Lux has always been known as the Filimi sitaroon ka saundarya saabun . A few weeks back, while watching the TV, I was surprised to see Shahrukh Khan in a bath tub filled with petals of flowers. I thought probably I heard it wrong or saw it wrong or got mixed up with ads. But no, I saw the ad after a while and was stupefied for a minute! What’s the hell is Shahrukh Khan doing in an ad for Lux, a female dominated area? The first thought that came to my mind was if there are no other beauties left in the film-world who could endorse the product. I half expected the king Khan to say mere saundarya ka rahasya ....

Itihas ke Panne Se: In the generation of our parents, there were probably soap brands like Lux, Lifebuoy, Liril, Margo, and Chandrika (I remember these, there could be a few more). So each of them had a particular segment of market that was loyal to them. My father was extremely faithful and loyal to the <tanduristi ka saabun Lifbouy. He could not think of using any other soap. My mother used either Liril, but she was a little open to experimentation and ventured to use Lux, Margo, and Chandrika.

Present Generation: These days there are so many brands of a particular product. Think bathing soap and you can probably think of about 30 odd brands including the international variety that have invaded the Indian market). These days there is so much competition among brands---people read about a brand, check out the reviews in mouthshut.com, and it out. The loyalty is very short lived. Indeed, these days people have a very short lived memory.

Global Thinking: There is one aspect with which people around the globe agree with. That is in regard with the differences between a man and a woman. The man is supposed to be strong, be the boss, be unafraid, be composed etc. Woman is supposed to be weak, be submissive, be afraid, be in-composed etc.

A man is expected to be composed when someone close to him dies, a woman is expected to cry; a man is expected to run after a rat to kill it, a woman is expected to shriek and shout and stand on the sofa or the bed; a man is expected to relax and sit on the sofa and read the newspaper, a woman is expected to do the dusting, cleaning, and cooking: a man is expected to yell out to his wife to change the diaper of their child, a woman is expected to rush away from her work to change the diaper of the child; a man is expected to pay the bills at the restaurant, a woman is expected to give the money to her husband/boy-friend before they enter the restaurant… *phew* this list is endless. We can probably write a whole book on this!

Men are expected to do certain things and behave in a certain manner. The same applies to women too. We unknowingly sow the seeds of such thought in the minds of kids. I remember an incident when we had two family friends over to our house for dinner. The three kids, two girls and a boy (one each of the 3 families) were almost of the same age(5-6 age group). The two girls (majority power) decided to play with the doll and the doll house. The boy was also invited to play and the three were playing peacefully. The boy’s mother went in to check on the kids and she was upset to see her son playing with dolls asked him, “You are playing with dolls? Can’t you take the building blocks and play separately? These are girlie games.”

If a boy cries, we say, “Shame on you! You are a boy. Be strong, don’t cry!” If a girl cries, we say, “Come on baby don’t cry. That’s OK”. These are certain thoughts with which we grow. Its time to change them!

Changing Times:

Time is changing and so are most of the perceptions (if not all). Women can be fearless, women can sit and read the newspapers while men help in the kitchen, men change diapers when wives are busy with corporate meetings, women pay the bills in restaurants while men take care that kids have washed and wiped their hands, etc. Now, there are beauty parlors and saloons for men too. They too do pedicure, manicure, and have facial massages. It is all about taking care of the body and looking good. Yes, these things do happen! And men too love to flaunt their looks…after all looks are important!

The Unchangeable:

True, things are changing, but as far as body care is concerned, we still have separate products for men and women---powder, soaps, perfumes, shampoos, creams, etc. Men would not like to smell like a garden by using power, soap, perfume or shampoo that has floral fragrance. They rather smell masculine. Similarly, women may prefer to smell feminine and not masculine. Would men think about using Anne French to remove their beard and or hair on their body? NO! They rather shave (a manly way of doing things). Would women want to use after shaving lotion after shaving their leg (or armpits) and go out of their houses? I don’t think they would like to do that.

So as far as I see, some products still belong to women just as some still belong to men. Men, would you like to try the shaving cream where in a woman in an ad saying that she uses it to make her skin feel nice and soft or would you try it if a woman in the ad says that she is turned on by men who uses a certain shaving cream? The latter I guess! Women, would you like to try a soap where in a man in the ad says that he uses a certain soap that makes him feel good or would you try a product where in a man says that he is turned on by women who uses a certain soap? The latter I guess!

So there is still a certain distinction about what a man uses and what a woman uses. There can be some neutral products that are universally used (e.g., vasaline)!

Marketing Gimmick: I think the makers of the ad are intelligent group of people. With so many ads and so many actors endorsing the products, they need to give the audience a jatka to catch their attention. Mind you, attention is the key word of today’s’ marketing scenario. Rake your memories, remember the fevicol ad? Then came the idea ad (hmm... what an idea?) with the sumo wrestlers. Such ads stay in our minds for a long period of time! When the ad stays in mind, so does the product. It’s a gimmick! Shahrukh Khan in a bath tub filled with petals of flowers is sure to catch anybody’s attention just as Mallaika Arora would, in briefs and baniyan!

To end with, I rather buy (or try) a soap where in Kareena or Preity or Rani or Ash says mere saundarya ka rahasya ... or where in people look at a mother of an 8 year old and ask, kaunse college mein padti ho?...

What say guys and gals?


I would recommend ’Lux International ’Shahrukh Khan’ commercial’ to a friend only because they may some fun watching!

Added on 4th-Oct-05: Lux will probably come out with an ad with the Big B in the tub! What will the punch line be? Read my little comment ’’An idea for Lux’’!