Iconic Ads: Gold Spot – The Zing Thing

Rekha and Gold Spot

Gold Spot had trysts with Rekha as an endorser, but it was known as a kids brand. It had kiddie collectables and other fun stuff which worked as good engagement opportunities to reinforce it.

It had also had Usha Uthup sang “Livva little hot, Sippa Gold Spot” written by Kersy Katrak at the famous agency MCM after he had seen the rushes with Rekha. It was directed by Shyam Benegal and shot by Govind Nihalani, assisted by Prahlad Kakkar

Bringing the Zing

Gold Spot needed to reposition itself in the mid-80s. It also wanted to capture the youth market. They went to Rediffusion to detach from everything that identified them as children’s brand.

Gold Spot was a sweet, tangy, very orangey drink that gave a tingle at the end. The noted copywriter, Kamlesh Pandey, almost reluctantly crafted the line ‘The Zing Thing’, which became the brand’s most memorable tagline.

Along with the tagline, Prahlad Kakkar, Louis Banks and the Rediffusion team set out to create “The Grease movie” like commercials – stylish, showing young, fashionable young men and women jiving, skating, driving etc to some very Western-influenced peppy music. Doing things with an ‘I don’t care’ spirit.

The simple message in the jingle was: He is crazy about me, and she is crazy about me, and both are as crazy as they are for Gold Spot. The Zing Thing and the background score meant to convey: “The taste is so awesome, yet so familiar, that it brought the best and the worst in you.”

Gold Spot became the most popular “uncola” of its time.

Thanks to the television commercials that made it the “for me” brand among youngsters in the country.

This effervescent drink is said to be the inspiration for the Los Angeles-based band Goldspot. Gold Spot was highly popular in India at the time, according to one of the interviews with Siddhartha Khosla (the band’s main member).