Lalitaji: The Iconic Ad Character
In an effort to compete with Nirma’s price and distribution, in the early 1970, Surf Excel launched the now-famous character of Lalitaji. Bestowed in the year 1970, advertising mastermind, Lalitaji became popular for the phrase ‘value for money’ products. Lalitaji was popular for her tagline, “Surf ki kharidari mein hi samajhdari hai,” which made Surf Excel well known among consumers.
The War of Detergents: Surf Excel vs Ariel
With the launch of Ariel by P&G targeting the up market customers, the competition in the detergent market turned fierce by 1991. Consequently, Surf Excel evolved and new product formulation alongside rebranding efforts was used to launch Surf Excel in 1996. The brand also established its groundwork with Surf Ultra, a product which was integrated with enzyme technology, thereby consolidating its premium positioning.
The ‘Daag Ache Hain’ Phenomenon
The memorable tagline for Surf Excel, ‘Daag Ache Hain’ was created in the late 90s. The message was clear: every child will get stains on clothes because he learns through doing, so do not be overly concerned. The campaign that presented stains as something good, something to be proud of, instantly became very popular. The campaign that was launched in 2005 changed the way detergent advertisements used to be looked down upon.
The Power of Storytelling: Connecting with Families
What set Surf Excel’s advertisements apart was their emphasis on the use of storytelling, which appealed to the audience on an emotional level. Each advertisement was a heart-warming story which emphasized how children’s stains are a part of innocence, development and learning. Be it the well-loved puddle fight advertisement or the tales of children in the midst of goodness and dirt, there was a strong emotional engagement that Surf Excel nurtured with its audience.
The Falling Test and ‘Haar Ko Harao’
As children explore, make mistakes, and endure little failures in life that’s where the idea of ‘Haar Ko Harao’ emerged, where Surf Excel advertising journey was not only selling a product but encouraging parents to adopt such a positive mindset. Through most of their campaigns Surf excel was a little ahead of the time in terms of their ideas and core messages, like ‘The Falling Test’ for instance which questioned how children learn from their mistakes which has a strong twist of seeking failure, that was pretty new for the audience.
