In 1994, Mayur Suitings launched a campaign comprising three ads.
In one, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan is in a make-up room, where his face is being touched up.
The next setting is in a cinema hall where Khan spots a young, dejected boy sitting on the steps of a cinema hall. Khan strikes up a friendship with him, and says, “Hua na dosti mein, perfect fitting,” with the jingle ‘Mayur Ka Fit’ playing in the background.
The third setting is in a school, where Khan, in a Mayur suit, reminisces about his school days, and how the brand — whose commercials featured the phrase `‘Shah Rukh Mayur Khan’ — was always a part of his journey.
Genesis of the campaign
Founded in 1974, Mayur Fabrics was a value-for-money brand popular with the middle classes. Brands like Raymond and Grasim occupied the top end of the market, stated Pankaj Gupta, former Account Supervisor, Contract Advertising.
Per Gupta, young and savvy consumers either didn’t know anything about Mayur Suitings, or would not consider the brand. Hence, the brand wanted to expand its base in the metros.
Mayur Suitings approached Contract Advertising with this requirement. The brand wanted a star to promote the brand, and keeping this in mind, former Creative Director Shivjeet Kullar penned the script, where the brand was part of the celeb’s name.
Mayur Suitings was looking for a face that would connect across generations. The brand also wanted someone who doesn’t lose them their present clientele — the older generation.
Using celebrities for brand endorsements is a powerful idea, and hence, Khan was approached. Gupta said that Khan was an upcoming star, who had started his career as a television actor, and successfully forayed into films.
He liked the script and agreed to do it, but objected to ‘Shah Rukh Mayur Khan.’ The client was ready to compromise, but as Kullar stated, he tried to convince them not to as having the brand in the middle of Khan’s name would bind the star with the brand better.
Gupta said that eventually the client said that they would give a go-ahead if the agency came to Bhilwara, Rajasthan, where the client’s factory and corporate office was, and presented the idea to the factory workers and the sales team.
“It is only after art director Pradeep Sarkar and I presented in front of 500 people that they felt energised and gave the final go-ahead,” added Gupta.
Subsequently, Kullar said he flew down to Mumbai, met Khan, and managed to convince him to do the TVC in such a way that both he and the brand are remembered.
The late Mukul Anand produced the film and the art direction was done by Sarkar. Fashion designer Ashish Soni (of Ashish N Soni) did the costumes for the Bollywood actor. The campaign was highly successful, and improved the sales of the brand, stated Kullar.
Apart from the TVCs, there was retail signs PoS (point of sale) branding with ‘Shah Rukh Mayur Khan’ written on them. There was also a beautiful calendar which was highly in demand, highlighted Gupta.
What were the challenges?
According to Kullar, the main challenge was to strike a balance between the celebrity and the brand, lest the star be remembered but the brand forgotten.
Speaking of the Shah Rukh Mayur Khan campaign, Gupta concluded, “What made it so successful was not just the charm and popularity of Shah Rukh, but also the fact that we gave him a middle name and ensured that the association with the brand was cemented forever.”
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