Hamara Bajaj
Bajaj1989
Hamara Bajaj is a 1989 television commercial for Bajaj, created by Lintas, Bombay.
The line
Buland Bharat ki buland tasveer: Hamara Bajaj
Why it works
Ordinary Indians go about their day with their Bajaj scooters, polishing them, checking their hair in the mirror, haggling over fish; a woman rides one herself, under a swelling chorus ending "Buland Bharat ki buland tasveer... Hamara Bajaj" (the strong picture of a strong India: our Bajaj). In 1989 the ageing Chetak was losing sales to rivals such as Kinetic Honda, so Lintas, inspired by Chevrolet's "Heartbeat of America", sold the scooter's Indianness rather than its engineering; the creative team recalls that Bajaj's marketers balked and Rahul Bajaj approved it himself. Director Sumantra Ghosal cast unknown faces, not stars, and the raga-based jingle, with lyrics by Jaikrit Rawat and music by Louiz Banks, was hummed nationwide when India had one TV channel. It is studied as an early case of emotional positioning for a consumer durable. Its makers say it won best TV commercial at the 1989 Ad Club awards and that sales soared; in 2013 Bajaj went to court to keep the line off a film title.
Techniques
- Transfer Sells the scooter's Indianness rather than its engineering, wrapping it in pride in a strong nation through the possessive our Bajaj.
- Plain folks Unknown faces, not stars, polish scooters, check their hair and haggle over fish, so the brand belongs to everyday Indians.
- Jingles and music A swelling raga-based chorus ending on the brand line is hummed nationwide, carrying the patriotic message into memory.
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