Asian Paints. Har ghar kuch kehta hai.”

Asian Paints adds a splash of colour to the telly, yet again!

“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it,” said the late Danny Kaye, one of America’s leading comedians. The masterminds behind the Asian Paints commercials seems to have taken his words to heart. Asian Paints, the country’s Numero Uno player in the paints market, has always been able to forge an emotional connect with the audience at large right from the days when the adorable Gattu served as their mascot to the more recent “Har Rang Kuch Kehta hai” campaign.

The latest campaign from their stable takes the ‘Har Rang Kuch Kehta hai’ plank forward to ‘Har Ghar Kuch Kehta hai’. Abhijit Avasthi, Group Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather sheds light on the thought process behind the commercial: “The brief was to build upon the ‘Har Rang Kuch Kehta Hai’ campaign, which brings alive the role of colour in home decor. The aim is to tell people how colour fires the imagination.” Of course, crafting a creative for Asian Paints will forever remain a challenge for the creative brains, as “the tone and manner of the message must always remain intact, yet the communication must keep refreshing itself for the audiences each time…” points out Awasthi. More so, when the brand already has a long heritage of great advertising in its kitty.

The latest commercial sets out by focusing on two kids devising a plan to get hold of chocolates from their grandmother. The girl points towards a purple wall in the house and tells her grandmom that it’sher mom’s favourite wall: “Kyun ki mummy ko jamun bahut pasand hai!” The girl next drags the hapless octogenarian to a green wall and claims that her dad loves that wall: “Kyun ki papa ko matar bahut pasand hai.” The girl then points toward a brown wall and hopefully prods, “Yeh Chintu aur meri favorite wall hai.” The grandmother ponders the question; “brown?” to which the tot seiz- es her opportunity, “Brown nahin nani, chocolate…. Kyun ki humein chocolate bahut pasand hai!” The visibly enlightened grandmother hugs the children and the VO encapsulates: “Har rang mein chhupi ek kahani hai. Asian Paints. Har ghar kuch kehta hai.”

Shot at Kamala Mills Compound in Mumbai by Prashant Issar from Corcoise Films, the cinematographer for the commercial was Ravi K. Chandran. Abhijit also makes a quick mention of Shekhar Jha and Suresh Babu, who worked on the ad-film along with him in the creatives. Shooting with kids can be quite taxing as they are prone to travelling on their own flights of fancy and thus difficult to rein in. But Abhijit quickly pointed out that since “we had shot with both these kids earlier, and so getting them to do the right things was easier this time.”

“Strangely enough, the previous film on this campaign (the Cutting- Shutting ad) was shot just after July 26th last year and we waded through water to the sets. This year as well it poured like crazy and we all literally waded into the sets. Next year, when we finalize the shoot dates for the next ad we will inform the Meteorological department... it seems to be a more accurate way of predicting floods in Mumbai!” jokes Abhijeet. Yet another gem in Ogilvy’s stunning tiara, this tongue-in cheek ad stands out for its easy & poignant appeal. But then using cute kids to convey a brand message always does pay, right?