Dulux Weathershield plays on ‘good from far’ to make ‘solid’ promise

Dulux Paints has launched an integrated campaign for its Weathershield Max brand of exterior emulsion. The campaign created by Taproot India went on air in late August and will run for six weeks.

The film titled ‘Naani’ opens with young couple entering an house in which an old lady seems to be chanting her prayers with a string of beads. The girl addresses her as ‘naani’ (grandmother) and tells her companion that she is so sweet. When they get close, they realise that the old lady is muttering curses against her family members.  Aghast, they stop in their tracks. A voice over explains that everything looks good from far, and draws the audience’s attention to the house – which looks good from far, but is full of cracks on closer inspection. The film ends with the brand’s message on Dulux Weathershield Max with crack-proof technology.

Another TVC features a young girl playing with her mother in the garden. A young couple visit them. The lady finds the girl very cute and picks her up, kisses and cuddles her. Much to her surprise, the young girl bites her nose and punches her in the eye. Similar to the other TVC, the film ends with the voice over explaining that everything looks good from far.

Narayan Devanathan, EVP, national planning director, Dentsu India Group, said, “We wanted to create disruption in the exterior paints category, because any new advertising was being attributed to the market leader. So merely being ‘different’ was not going to be enough. We wanted to leverage the best story that a brand can have: product superiority. We wanted to do this in a way that people (consumers, contractors, retailers, the general public) could immediately relate to, relate the story to anyone, and give them a handle to remember this as Dulux Weathershield Max. So marrying the insight of ‘Good from far, far from good’ (a truism about people as well as the category) with crack-proof technology that enables walls to be "Dur se sundar, kareeb se solid" was a powerful proposition to bring to life. “

Rajiv Rajgopal, director, sales and marketing, decorative paints, Akzo Nobel India, said, “Dulux is a name synonymous with colour as well as innovative products that ensure longevity and durability of the walls of your home. Dulux Weathershield Max is our flagship product in the performance and protection space and the latest campaign ‘Dur se sundar, kareeb se solid’ hits hard on the need for a product that not just renews the exterior walls, but also offers performance superiority against harsh weather conditions. The campaign weaves in the core philosophies and innovation that is unique to our brand. We have tried to resolve the most common conflict of ‘what appears good from far versus what is good when seen up close’ when it comes to the beauty and protection of the walls of your home. The concept of the TVC perfectly embodies the need for a technologically superior product that gives consumers the confidence to get up, close and personal to their house.”

Agnello Dias - co-founder and CCO, Taproot India, said, “Everything looks good from a distance and this is true of most things in life. Even when it comes to exterior paints, the same rule applies. The acid test for any paint lies not in how it makes your house look from afar, but how well it fares when you get closer. We applied this insight to how Dulux Weathershield Max works and that's how the idea came about.”

Credits
Client: Dulux (AkzoNobel)
Creative agency: Dentsu Marcom - Taproot India
Account management: Harjot Singh Narang, Abhinav Kaushik, Karun Arora, Amritesh Bakshi
Planning: Narayan Devanathan, Anand Murty
Chief creative officer: Agnello Dias
Art director: Ekta Verma, Sumit Vashisth
Copywriter: Pallavi Chakravarti
Production house: Soda Films
Director (film): Rajesh Krishnan
Producer: Ameya Dahibavkar