Cherry Chaplin (actor Rajesh Puri), who is lying next to Heavy (Satish Shah), wakes up in a cheery mood. He is all set to rock the day and wants to look like a gentleman, for which he needs, among other things, a shiny black shoe. But to his dismay, he finds that the edges of his shoe are torn. To salvage the situation, he picks Heavy’s shoes and polishes them using Cherry Blossom. The TVC, which mimics the look of a Charlie Chaplin film, ends with the tagline: `The perfect gentleman. He always wears a Cherry smile.’
The ad, part of a three-film campaign released in 1984, went on to gain recognition at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Genesis
Anand Bhardwaj, Former Group Head at Lintas, in a conversation with Storyboard18, spoke about how Cherry Blossom had 90 percent market share, and if anyone thought of shoe polish, the first name that popped up was Cherry Blossom as opposed to Kiwi, which too was available in the market.
But, there came a period when for almost a decade the brand’s sales stagnated and people found polishing shoes to be a ‘boring chore.’
“This whole concept of polishing your shoes every day was actually dying and people would wear scruffy shoes. At best, they would polish their shoes once a week or get them polished outside,” Bhardwaj recalled.
Till then, Cherry Blossom ads were matter-of-fact, with a mouthful of copy that went something like: ‘Whether the going is smooth or rough, polish your shoe with Cherry Blossom and it’ll keep the leather lasting long, it’ll give you a good shine.’
Bhardwaj stated, “That really didn’t change the fact that the consumer found polishing shoes very boring.”
Hence, to revive the brand, Reckitt approached Lintas. Apart from people thinking of Cherry Blossom as the first brand when it came to shoe polish, the brief also was to make polishing shoes an interesting experience. The other aspect of the brief also was to not highlight the longevity of the brand or the benefits one would derive by using the product.
Per media reports, the agency presented five-six ideas to Shyamal Ghose, then Marketing Director, Reckitt, which included concepts like ‘bright new morning,’ `four year child polishing father’s shoes,’ etc. Then they presented the concept of Cherry Chaplin, who enjoys polishing his shoes.
The moment the team presented the Charlie Chaplin concept, Ghose “loved it,’’ said Bhardwaj. Now it came to making the film, and ad filmmaker, Sumantra Ghosal, who was a bit of an expert on Chaplin, was roped in.
In Chaplin’s films, there is typically a large, burly man, who’s usually a bully. Shah was signed up for the role, while Puri was chosen to portray Chaplin.
Puri, whose background is in theatre, had moved from Delhi to Mumbai and formed Ekjute, a theatre group, with a few of his colleagues. Ghosal had seen Puri in a play.
“He liked my energy and the kind of get-up I’d worn, which was similar to Chaplin’s,” said Puri.
Ghosal took his screen test, went to Lintas, and showed it to Alyque Padamsee, the former CEO of the agency. Padamsee gave a thumbs up, and the work began.
A lot of Chaplin’s films were devoured and attention was paid to how he used to shoot. This was followed by rehearsals.
The TVC was very well received. “But what was even more heartening was that after a decade, the sales of Cherry Blossom picked up,” Bhardwaj said. According to reports, business had jumped by about 25 percent.
Print and outdoor ads were released as well, featuring a sketch of Cherry Chaplin. But, the brand decided to put most of its money behind television advertising, because it was the film which really brought the brand to life, explained Bhardwaj.
The second and third films in the series were rolled out in the following years, and featured the actor Keith Stevenson, among others.
After the release of the first two films, Ghosal heard that Puri had put on weight, making him unfit for the third TVC. Hence, while Ghosal called in other actors for auditions, he also asked Puri to come over.
Puri said that when he went to meet him, veteran actor Annu Kapoor was also present. Kapoor asked him, “You’ve come for this?”, and he replied, “Yes”. Hearing which, Kapoor said, “Why would I do this if you’re there? You are a perfect fit for it. I am nowhere near you. I should not do it because you are better than me.”
The campaign also had its share of controversy. The Charlie Chaplin Museum Foundation in the USA owns the rights to the work of the legendary comedian, and they alleged the ads violated their copyrights.
In a media report, Ghose had stated that though the company did not own any copyright, they had not used any assets or properties or photographs of Chaplin, nor had they used any clip from any of his films. Reaffirming their admiration for the thespian, he said that they had created their own storyline.
As the first 90-second commercial released in India (TVCs are usually 60-seconds long at best), the ad led to speculation that a lot of money was spent on it.
“We ran a 90-second commercial and that created the impression that we were spending huge amounts. But we were only spending what Reckitt would generally spend on Cherry Blossom as a brand.”
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