Glass was seen as a commodity in 2000. The technology used in India was old and the glass inferior quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Gobain, one of the largest multinationals in float glass manufacturing, had the best technology and quality. It wanted to popularize the brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lintas was handling their advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Gobain wanted to communicate the international credentials and convert the commodity into a brand which people will ask for. The brand was unheard-of, and if people knew about it, they knew it as Sant Gobind! Plus, the glass was expensive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was another problem, Lintas had spent most of the advertising budget. One was for the announcement of a factory inauguration (newspaper double-spreads), the second for the visit of the French ambassador. So, practically the budget for 2 years was spent in a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In stepped Pops Sridhar. First, he went to the client and apologized for the mistakes. He told the client that with the remaining money, he will try to make up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The campaign needed an international look and feel. It had to connect with every man, woman and child with a simple & relatable story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film decided to go the consumer route rather than a product route to create a premium-ness. It avoided talking to the intermediaries like distributors, shop owners, architects, etc. Saint Gobain wanted to be the image leader, hence the line \u201cThe future of glass since 1665\u201d was used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pops pulled in favours. Ram Madhvani directed the film, and given the limited resources, the commercial was filmed in Renaissance Hotel, Mumbai. The woman in the ad was a carpet exporter from Africa. She was staying at the hotel and did the film practically free. The two Chinese men were cooks in roadside carts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n