Iconic Ads: Asian Paints – Mera Wala Colour

In the 90s, colours, shades and the choice of paint brands were decided by the painter or the hardware store salesperson.

Most brands had around 40 shades of paint. With a limited range, a person had to make do with what was available. At that time, the consumers were communicated with benefits like waterproof etc.

Research

Ormax, the market research company, conducted a research study and found out that the majority of the respondents never found the shade they ideally wanted.

They also found, very importantly, that women were the actual customers. Most paint companies only spoke to the male and this was the first time Ormax told them to focus on the lady. She is the one who is at home, speaking to neighbours and consuming ads as well.

Post this, Asian Paints started focussing on the lady as the primary decision-maker.

Insight

There was a line in the report that said that “‘Mera Wala cream jo mere Mann Mein hai Woh Milta Nahi’. This line formed the insight that Ogilvy worked on and was crafted by Piyush Pandey – Mera Wala Cream. The commercial was directed by Dilip Ghosh.

Before this, Apcolite (a sub-brand) which was a flagship product, was not advertised much. Given that it had more shades (150+)than the competition, Asian Paints could advertise, stating that they had the exact colour a customer was looking for.

Actual Business Problem

The actual business problem was that Asian Paints had come up with a 150 shade card where the industry usually had 35-40 and Asian Paints wanted to know if 150 was enough or more. That was the original brief Ormax worked on. What they found out was that 150 was not important. It could be 300, women would still find it difficult to find their shade. But variety was important.

The follow-up commercials were Mera Wala Blue etc.

This tagline and the proposition became very popular. Customers would go to hardware stores and ask for Mera Wala Blue, Green, Pink. In effect, the line became generic and the customers were able to connect better with Asian Paints.

Have you got your Mera Wala Colour?