Iconic Ads: Asian Paints – Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai

In 2002, an excited Piyush Pandey called KBS Anand, CEO & Amit Syngle – then CMO, Asian Paints for a meeting at the Ogilvy office. The Ogilvy & Asian Paints teams were trying to crack a campaign to make a transition from painting homes to the pride of the home. Syngle was wondering why Pandey had called.

At a space outside Pandey’s cabin, Syngle saw the whole Ogilvy team there, & he wondered.

Pandey told them that he had written something (all in one sitting) that he would like the Asian Paints team to hear. He recited two paragraphs of four lines each in his now-famous baritone voice. After he finished, there was not a person who was not emotional. It struck a chord (later, Shekhar Jha embellished it with another script/ line).

That was “Har ghar kuch kehta hain”

The lines were the 1st of the series of the campaign.

With Har Ghar, Asian Paints made it an emotional reason to buy paints for your home in your need to be houseproud. “Paints are supposed to be a logical category whereas homes are very emotional places & that’s exactly what the campaign talked about,” says Pandey.

This was based on an insight provided by Madhukar Sabnavis, his team and the Asian Paints team that the focus of the customer is feeling proud about his/ her home. Paint is one such expression.

This was the first time a brand was focusing on building attractive homes to showcase the pride one feels while showing it.

There was ownership to colour choices as earlier the hardware shop played a more than an important part in the decision-making.

There was no script, no storyboard and it got approved.

In a momentous decision, it was also the time when Asian Paints moved away from Gattu, the famous mascot created by R K Laxman.

Prasoon Pandey shot the first film with the voiceover by Piyush himself.

Har Ghar is still relevant today!