Long live the Liril spot

AGK SPEAK/ Clever repackaging lends freshness to an old theme

When Liril burst in on the scene in the mid-seventies with its marvellous articulation of freshness rather than cleanliness as a creative platform, the entire country sat up and took notice.

Of course there were the traditionalists who protested about the bikini-clad girl, but the communication was so powerful that it continued as Liril's identity for three successful decades. That is a true tribute to the strength of a really good advertising idea.

And now Liril does it all over again. A totally breakaway ad for bathing soaps, the new Liril TV commercial is young, audacious and delightful.

Beautifully shot, tastefully sensuous with just the right level of piquancy, not too much to risk censorship yet enough to cut the clutter, the ad remains faithful to its parent with its combination of youthful freshness and sex appeal. The same qualities which its parent had.

Despite the core of the communication being the same, it has been articulated so refreshingly differently that it could be mistaken for a complete departure.

And that's exactly why the ad works so well. It's different. And yet it's the same. Yes, there's no denying the genes but it's been repackaged cleverly and is contemporary in every frame.

What I've learned

When real life should be more reel life

There's a film called Sankaranti that is running to full houses in Andhra Pradesh these days.

It's a happily-ever-after story of four brothers who stand by one other through good times and bad. The story has a stereotypical 'good' elder brother whose word everyone respects.

There is also the sister-in-law who occasionally tries to sow discontent among the brothers. But nothing cracks the brotherly bond of the foursome.

As I watched this film surrounded by a sea of teary-eyed people, I couldn't help thinking that after three hours of living out this fantasy, all of them will go back to their lives to continue sowing discontent in their own lives.

I find this conundrum rather perplexing. Clearly, we seem to be able to identify what makes us happy, judging by the popularity of blockbusters like Sankaranti and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.

Yet we fall so miserably short of appropriating the 'how to be happy' principle for ourselves. I wonder how it would be if we mimicked our favourite screen families even for a day.

Now wouldn't that be a treat to watch?