KK Menon and Mona suffer to promote Nerolac's Eco Clean range

This happened a long time ago, but I remember it well ' when we were getting our house constructed further, we were faced with a lot of issues. Firstly it was construction stuff like cement, bricks and whatnot and later on, it was the painting and finishing that got on our nerves. The smell of paint always got me going mad, for I could not stand it. Now, at this point, I must tell you that I can tolerate pretty heavy stuff and I love the smell of petrol to defend my point, but I, somehow, just could not take the smell of paint.

I recall an incident clearly ' once I was so annoyed with the smell and everything that I told my mother that I'm just going upstairs to check upon the progress that the construction guys have managed thus far. I went upstairs, with a deodorant bottle in my hand and sprayed almost all the content of the deodorant bottle in the container in which the guys were making paint, just so it will not smell! I was just a little boy, then. Understand? Shut up and stop laughing now.

The point is not how idiotic my act was, no. The point is, this has been an age-old problem with all the wall paint manufacturers. And with a population as great as India's, building houses is a necessity. So, inadvertently, painting the house also becomes quite a regular thing. And this was just me, imagine how many more guys are there who don't quite accept the horrid smell of paint? And no one was doing anything to get rid of this issue. Until now.

As much as it pains me to complain as to why these guys not did it any sooner, I am glad that it has been done. Finally!

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd has introduced Nerolac Impressions Eco Clean ' a paint that gives no smell whatsoever. This is possible through a low VOC (volatile organic compound) composition in the paint. VOCs have significant vapour pressures and that affect the environment and human health. VOCs, typically, aren't severely toxic but do cause chronic effects. It is the VOCs developed my human activities that are regulated, especially for indoors where concentrations can be highest.

Solvents like paints and coatings make for a major source of man-made VOCs. More than twelve billion litres of paint is produced globally every year. Now imagine the catastrophic effects!

Coming back to the advertisement ' there are two. One stars KK Menon and the other one has Mona, doing her kitchen duties.

Not that KK Menon one is any bad, no, it is quite nice in fact; but the advert with Mona is, er, more effective, if I may say so. and that is primarily because of the sardonic statement during the closing moments of the commercial.

The film opens with Mona cooking Brinjal on an open flame. That's not unusual, you'll ask. But wait till you hear this ' she's cooking at the kitchen appliance section of a supermarket! People stare at her in astonishment and then we hear her explain about this act. "Woh kya hai ki ghar paint ho raha hai," (the house is getting painted) she explains, and wraps up saying she's unable to tolerate the smell of the paint, "Aur paint ki smell se khana kum, mein zyaada puck rahi hoon."

Suddenly, there is an advertisement on television that promotes Nerolac's low-VOC Eco Clean range ' pant that does not smell. Mona is left flabbergasted and a statement follows ' "Le lo¦ Taaki bharta sirf baingan ka bane. Apka nahin." And if I translated this to English for the comfort of our English-speaking audience, the effect will not be as hilariously profound, so I hereby take the decision of leaving it as it is.

The second ad stars KK Menon. He's shown sitting comfortably on his couch, with a drink in his hand, watching television. Only that he is watching tele (a Cricket match) outside a television shop! Then it is the same explanation that follows ' home is being painted, and he couldn't tolerate the smell. Then the Nerolac Eco Clean's commercial sets everything right and KK Menon signs off urging you to buy the paint, lest you too find yourself sitting outside a shop like him.

Now, what impressed me was the very fact that this ad has targeted men and women separately through the concept of two different ads ' one is about a typical homely woman managing her cooking and one is about a typical Indian man, sitting and enjoying what is hailed as a parallel religion here ' Cricket. And you manage to get your product in the limelight. Brilliant.

Congratulations to the entire team of McCann Erickson for creating this.