Berger Paints has tried to change the traditional paint advertisement with its ‘Rang Bana Rahe’ campaign. This time, its central character is not a Bollywood or cricketing A-lister but the quintessential circus clown.
Berger has long relied on celebrities such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Akshay Kumar and, most recently, Pankaj Tripathi to promote its paints. This time, however, the brand has chosen ‘Khushrangi’, a clown who personifies the idea at the heart of the campaign. His brightly-coloured makeup represents Berger’s paints, and his smile never fades, no matter what season or struggle he faces.
The MD and CEO of Berger Paints said that celebrities will continue to appear in several other advertisements, but with Khushrangi, the brand wanted to create something purely unique to Berger. The character is expected to feature in several more advertising films in the future.
The commercial is shot in the old television ratio, immediately giving it a nostalgic feel. The symmetrical framing coupled with clean, pastel grading almost renders it a Wes Anderson-feel. Khushrangi’s world is full of colour; even the dust around him has a distinct colour palette.
The campaign is built around Berger’s portfolio of protective coatings, including HomeShield, WeatherCoat Anti Dust and Easy Clean. These feature a metaphor for the struggles Khushrangi faces and his ability to retain his colour and happiness despite them.
The film begins with Khushrangi missing the bus to the show where he has to perform. He does not get upset. He takes a lift, walks and eventually makes it to the venue. But as soon as he arrives, it starts to rain. While the colours around him begin to bleed, Khushrangi’s colours remain intact and become even more charming.
At one point, while crossing the road, a truck blows dust all over him. Khushrangi simply shakes his body, and the dust falls off, echoing Berger’s claim about the dust-proof quality.
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Nostalgia gets a makeover
The name ‘Khushrangi’ is itself telling of the story. Literally translating to ‘happy colour’, the clown doesn’t lose colour through heat, dust and rain. The film keeps returning to this idea: what matters is not simply how a product looks when conditions are perfect, but what remains after it has travelled through tough terrain.
There is also a strong nostalgia strategy behind the campaign. The clown, the old television aspect ratio and the cartoon-like visuals can take viewers back to the 80’s and early 90’s, when circus shows were regularly organised in neighbourhoods and were a familiar part of childhood. The background music, too, reflects an era that has gone by.
Those children have now grown up and form part of the audience the brand is speaking to. It is a similar approach to the nostalgia-led advertising used by brands such as Nestlé with Maggi. The film has also been made in multiple languages to reach a wider Indian audience.
What Berger has done differently is replace the familiar celebrity-led paint advertisement with a character that can become associated with the brand itself. Khushrangi is not simply selling paint; his entire world is built around the idea of colour that survives whatever is thrown at it.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)