Some campaigns are written never to be forgotten. The Lalitaji campaign for Surf was one such – and it has been in the news after 40 years (yes it first ran in 1984, exactly 40 years ago) in the last few days because of the sad demise of Kavita Chaudhary, who played Lalitaji in the commercials and became the never-to-forget face of Surf.

I have been reading some of what has been written about Lalitaji and about Kavita Chaudhary in the last few days in A&M media. Most of it is obviously eulogical – praise and adulation for what Kavita Chaudhary achieved through her unique portrayal of Lalitaji. Unfortunately, most writers of such pieces were not even born 40 years ago – hence the writings are based on hearsay and piecing together of stories from the past.

I was still in college when Nirma was born in the late 1970s and started to be nationally visible in the early 1980s when a chemist (Karsanbhai Patel from Gujarat) manufactured a phosphate free detergent and started selling it locally.  So I have, in a manner of speaking, been a first-hand witness to the shaping of history. Karsanbhai started with door-to-door deliveries and reached up to 200 kgs a day through his humble entrepreneurial efforts. Nirma was sold in mono-coloured printed poly bags, as compared to Surf’s significantly more expensive cartons.

Positioned as a cheaper alternative to Surf and as a superior product compared to inferior washing soaps, Nirma soon became a symbol of a low priced, good quality detergent that housewives found ‘acceptable’. Sales for Nirma grew at an astounding 49% – the Rs. 3.50 per kg yellow powder mopped a lot of the unorganised market while challenging for the first time ever the monopoly and ubiquity of market leader blue-coloured Surf which was then priced at Rs. 15 a kg. Nirma also started to aggressively advertise on Doordarshan (then the only TV channel) with its “Washing powder Nirma … doodh si safedi Nirma se aaye, rangeen kapde bhi khil khil jaayen. Sabki pasand Nirma” commercial that had a catchy jingle and soon built huge consumer equity for itself.

To be honest, Hindustan Lever had never really been challenged quite like this in its unquestioned reign at the top as India’s No. 1 FMCG company. Nirma had outclassed Surf in all the 4Ps of traditional marketing – product, price, place and promotion. More than anything else, the Lever supremacy had been shattered, and for 3-4 years Lever really had no answer.

Then Lalitaji happened. Lever’s ad agency Lintas, led by the inimitable Alyque Padamsee created the no-nonsense, hard-nosed Lalitaji (which Padamsee claimed was modeled on his own mother) and Surf was back in the game versus Nirma.

“Sasti cheez aur achhi cheez mein farak hota hai Bhai saheb,” espoused Lalitaji, hitting the nail on the head with the emphatic claim, “Surf ki khareedari mein ab aur bhi samajhdari hai”. And Surf started to regain lost ground. And how. Lalitaji became an advertising phenomenon. She became a consumer phenomenon. She was your Mom, my Mom, your wife, my wife – she was the quintessential Indian housewife – careful with her money, smart with her choices, intelligent with her comparisons and wise in her daily transactions – the smart and home savvy Lalitaji was the epitome of every Indian woman who cared for her family and ran the unit efficiently and cost effectively.

Today when I write this piece 40 years later, the campaign seems nothing short of genius – especially the creation of Lalitaji. But much of this analysis is now with retrospective knowledge and wisdom of hindsight. Campaigns are never created as strokes of genius – the genius emerges with the passage of time. Give me Red for Eveready or Hum Red & White peene walon ki baat hi kuchh aur hai for Red & White cigarettes or The zing thing for Gold Spot were all strokes of genius but they were all campaigns that became famous and part of the language of the people. Lalitaji became part of the hearts of people. She was the embodiment of brand Surf – she was also the embodiment of an entire generation of consumers of her time.

It is not that other brands have not tried. Before and after. At my first job at Goodlass Nerolac Paints, I worked with Goody their friendly, animated tiger cub. Goody was versatile and he was a persuasive salesman but he was at best a mascot. Our competitor, Asian Paints, had Gattu – the RK Laxman created image of a little boy with a paintbrush – but he too was only a symbolic reminder of the brand. No emotions, no reasoning, no intelligence, no consumer connect – just a graphic element in the communication mix, no more.

Rasna too tried in the 80s – the Rasna Girl became a household favourite but she had no name, no personality, no entity – she was just lovable and endearing. The Amul girl has been around for five decades or more – she is a by-stander who sees the changing world through her eyes and comments on the goings-on – she’s intrusive and incisive, she’s chatty yet critical but while she is the soul of brand Amul she’s not the consumer, she’s at best a critic and a commentator. In recent years the Airtel girl came pretty close to becoming a possible Lalitaji but again she had no name, no real identity – she was the brand spokesperson speaking up for the consumer – a great brand opportunity lost.

Did the Air India Maharaja come any close? He was royal and regal, represented luxury and class, boasted of pedigree and lineage, he was affable and affectionate – but he was not human and did not have the warmth of reality that Lalitaji had. The same was the issue with the Onida Devil. He was everything that the brand needed – he had attitude, he had a distinct persona but eventually he was just a mascot that aided brand recognition and helped brand recall.

ICICI Prudential did well with Chintamani, a claymation animated character they created in 2005. Chintamani, a middle-class, middle aged man was portrayed as a worried soul, engrossed in the search for beneficial money investments. His worries connected with the anxieties of middle-class India. But again, Chintamani was not human. I could not put my arms around him and hug him, and invite him home for chai.

I liked Mr. Murthy of Voltas air-conditioners fame. He had native intelligence, he had sound reasoning, he had a certain flavour to his character but Voltas just couldn’t make him as visible and as relevant as Lalitaji once became – now there was not just one Doordarshan only – ubiquity and mass familiarity required tonnes more in media investment. Mr. Murthy just didn’t cross the threshold needed for fame and mass recognition.

So what made Lalitaji Lalitaji?

The marketing context. The David-Goliath Nirma-Surf fight created the right context for the birth and creation of Lalitaji.

The human dimension. Lalitaji was real. She was you & me.

The perfect casting. Kavita Chaudhary as Lalitaji was perfect. Her age, her demeanor, her mannerisms, her dialogues, her reasoning, her logic, her no-nonsense personality, her fiddly child, the too-clever-by-far vegetable seller in the interaction – all combined to make Lalitaji Lalitaji.