A. The message of the Ad

Commercial title: Camlin Permanent Markers – Rudaali

The title refers to a custom in some parts of Rajasthan – where aristocratic women were long

kept secluded and veiled – of hiring professional women mourners on the death of a male

relative, a rudaali (pronounced roo-dah-lee, literally a female weeper) to publicly express the

grief that family members, constrained by their high social status, were not permitted to

display – or at times, perhaps did not feel. Dressed in black and with unbound hair, a rudaali

beat her breast, dance spasmodically, rolled on the ground, and shed copious tears while

loudly praising the deceased and lamenting his demise; the ability to hire such a performer

was a mark of social status. (Rudaali Film)

Advertising Agency: LOWE Mumbai India

Country: India

Released: November 2006

Duration: 1.20 minutes

Product: Camlin Permanent Marker

Award: World’s Greatest Commercial by NTV Japan

Description of the TVC:

The TVC was made to promote one of the products of Camlin that is Permanent Marker.

Normally in India, bangles, lockets and vermillion mark are the symbol of married women.

Daily the husband applies vermillion on the wife forehead as it is believed to be connected to

his lifeline. When the husband dies, Rudaali professional mourners come and strip the

women off this symbol. In the ad when the husband is alive he applies the vermilion on the

women head with the Camlin Permanent marker, and when he dies the professional mourners

try to remove the vermillion from the head but it doesn’t go. After awhile, the husband comes

back to life symbolizing that the Camlin Permanent marker is too permanent to be removed.

Thus highlighting the quality of Camlin Permanent Marker.

(Sarita Patil, 2010)

Target audience:

Demographically, the advertisement for Permanent Marker was targeted on lower middle

class workers, aged between 21 and 40, sometimes known as “white collar workers”, who

carry out less important administrative, supervisory and clerical jobs. For example, store

keepers and stationary purchasers. This group of people is non-consumers. They are not the

end user of this product; they are buyers who purchase the product for the consumption of

semi skilled and unskilled workers who often deal with labeling and marking packages, as

well as office use. Besides, these white collar workers are very much price elastic towards the

product. Thus, they are less likely to be loyal, as their demand for the good fluctuates along

with prices.

Psychographically, the advertisement was aimed at artists and illustrators who use permanent

marker for lettering, sketching, and drawing. Regardless of the purpose, whether it is for

interest or job. Buyers from this segment are very likely to practice brand loyalty, provided

the quality is promising. They are less responsive towards price because personal satisfaction

and job satisfaction for artists usually overrule other causes.

Primary Informational Message:

“Camlin Permanent Marker, Really Permanent.” is the copy used at the end of the

commercial. The phrase impliedly described the long-lasting feature of a permanent marker,

which is the most essential function. What would a permanent marker be, if it does not last?

The primary message was to emphasize on Camlin Permanent Marker’s quality.

Secondary Message:

Vermillion mark (also known as bindi) on the forehead symbolize married woman. The

husband applies vermillion on the wife’s forehead on a daily basis, as it is believed to be

connected to his lifeline. In the ad, the husband passed away, the professional mourners came

and start taking off the symbols that depict the widow’s married status. Everything came off,

but her bindi, because her husband had used Camlin permanent marker, as a result he gets a

second life. The association of vermillion mark with the permanent marker suggests that, life

and marriage are permanent, when they use Camlin Permanent Marker. The husband will live

as long as the permanent bindi stays. The use of professional mourners further suggests the

Indian cultures and believes. On top of that, the substitution of traditional vermillion with

permanent marker, instead of crayons, chalks and pen, implies user friendliness, because

that’s the key feature that urges consumers to change from something familiar to something

new. Thus, the key message in this ad, apart from its highlighted quality, would be ease of

application/use as well as the cultural nuances.

Advertising Claim (techniques of language):

With our 50,000 strong retailer network, prestigious foreign collaborations, large consumer

base, regular interaction with consumers by the sales force and participation in international

trade fairs like Paperworld in Frankfurt, Camlin is now a trusted household name all over

India.

We were also the first company in India to adhere to Art & Creative Materials Institute’s

world standards in toxicity certifications. Our All India Camel Colour Contest too has been

well-received, holding the record of the highest entries ever and has been registered in the

Limca Book of World Records. We also believe in encouraging and promoting fine art,

which is why our Camlin Art Foundation was set up. (Camlin Today)

Camlin Limited was awarded the title of ‘Edge Winner’ for its successful SAP

implementation by Network Computing, one of the leading IT magazines in India. Also, the

brand ‘Camlin’ was adjudged as Power Brand of the Year 2009-10 in the stationery category

by Planman. (Annual Report 2010)

B. Composition

Characters

The commercial featured two main characters, an ailing man and women who wear the

symbols of married status, supported by a group of professional mourners. The man here is

believed to be at his forties, suffering from severe illness and expected to die. The woman,

sitting next to the sick man, was wearing bangles, locket and vermillion mark, looking

worried and dazed, assumed to be the man’s wife. The professional mourners dressed in

black and with unbound hair, are usually hired on the death of a male relative, to publicly

express the grief that family members, constrained by their high social status, were not

permitted to display. In the ad, they were required to also remove the symbols of married

status of the women.

Setting

The setting of this commercial is slightly similar to the film “Rudaali” by Kalpani Lajmi, in

which most shots are done in the region of Western Rajasthan, where summer temperature

regularly reach 45 degree Celsius and beyond, along with burning dry heat of the desert and

thorny bushes. (Climate India) Rajasthan is situated in the north west of India and is known

as the most colourful region of India. The landscape of Rajasthan is very gorgeous and the

people adorn interesting customs. A majority of population in Rajasthan reside in villages.

(Culture of Rajasthan) The surroundings suggest ruralisation, whereby most scenes are shot

inside the hut and depicts traditional custom of Rajasthan. The commercial was shot probably

during evening, as there’s limited sunlight and cloud was somehow gloomy. The background

sound and wavering clothes suggest there were wind blowing steadily.

Copy

This written copy appeared in the very beginning of the commercial, to provide a brief

background of Indian culture. It further explains the need to strip off a woman’s symbols of

married status. The rationale behind could be to make things more understandable for the

non-Indian community. On top of that, the copy also emphasizes on connections between

vermillion mark and a husband’s lifeline. The copywriter uses words like vermillion and

Rudali to capture public’s attention because people can easily relate themselves to certain

culture. “Camlin Permanent Marker, Really Permanent” is the verbal copy used to end the

commercial, which emphasizes on product name and quality.

Sound

The background sound in the beginning was formed by steady wind blowing. There was no

conversation throughout the commercial, only music and natural noise. The man taking in

deep breath illustrates that he was critically ill, having difficulty, struggling to breath. The

immediate discontinuation implied that he was dead. Thereafter, the mournful music starts to

play, followed by Rudalis screaming in anguish. The crying and sobbing made the scene

more sorrowful. The jingle of coins sound effect shows the breaking and removal of bangles

and locket. When the man heaves, mournful music was replaced by exhilarating authentic

music which suggests celebration. Each region of Rajasthan has its own dialect of music and

dance. Folk music is a very important part of Rajasthan culture. A large variety of musical

instruments is used in the countryside. Dholaks, chang or manzira, flutes, trumpets are

generally used. Amazingly rich music of Rajasthan has an extraordinary individuality,

tradition and exotic flavour. Songs are generally related for every occasion with rich

emotional content, almost an endless variety of tunes. (Culture of Rajasthan) As far as sound

is concern, the commercial experienced a 360 degree twist from total sadness to utter joy

momentum. Before it ends, there was a voice over for the verbal copy, using an Indian slang.

Visual

Overall, the commercial has nice cinematography.

The shots of thorny bushes, gloomy cloud and hut are beautiful. Apart from that, the visuals

seem to focus a lot on facial expressions and body language.

The shooting illustrated the fear, anxiety, sad and dazed emotions of the wife, somehow

heartbreaking to watch, when the husband died. On the other hand, they focused on the

gestures of the husband, movement of his chest as he breath, to emphasize his effort, little of

facial expressions though. The professional mourners demonstrated sadness through facial

expressions and hand gestures. The face of them crying, with mouth wide opened and eyes

tightly closed, expressed the pain of losing someone beloved. The action of hitting their chest

further reinforces the pain and grieves they suffered. They also expressed the feeling of

confusion, by looking into each others’ eyes blankly when the vermillion refused to come off.

When the man heaves and came back alive, the professional mourners, even the wife were

stunned.

This time with eyes wide opened, also mouth, explained how shocking it was for the man to

come back alive. In fact, the man himself was surprised. The instant change in everyone’s

expression was dramatic and priceless. The scene discontinued and aired a flashback of why

and how the vermillion mark became irremovable.

The tensed surroundings immediately became tricky when the wife presented the husband

vermillion which he refused to use, instead picked up Camlin permanent marker from the box

and draw the mark. The refusal indirectly implied that the permanent marker was a better

choice as compared to its substitutes. The commercial ends by placing the permanent marker

next to an opened vermillion, leading public to further think and compare.

Point of view

The production started off with very wide shot to establish the environment in Rajasthan. The

hut was visible barely, but the emphasis still lies on it. There was a full shot of the hut, taking

up almost full frame after establishing the surroundings.

In this commercial, the director uses both medium close up and close up shots to emphasize

on the facial expressions, in which the face fills all or most of the image. All the changes in

expression were nicely recorded. Faces of fear, anxiety, heartbroken, confused and surprised

became visible and the effect magnified as the camera zoomed in. The rest of the shots were

merely middle shots.

Apart from that, this commercial incorporated a high angle, over the shoulder shot. This can

be seen when the man dies, the shot was taken from a level located above the eyeline, looking

at the “dead man” from behind of the wife.

Color and lighting

In the beginning, lighting was really dim, both outside and inside the hut. This seems to

enhance the sorrowfulness and sadness of situation where death is expected.

It explained the helplessness among the people. However, a major twist during the flashback

was used to manipulate situation of the surrounding, from mournful to joyful, happiness and

humorous.

Details and accessories

Emphasis on bangles was obvious in this commercial.

The rationale behind would be, bangles hold great value in Hinduism and tradition. It is

considered inauspicious for a woman to have bare arms. Traditionally, married Hindu women

always weary bangles around their wrists. Indeed to the Hindu woman, the bangle is not

simply a beautiful ornament; it also symbolizes her womanhood and honor. (Gen Wright)

Oil lamp was also one of the props used in this advertisement.

It is believed that oil lamps have represented spirit and spiritual ideas since ancient times. The

light produced by the lamp may illustrate the illumination provided by spiritual insight, the

presence of divinity or in this case, it symbolizes the continuation of life. Oil lamp often light

shrines within Hindu temples and homes. Hindus are instructed to light a lamp each day to

drive the devil from their homes and invite the light, or the Almighty. Thus, the use of oil

lamp further reinforces the Indian culture as majority of them believe in Hinduism. (Bethney

Foster)

Intended and unintended effect

The intended effect will be, the superb performance of Camlin Permanent Marker as the

objectives of this entire commercial was to promote its long-lastingness. Apart from that, by

promoting the permanent marker in expense of vermillion mark represents comparison of the

product with its possible substitutes, which includes other types of pen; rather than solely

comparing with its competitors. Nevertheless, the commercial has successfully drawn out the

humor in it during the flashback, totally an unexpected twist.

In most cases, an advertisement will be associated with some unintended effect due to

different perceptions. In this case, the advertisement could be seen as offensive by certain

group of public, due to its cultural content. This is not an intended or desired impact, but

public scrutiny became inevitable, especially when we’re dealing with cultures and traditions

of an ethnic group, it automatically raises sensitivity.

Personal reaction

The commercial has been perfect to pamper impulse buying behavior. The background

sound, script, visual and setting was stupendous. The ad was very much emotional with a

tinge of humour in it, which enables it to grab public’s attention and retain them. This is

because the ad itself is high on surprise factor and creativity. Most importantly, it

successfully makes a point – Camlin’s permanent markers do not wear off, no matter how

much effort used. The ad did not implant shock value through sexual means or social issues.

It could only be seen as controversial in the eyes of those who have appointed themselves as

guardians of public morality, who might not think it’s funny. Overall, this commercial is a

pretty good effort in establishing the unique selling point of Camlin’s permanent markers.

References

Bethney Foster. Why are oil lamps used in religions? Retrieved August 30, 2011 from

http://www.ehow.com/about_5373547_oil-lamps-used-religion.html

Camlin Annual Report 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2011 from

http://www.camlin.com/sites/default/files/annual_report/AnnualReport2010.pdf

Camlin Today. Retrieved August 29, 2011 from http://www.camlin.com/content/camlin-

today

Climate India. Retrieved August 29, 2010 from

http://www.royaladventureholidays.com/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=134&Itemid=46

Culture of Rajasthan. Retrieved August 30, 2011 from

http://www.swagattours.com/rajasthan-overview/rajasthan-culture.html

Gen Wright. Bangles in Hinduism. Retrieved August 30, 2011 from

http://www.experiencefestival.com/wp/article/bangles-in-hinduism

Sarita Patil. 2010. Camlin Ltd Etches a Permanent Mark on Japan. Retrieved August 29, 2011

from http://www.indiaprline.com/2010/02/05/camlin-ltd-etches-a-permanent-mark-on-japan-

2/

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