However, by and large, the ad was appealing to the mainstream consumer. And while most of the early versions of the ad featured relatively normal-looking people (as opposed to models), later versions saw some celebrities (including eighties film heroine Sangeeta Bijlani). It was just a jingle with words that rhymed that sold the powder вЂ“ it is a totally hard-selling jingle. It was the perfect jingle for a washing powder. Without it, the visuals of the ad would have been totally meaningless. LetвЂ™s make one thing clear вЂ“ the jingle carries the ad. Nirma is the choice of each one of them!вЂќ) Nirma has brought greater whiteness at lower costs вЂњWashing powder Nirma, Washing powder NirmaД«rings milk-like whiteness to your clothesД®ven coloured clothes glow after being washed in Nirma It begins and closes out with the вЂњNirma girl,вЂќ the brandвЂ™s mascot who is seen twirling on the packets of washing powder.ДЄnd as all this happens, a jingle plays in the background: And then towards the end, the ad focuses on four ladies carrying packets of Nirma powder with them. These shots are interspersed with clothes being washed (of course, always by women). And it almost always followed the same template вЂ“ it featured a number of people singing, dancing and otherwise being very active at a variety of locations, ranging from a stage to locations like India Gate. The ad started out as a relatively short one, but as the years passed, it became slightly longer, going up to a minute. And the rest, as they love to say, is history. The challenge, however, was to make people realise that the brand existed in an era where advertising was limited to the radio, newspapers and magazines and a few hours of television. But the price difference between the products was massive вЂ“ so massive that people did not mind experimenting with the newcomer. The difference between a high-profile MNC and a home grown enterprise could not have been more stark. It did not look like a sophisticated product and came in a very basic transparent plastic packet with just its name and girl mascot on the top, (and sometimes appeared to have been just rolled and stapled), as compared to Surf which came in a tall blue cardboard box complete with elaborate graphics and text. Thanks to its incredibly lower price tag - it was priced at about Rs 3.50 per kg as compared to Rs 13 of Surf - Nirma started gaining popularity.

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