Surf Excel on celebrating a socially distant Holi

Surf Excel on celebrating a socially distant Holi

The ad film is conceptualised by Carlos Pereira.

Surf Excel

NEW DELHI: With Holi right around the corner, Surf Excel, the daag acche hain-brand, has released a special campaign for the festival of colours. The film looks to address the emotional need of connecting with loved ones with a heart-warming story featuring a young child wanting to play Holi with an elderly man called Rancho.  

Conceptualised by Carlos Pereira, the film shows the boy figuring a way out to play a socially distant Holi with the man, played by veteran actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda. It signs off with the message, “jo dilon ko paas laaye, woh rang achhe hain (colours that bring hearts together are good).”  

Hindustan Unilever executive director and VP – home care, South Asia Prabha Narasimhan said, “Holi is one of the biggest and most loved festivals in our country and we have been able to create a strong emotional connect with our audiences through our Holi campaigns in the last two years. This year is a bit different as we are all still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, which has created both physical and emotional distances. Addressing the emotional needs of the vulnerable segment of population, the ad shows how a young boy endeavours to include the elderly in the festive fervour through a simple yet creative way of making colours reach where hands cannot. It is a natural extension of our brand philosophy of daag achhe hain, in which we have always shown children getting dirty while doing good deeds and demonstrating good values. We do hope that people are inspired to find their own unique ways to connect with their families this festive season."  

Creative director Carlos Pereira said, “The campaign continues to build on the theme of how 'Holi colours can bring people together'. But this year, given the new rules of engagement due to the pandemic, it was important to also showcase how Holi can be celebrated in a responsible manner. The campaign reflects on how colours can be a medium for fostering emotional togetherness, even though there may be physical distance between us.”  

The campaign went live on 1 March across TV, digital and outdoor media.