Surf Excel, the laundry detergent brand from Hindustan Unilever, has returned to a familiar setting for its long-running ‘Daag Achhe Hain’ campaign: a race. Nearly two decades after the idea began in 2005 with stories of children getting dirty while doing something good, the latest film uses a children’s running race to explore empathy.
In the film, a group of boys compete in a race. When one child falls, the others behind him fall too. Instead of leaving him behind, they get back up and keep running. One child eventually wins, but a parent watching sums up the larger message: “Sab jeet gaya.” In a LinkedIn post, Priya Nair, CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever, wrote that while parents encourage children to succeed in the “race of life”, it is equally important to instil kindness, empathy and compassion.
The campaign has evolved over the years. Early films found their hook in simple acts of kindness between children. The brand later moved into social territory with its ‘Rang Laaye Sang’ Holi campaign, which used the festival’s colours to tell a story about communal harmony. ‘Haar Ko Harao’ then shifted the focus to resilience and getting back up after failure. The new film brings these strands together: children are still expected to compete, but winning is no longer an individual pursuit.
There is a gender question. Several earlier films have centred on boys, which is notable within HUL, since Ariel has built a platform around challenging gender roles through ‘Share the Load’.
