In a perfect turn skill, our great ad minds had successfully turned a rather drab thing like a fire extinguisher to a household necessity,
using the eternal symbol of India’s family structure: the head lady, wife to the husband and mother to the kids.
In the first ad of a four ad series, she is shown cooking in a large kitchen and suddenly all the wooden furniture catches fire. She is trapped. Just as it seems it is all over for her, she is jerked back to reality. It was just a bad dream. As she touches a cease fire portable cylinder we hear their signature tune: Ghar ke suhk aur suraksha mein ap hi ka haath, kale ghanghor adherein mein aphika saath and then the last two lines are something like when the crucial moment comes, you can ensure that no harm comes to your loved ones. In the second ad, it starts with two children engaged in a pillow fight after their mom kisses them goodnight. By the third line of this tune, their pillow hits the lamp which falls over and catches fire. The boys though young, understand the full implications and shout out for their mom. By the time she comes in she sees the fire rise to significant heights and the boys crouched in a corner, their faces white with terror. Mom calmly removes the portable red cylinder and directs it to the flames. It is successfully put off and she puts the boys back to sleep. In the third ad, a man is taking bath after spending some signature romantic with his young wife. Like before, by the third line is sung, the gezer is afire. Once again it is the female protagonist who is the rescuer. In the final ad of the series, a family of four are engaged in a carom game in darkness. When light comes on, mom goes to get some snacks. Meanwhile no one bothers to put off the still alit candle. By the third line, the candle falls over backward and the curtain is on fire. This time Mom/wife rushes in and saves three lives.
By appealing to the Indian lady, it became a household necessity. These ads were screened in 1991 and early 1992. By early 1995, it was almost prevalant in every home and car. Unfortunately the ads disappeared. Today I saw one of these little cylinders and I thought of an ode to the product in its heydays.