Ad Yatra – Voyage into 80s
The memorable lines of Indian TV Ads of 80s have been grossly underutilized in movie lore. This article pays homage to some of the greatest TV lines of our times.
Among the many pleasures of watching Manorama – SFU and Johnny Gaddaar were spotting the tributes to popular culture and influences of the respective film-makers. While it is open to debate, I have always felt that Indian film-makers have been relatively coy about using popular Indian culture as reference points in their movies. So, the bit about ‘zaraa si savdhaani, zindagi bhar aasani’ (I wish someone could do that flute bit at the end like it was in the original ad as well in the movie, Navdeep?) or about ‘Parwana’ in Johnny G were welcome relief. I feel a generation of film-makers in India is now upon us who have grown in, arguably, the most fertile of pulp culture decades of 80s-90s who will start using their quirks in movies. One important reason for 80s-90s being such decades is the proliferation of television – its programmes and its commercials – which captured the imagination of the nation during those years.
The influence of TV in the 80s-90s in India is similar to what TV did in the 50s-60s in the US. From the time the first commercial appeared on TV when an NY station (WNBT-TV) played out a wordless 60 seconds visual of a Bulova watch ticking away between their regular programming, popular culture, language and the way US shopped never remained the same. A few instances: Movies based on TV programs – Redford’s Quiz Show and Clooney’s Good Night, Good Luck – centered on ethics of programming. Or how TV has contributed to the language – Where’s the beef, the $64,000 question or shit happens – where these terms eloquently sum up a situation where a paragraph would have been needed otherwise. So what are those amazing lines, jingles and catch-words from TV in India which one would love to see in movies (dialogues, movie names anything)?
Before I get on to that list, one anecdote to drive home the point on the influence of TV and its ads in the 80s on those of us who grew up then. In my first semester at engineering school, I met Pandeyji (assumed name), a true-blue TV buff from Kanpur with an amazing gift of gab. While we came from quite different worlds, our interested coincided on one area – TV jingles. So one afternoon, during the ragging season (as it was referred to in college), a few seniors marched into our room for their daily dose of humor. The first round was for me to make amorous advances to the study lamp on my table which didn’t raise too many laughs. They then turned their attention to Pandeyji. After finding out where he came from, they asked him to sing an ‘English’ song. Pandeyji, while possessing many other stellar qualities (Vedic mathematics, reciting Mast Ram stories to a group in the evening et al), was sorely short on English vocabulary. So I stood there fearing the worst (that is no response from Pandeyji) which meant some harrowing times with the seniors. And then I heard Pandeyji going –
“I am too old for Practicals, too young to go for a Disco, but I think you are just right for Amul chocolate”. It was a blow that the seniors could hardly recover from. And Pandeyji, cleverly seizing the moment and delivering the coup d’etat, sang another one as well –
“Watch him run, watch him play, he is the winner all the way, you become a Maltova mum.”
Anyway, coming back to the Top 5 list.
1. Topping the charts here would be that amazing Tata OK saabun jingle: “Jo OK saabun se nahaye, kamal sa khil jaaye, OK nahane ka bada saabun.” “Sach-much kaafi bada hai.” The plot needs a little more elaboration. Raja Bundela reaches the village home of his relative/acquaintance after what seems like a fairy tiring journey. Someone suggests a bath and Bundela immediately fishes out his cake of soap (a red looking chunk of sodium salt of fatty acid ostensibly representing Lifebuoy). Seeing this red glob his friend berates him, “kya bhai saab, ab tak laal hi pe atke ho”? “Yeh lo, naya OK gulaabi.” Cut to Raja Bundela under a shower with the jingle going in the background. Then a voiceover interrupts (presumably this is an open bathroom with a laissez faire approach) and suggests, “zaraa kushboo to lijiye.” And Raja Bundela sniffs at the soap and instead of concurring on the khusboo, again goes, “sach-much kaafi bada hai.” Such single minded devotion to size! Imagine the possibilities of this line and how grossly underused it has been!!
2. Following closely would be Sylvania Laxman. Again some amazing lines here. The plot builds up with Asrani, a domestic help, finding some bulbs conking off at home. The lady of the house instructs him to fetch Sylvania Laxman bulbs. Asrani is then shown chanting Sylvania Laxman on his way to the shop. When he reaches the shop, he doesn’t exactly remember the name of the brand (possibly because the shop-keeper is Viju “ab tera kya hoga re, kaalia” Khote). Asrani asks for Ram-Laxman bulb and Kaalia responds, ‘aisa koi bulb nahin aata hai”. Asrani: “kaise dukaandar hain aap? Saari duniya mein mashoor, uttam quality se bana…”. “Kaalia (demonstrating amazing smartness) interrupts, “to Sylvania Laxman chahiye aap ko”. Asrani: “wohi to main kah raha tha, par ek nahin chhae (or aath?).” Kaalia: “chhae?”. Asrani: “Poore ghar ke badal daloonga”. There have been so many instances when I have used ‘poore ghar ke badal daloonga’ to imply complete change, demanding for more or demonstrating a steely resolve.
3. The National Family Welfare Programme also gave us some memorable lines including the “zaraa si savdhani, zindagi bhar aasani.” There was that other ad which had two farmers sowing seeds in the field. One of them then sheepishly asks the other about the right time to have the second baby. The first farmer sternly reminds him that his wife has had a baby in the recent past and then draws the crop analogy. “Agar beejon ke beech teen foot ka faasla nahin rakhoge, to who phalange phoolenge kaise.” “Yaad rakh, bachchon mein, kam-z-kam teen saal ka faasla rakhna zaroori hai, warna woh phalange phoolenge kaise.” This kam-z-kam teen saal and phalange-phoolenge business has kept me company in many a conversation since to illustrate virtues of patience.
4. Javed Jaffrey breaking through the glass and handing out a sheaf of paper to some hapless office assistant after drinking Hamdard ka tonic Cinkara. The story starts with Javed Jaffrey going jelly kneed on account of exhaustion with a background score which reminded one of the music which featured when a 60s comedian like Rajendranath would accidentally find himself dispossessed of his trousers. And the voiceover went, “yeh bechaara kaam ke bojh ka maara.” And then music perks up and the same voiceover (Harish Bhimani. perhaps) says, “inhe chahiye hamdard ka tonic Cinkara.” These lines were put to multiple usages in later years like sledging a batsman of the opposite team or sympathizing with a friend in distress and then placing that bottle of Old Monk in front of him (inhe chahiye Hamdard ka tonic Cinkara).
5. Bringing up the rear (pun unintended) is the underwear brigade: The Rupa line of hosiery was immortalized in the MTV (or was it Channel V) spoof which went, “agar aap Rupa ke underwear aur banian pahnenge, to bechaari Rupa kya pahenegi?” There are two other immortal ads in this category. First there is Swagat banian where a fairly morose female model says, “achha, is mein ruan nahin uth ta, to phir Swagat banian hi lena chahiye.” A killer punchline to conclude any discussion where you have multiple options and you need to finally close out on one. For instance, which software package to choose – “achha is mein ruan nahin uth ta, to phir SAP hi lena chahiye.” The second ad is for Lux range which over the years has had Tiku Talsania and Tabassum (with Tabassum going on and on about the qualities she would look for in a male underwear, wonder why we didn’t have an ad with gender equations reversed) and later with Sunny Paaji all parroting the line, “yeh andar ki baat hai.” Now that’s a noir movie title!!
Aah! So much for nostalgia! How I wish we see tributes to these classic lines in movies in future!!
Tags: Television
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
I’m right now upto the part : “Jo OK sabun se nahae kamal sa khil jaye”… took a pause scrolled up and gave your post 5 stars. That is nostalgia in the most intense form on a Friday morning… and the sun isn’t even out what with the clouds hovering over Hollywood Hills… darn… me going back to Ok Sabun line
oz – a couple of hours on late Friday evening with Old Monk does wonders to my memory.
Awsome post subrat..do you rememeber complan ad and the yamaha ad wid the top gun theme??
Awesome! Its heartening to see someone write about the wonderful nostalgic trip of those DD ads. Anyone born in or before early 80’s would have their singular imprint in their memories of pop culture. Those lines and images are some of my fondest memories from my childhood. Even I(and I am sure many others) frequently use some of these memorable lines….
“sachmuch kaafi bada hai”
(for cheesy references, intended puns)
“poore ghar ke badal daaloonga”
(for same reasons as yours)
“arey raaju, tumhare daant to motiyon jaise chamak rahe hain”
(sarcasm)
“bachcho ye hai hamaare daanto ki banaawat”
“ye PSPO nahi jaanta!”
“waah sunil babu!”
“jab main chhota bachcha tha, badi shararat karta tha, meri chori pakdi jaati, jab roshni deta bajaj!”
“vicks ki goli lo, kich kich door karo/iodex maliye kaam pe chaliye”
“aapko, aur aapki paar ki nazar, dono ko..”
(some soap ad..wipro I guess)
“baapu, tiraikturr(tractor) taiyaar hai”
“sochna to padta hai bhai/abey aankhen phoot gi key?!”
(my all time fav public interest film)
“coffeee! toffeee!! the argument continues”
“saath saal ke budhdhe ya saath saal ke jawaan”
“zandu balm zandu balm peedaahari balm…”
“tumhari twacha se to tumhari umr ka pata hi nahi chalta!”
And yes, this comes as another breath of fresh air, the mood triggered by johnny and MSFU….
@ tushar:..thats nirma super( aap ko aur aapki paar ki nazar)
oh haan…thanks man :-)
and the correct line is
“aapki paar ki nazar aur nirma super, dono ko!”
“Dhaara dhaara shuddha dhaara “… (imagine the double meanings this one can be put to .. dhaara in marathi means literally a stream of liquid .. Scene : someone peeing.. the above jingle in the background, I guess, the filmmaker would get sued by Dhaara ..
.. )
“Yeh hi hain right choice baby .. AHA” (Scene: Rimi Sen looking on as Akshaye Khanna and Aftab are fighting in Priyadarshan’s Hungama .. Rimi is imagining the two coming to blows .. ADD to that the above jingle before Rimi’s illusion breaks and she comes back to reality”)
“Aaya naya ujjala, char boodon wala .. haha” (Scene : Abhay Deol is bound to the bed with his eyes blindfolded in ‘1:40 ki last local’. The ultra-dark-skinned mafia don .. shit, forgot the actor’s name .. is approaching Abhay to rape him .. TV is on .. and the above jingle plays on the TV .. )
Fuk … do I have a twisted mind or what ? :o
Most recent .. and infamous ad jingle “Yeh to bada toing hain”
I dont know where these ones can be used .. but they ARE very memorable ..
“RAAHUUULLL … paani chala jayega ”
“Jalebi ??? “
More flowing in…
“Raju beta, rakam che saal mein dugnee toh barah saal mein kitni?”
“Choguni”
“Kaun kya de raha hain choguni?” (add your own interpretation here)
“National Saving Certificate…”
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Padamse called it the “ugh” ad of that year
“Yeh andar ki baat hain”
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Then the Dilip Tahil one(he was still in his teens then)
Shaving… checks time on his wrist watch
“God I’m late… Shanta… Shanta… SHANTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
slips falls on coffee cart… which rolls forward and breaks glass, taking Tahil like 10 floors down into the swimming pool…
Tahil pops out of water… checks wrist watch…
“Uh… it still works”…budooom…
HMT Watches
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One word to describe the whole ad new wave that came in:
Lalitaji…
for those who weren’t even born in Lalitaji’s time… it’s Surf ki kharidai mein hi samajhdari hain…
===============================================
Humare fashions jo sub ko lubhaiyen
kya rang texture aap sub bhi jaan jayen
Bombay Dyeing Bombay Dyeing Bombay Dyeing Bombay Dyeing
Aise styles jo aap ko nikhare
har kapde humare hain sub se nyare
Bombay Dyeing (4 times)
Think Bombay Dyeing (or was it Mafatlal) first used to do that James Bond thingy which had Ardhendhu Bose (he even acted in a Bond+Bruce Lee kind of a hindi movie)… then years later it was Karan Kapoor with Ravi Baswani playing the goof ball
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Does anyone remember the Cola (which just lasted for a few years in the eighties) called Thrill
Star Trek kind of a set… enemy attacks starship… girl pushes three buttons… two torch light kind of laser shoots out and destroys enemy…
“Thrill it up thrill it up thrill it up…”
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Ting Tong
Door opens
“Zukam bad gaya na, kyon gaya tha bahar”
“Happy Birthday Mummy”
Vicks Vaporab
================================================
This in the late seventies
“Chayageet ke prayojak hain…
TOPAZ STAINLESS BLADE”
“Hamaara Bajaj, Hamaara Bajaj” (Interesting as a movie name)
“Fevicol ka majboot jod hain, tootega nahin” (Can be applied to multiple scenes)
Yeah turtle the Bajaj ad came in 91/92
Umm… yeh zameen yeh aasmaan
yeh zameen yeh aasmaan
humara kal
humara aaj
humara kal
humara aaj
Bulund bharat ki bulund tasveeeeeeeeeeer
humara bajaj…
==========================================
Colgate ka chota packet
Colgate ka chota packet
Kholo dabao (college joke had it all wired up)
brush pe lagao
Colgate ka chota packet
Colgate ka chota packet
@ Oz,
Lalitaji was a feminist icon of those times, coupled with her Udaan outing.
and how can we forget the inimitable and timeless pair of Pankaj Kapoor & Jaaved Jaaferi..”it’s different!”
I even have a faint recollection of that brilliant mobile phone ad(I guess a first in that product)
“One Black coffee please”
Maggi : “bas do minute”
“neighbors envy, owners pride”
“ek se mera kya hoga, to aap do lijiye!…
AUR MERE LIYE!!!”
(jeez how could i forget THIS ONE?!)
“give me red”
(one of the first ‘rock’ sounds to break in the genre)
“khao gagan, raho magan”
“sardi hai? khansi? sardard? naak bhi band??
(any one can;t resist saying” yes mo%%$&fu&%$!!! yes, however what follows is…)
haan bhai haan!”
“sunday ho ya monday, roz khao ande”
and in recent times:
“doodh doodh doodh doodh peeyo glass ful doodh”
“kya swaad hai zindagi mein”
“kyunki har ghar kuch kehta hai”
(used and overabused by sadass telly serials)
“chai pee rahi hai ya zahar ka pyaala”
(this one was so weird I liked it!)
…more coming soon
“I am complan boy, I am a complan girl ..”
Oh man Tushar… GIMME RED was “THE” fucking ad of that time… THAT WAS LIKE A SMASH HIT…
Onida brought in the reverse reverse strategy to the forefront “Don’t just Envy the Onida TV… hehehe… Buy It”
How’s the company doing by the way? Is it still selling televisions in India?
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That “Black Coffee Please” was a real charm… doesn’t the model who acted in that now come in television serials?
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SHAADI AUR TUMSE KABHI NAHEE..(pops in pan pasand)..shaadi aur tumse kabhi nahee!!
Oh boy oh boy… that was a great one too Sourav… who was the actress… she was amazing…
Shadi aur tumse (in anger) KABHI NAHIN
later
wow!!!
“Kharram khurram, khurram kharram – mazzedar lazzedar swaad swaaad mein lijjat lijjat papad …. Liiijjjaattt Paaapppppaaaddd ”
“Tan ki shakti, man ki shakti .. Bournvitaa”
“Nirma detergent tikiya – Iski jhaaaaaag ne jaadu kar diya – paani mein rah ke bhi ye kam gale, dheron kapade dhoye aur zyada chale. Nirma ! Nirma detergent tikiya .. iske jhaaaag ne jadoo kar diya”
“Polo – the mint with a hole” .. (Now was that a jingle or just a oneliner .. Polo also had a billboard oneliner that went like this .. “Buy a hole. Get mint free”
And then there was its competition … “the mint without a hole” (was it clearmint?) )
I used like leher 7UP ad that was cool….. and
Yeh hi hai right choice baby….anhaha
Don’t forget Bajaj’s classic “Chunnu Munnu Pappu di gaddi”. Although this may have only been a print campaign.
turtle @ 8… =))
“Hum Chloromint kyun khaate hain”
SLAAAPPPPP … BAAAMMMM …. bones broken
“Dobaara mat poooccchnnnaa”
it’s ON
it’s ON
it’s ON
Geeky guy enters “What’s ON”
Boxer smashes screen “It’s Uptron”
It’s ON
It’s ON
It’s ON
Boxer questions screen “What’s on????”
Geeky guy with bruised face “It’s Uptron”
Saath Saal ke Boodhe Ya Saath Saal ke jawan
Zandu (they pronounce it as Jhandu) Chawanprash
SMS joke based on the popular Chloromint ad …
What did Materazzi say ?
Materazzi : “Zizou bhaiyya, hum chloromint kyun khaate hain ? (English – Why do we eat Chloromint ?)
Zizou Zidane turns back, head butts Materazzi and says – “Dobaara mat poocchna”. (Don
oz ..i dont know the actress..i cant remember her..
some more lines guys for the nostalgia trip(thanks to my friend with whom i just discussed some of the ol’ ones)
1)kule khule mat wale baal ..dabur aamla kesh tel.
2)”aur ye match ki aakhri gend…aur ye laga sixer”..nataraj pencil
3) ceema yube lights (sridevi)
4) mera wala blue ( i think asian paints or nerolac)
5) rasna ad
damn!! beautiful
Oz bhai, Onida is doing good, thanks to those years of cult marketing. Their DVD players are doing good, along with the Bass Blaster thingy which gave them a big chunk in the high fundoo sound in 21″ segment. They later chak de’d with th KY Thunder series, still considered a quality brand next to the Sony’s n ilk.
(though I might not be presenting the correct data, this is just what I perceive from the market)
Black Coffee girl just might be Sandali Sinha(tum bin) though I might be wrong again. But the waiter is a common face in those high profile terrorist roles in films or those tearjerker beti-baap ads.
@sourav, ya man, how can we miss pan pasand!
one more, now that you reminded of candies,
“melody khao khud jaan jaao!”
Boost is the secret of my energy
No our energy
OMG this is such a nostalgic trip…amazing writeup Subrat…..
” Kuch khaas hain zindagi mein”
” Swad sugandh ka raja badshaah banaye accha khana”
” Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera ghar” ( Asian Paints i guess)
” Humara Bajaj”
” Chup Chupp baithi ho zaroor koi baat hain” ( Carefree)
omg soo many soo many…vodka and tonic tonite..wooohoo
Yeah the Natraj pencil was such an old ad. I’m surprised you even remembered it. That ad used to be at the last page of most of the comic books published in India.
Another one…
“Thoda ketchup try karo”
“Ketchup hota kaddu bhara”
“Isme kaddu nahin zara”
man tastes ketchup
“Wah! Lagta ghar ka bana hua”
What was the ketchup?
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Dippie doo dippie dee dippiee dum dum
Dippie (chocolates?) are very yum yum yum
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Boost is the secret of our energy .. =))
oz the gal in shaadi aur tumse kabhi nahi was Archana Joglekar
fuck, nataraj pencil is so very nostalgic…can’t describe the feeling.
ya,mera waala blue…
even that wonderful jingle composed by Rahman for Nerolac.
shit, forgetting it…:(
“kal bhi aaj bhi kal bhi VIP
kuch yaado ke safar to
ruke naa kabhi…”
chal meri luna!
I vaguely remember the Luna ad but do remember the line… what was the ad Tushar?
@ Tushar “chal meri luna” wow ! do they even make lunas now….
Me too, Oz Bhai.
some of the ads I dont remember but these lines are solid like patthar ki rekha.
I think Luna moved out, but they still drive those Mopeds made by TVS. and one by Bajaj called M80.
“Jyada de ujaala, dino din chalne waala
ECE bulb aur ECE tube!”
Bizli ke bill mein katauti
roshni mein badhauti
Bajaj
and that memorable cooker ad, Hwakins/prestige
(the one with the boss coming for dinner)
“namak ho tata ka tata namak”
even the later ones with Captain Cook reinvented the wheel,
“free flow kya hota hai!”
or kit kat
“take a kitkat break”
so jaa meri jaan..
na kar maa ko hairan……
chod do rona….bechain hona….
apne baap pe kar ehsaan….
Kohinoor Pink luxury condoms….the jingle went something like that
“Take the world in your stride, Dinesh”
(one of the first english ads I saw)
Raymond- The Complete Man
(who can forget the tune)
Titan(same timeless music)
n ya! TOBU Cycle!
so jaa meri jaan….
na kar maa ko hairan….
chod do rona….bechain hona…
apne baap par kar ehsaan….
the jingle went somthing like this….Kohinoor pink luxury condoms!!
Jab main chota bachcha tha, badi sararat karta tha meri chori pakadi jati
munnu padhta diamond comics
chunnu padhta diamond comics….
Khubssorat Ladki Plane mein aaye bagal seat ki khaali hai!!!some cadilla cream ad was good
Raymonds -Complete MAN
Iodex maliye kaam pe chaliye
Harrys collection aadida harrys collection nice jingle
Dollops ICE cream AD
Flair Cigarrate AD was sleek for that time
n many mo!!!
Red and White Peene walon ki baat hi kuch aur hain… wasn’t it Raj Babbar who did that ad?
Tushar… darn that diamond comics thingy had some of the music of “Lakdi ki kathi” from Masoom… Vividh Bharati on Sunday around 1pm… they used to have their 15 minute show… this reminds me… does anyone remember the 10 minutes new release skits on Vividh Bharati. It would be for upcoming releases. The skit would be mixed with a narrator giving tidbits of the story and songs of the movie… there usually used to be this guy with a very heavy voice constantly giving me the image that he was a heavy smoker. Besides Ameen Sayani his voice was what was most heard on Vividh Bharati for such shows… besides him there was was another one who had this sharp yet slightly thin voice – the image I would get from this voice was a bald guy in his late 40s…
I know I know, Oz!
I absolutely can still hear the music ringing in my head as I read your comment(the interlude before ‘ghoda tha ghamandi pahuncha sabzi mandi’)
what days man, gulzar summed it beautifully in that song,
“chhote chhote shehron se,
khaali bhor dupaharon se….”
I digged those morning promo things man, I still remember some clearly. This program was called Geetmala or something, and that was the ONLY place we would hear the songs of the upcoming films.
I still remember when I heard Rangeela, I was like wtf is this!…we had an old HMV ‘Radio’, and the sound from it was just mesmerizing. No modern tech can give me that feeling.
Nostalgia day this, I am gonna raise a toast to the reconstruction of all those lovely memories today.
subrat u have opened the floodgates….
and god guys!!! u have amazing memory!
who can forget
“vicco turmeric nahin cosmetic
vicco turmeric ayurvadic cream….
i think they took it off the tubepretty early, but every goddamn video cassaette had this and only this ad…
Tushar – Diamond comics! what an ad!!
Now to some answers (how can I resist when you guys have thrown so many quiz questions).
oz – Pan Pasand girl I think was Winnie Pranjpaye.
One Black Coffee was an Ericsson mobile ad and the models were Kamal Chopra (theatre actor and now a very familiar face on TV) and the female was Kavita Kapoor (Kitty Party et al)
- Subrat you are right, it was first Winnie and then Archana!
Ok here’s a few more:
1. Dharam Paaji in Rajdoot motorcycles: “Rajdoot, jaandaar sawaari, shandaar sawaari’
2. Bullet motorcycle: “yeh bullet meri jaan, manzilon ka nishaan”, “o is ki raftaar to, kar de raaste aasaan”, “yeh bullet, yeh bullet, yeh bullet.”
3. HMT tractors – “gwaal bael ko de aaram, HMT tractor kare kaam, HMT tractor, khush-haali ka paighaam”, “mitti se sona ugwayo, mehnat aur smaya bachao, HMT tractor khus-haali ka paighaam”
4. Vimal washing powder (with Dalip ‘Buniyaad ka nikamma bada beta of Master Haveli Ram’ Tahil) – Dalip is walking on road with the 70s socialist attire (kurta, pyjama, jhola and a beard). There is a hoarding with a girl who starts off the jingle, “suno suno aye babuji, kahan chale?” “Kapde kyun hai maile dhule?”
Dalip responds, “Maile?, Maine to laundry mein dhulwaye the!” Girl responds, “to kya (whistle and she winks at him – gosh! scandal at home and dad wonders what the world has come to), farak dekh lo”. Dalip looks at his kurta which is now chamkila white and the jingle goes: “vimal washing powder, kapde dhoye jagmag jagmag ujjwal ujjwal, safedi mein nikhaar, rangon mein bahaar, laye jhilmil jhilmil, Vimal washing powder
The ones that most intrigued me were the English jingles. Sometimes I hardly understood the lines but would sing along like:
1. Crown TV – “Crown, the world class TVs, better pictures to see; Crown, the world class TVs, better color to see, Crown Crown, Crown, Crown”
2. Lunch time, Limca time, break time, Limca time, lime-n-lemony Limca, Limca, Limca
3. Tips n Toes – Maan, I still don’t know the lines and I am looking for the jingle. So if anyone remembers do let me know. This was really one sophisticated jingle. All I can remember is “ten, twenty, thirty, forty, oh his looks are really naughty. something something with joys, that’s what I call a choice
4. Two ads – One Monte Carlo with Nothing’s Gonna Change my Love (Mark Benson version) and the other Bill Joel’s She’s alway a woman to me
5. Philips – Not an English jingle but it had that upmarket sensibility, the one that went, “Philips pe, yakeen hamara, aisa bharosa aur kahan.”
Oh, I could go on and one and on
Oz – still reading comments. Thoda ketchup try karo is ad for Wolfarm. the jingle went, “laa peele tamataron is hota hai taiyyar, Wolfarm, naa hi koi milawat is mein, na banawati rang, ek baar jo khaaye isko, ungli chaate baar baar, Wolfarm
Oz – HMT ad with Dalip Tahil!!! Wow, I had completely forgotten that one. What an ad!! Thrill Cola had one version with Mithun da and Rati Agnihotri which went “Hum Tum aur Thrill, gaaye mera dil.” The ad showed Mithun and Rati at location of a film shoot and I was ‘thrilled’ to see a real shoot location
insane stuff…OMG,,.everybody is stressing their brains out to remember…insane nostalgia..:)…”melody hai chocalty..dekho kitni choclaty
What about Prestige cooker
“Jo Biwi se kare pyaar Prestige ko kare kaise inkaar”
Spot on Arun!!:d
Ayayay… that was another kick down the memory lane Arun… Prestige pressure cooker…
What about another
Hawkins ki siti baji
khushboo hi khushboo udi
mazedar lazatdar
khana hain taya
murg masalaam
tamato soup
mutur pulao
maa ki daal
kheer aurrrrrrrrrrr
dum aloo
hur mushkil
aasan karaye
mintoan mein
jhatpat pakaye
hawkins
hawkins
hawkins pressure cooker
Know who the model was singing that song?
My first fixation with tv was not owing to any song or movie or krishi darshan…but with a still ad in the late 70’s as a 3 yr old. Mote aa gaya…mote aa gaya went that one and I used to force mom to take me to the neighbour’s every evening just to watch that ad. And also Deedee’s opening jingle. :-)
Anyone remembers those animated public service ads from Films division? Ek Chidiya..Anek Chidiyan; the one with the ek anna ka daana from the Mahabharata; and also the literacy ads featuring Kamla, Vimla and Ramprasad. I know atleast 5 households where there used to be impromptu guesses at which of the 3 would feature on today’s ad.
More later…
@ oz: is it radha seth??
And oz…was it Neena Gupta herself singing it too? Just a wild guess.
Some MORE
Aree Raju tumhare Daat to Motiyon jaise chamak rahe hai
Kyon na ho Masterjee mai Dabur ka Laal Dant Manjan jo istemal karta hoon
———————
Vicks Inhaler — Theatre ad if anyone remembers.
——————–
Nogi ka Bandar chaap KALA DANT MANZAN LOLz
—————————–
Saas ki Badboo Pareshani.. Daanto ki Sadan Pareshaani.. Istemal kijiye COLGATE .. Ting
——————–
Hum to baratiyon ka swagat PAN PARAG se karte hai
——————–
I guess the oldest jingle that still exist is for NIRMA
~NIrma nirma washing powder Nirma~
~doodh si safedi nrirma se aai~
~sabki pasand nirma~
Remember the GoldSpot Ad.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rS2n18lTCSo
Gold spot the zing thing..
i remember the YAMAHA ad in which the biker flies over a car with a bunch of girls in it.
The first commercial on Indian television…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAZRLGukV4A
Humara Bajaj….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy-eimsdIsw
N, yeah it was Nina Gupta, not sure if she herself was singing.. Sourav didn’t know there was Radha Seth doing the same ad…. could be, though the one I remember had Nina Gupta in it.
Pan parag commercial …
pan masala pan parag……..intense music ………shaadi ki tayaariya to chal rahi hai na…..lekin humari ek shart hai…..{music becomes more intense}……..aap baaratiyon ka swagat sirf pan parag se kijiye…..pan parag…..pan parag……..{happy music}……..panparag pan masala pan parag
Shatrughan… wow!!! thanks for pointing us to India’s first tv commercial… was it really?
Milk commercial…:):)
doodh doodh doodh doodh…
peeyo glass full doogh….
garmiyon me daalo doodh mein ice…
doodh ban gaya very nice…
doodh doodh doodh doodh…
peeyo glass full doogh….
@oz,I am not very confirm but i got this link by forwarded mail with same subject…
Kuch Khaas Hai hum sabhi mein… Cadbury Dairy milk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujGpFJu1P_A&NR
Tandrusti ki raksha karta hai lifebuoy,
Lifebuoy hai yahan tandrusti hai wahan,
Ek Nariyal ped se toota,
Girte hi woh bich se phoota,
sekh tap kar use banaya,
khoob kurmura use banaya,
Britania coconut crunches..
Sir, which shaving cream do u use,
(a bearded man turns n says)Me:)
In the pan parag ad
the catch line was….
Isse mera kya hoga?
Some of the unforgettable ads from mid 80s not covered above.. (before the cola era)
-Aur phir bhediye na Memane se kahaa main tumhein kha jaaonga (Jayant Kriplani in Vicks)
-Lalita ji.. Sirf ki Khareedari me hi samajh daari hai (Kavita Chaudhary in Sirf)
- Bhala uski saadi meri saadi se safed kaise.. Rin ki chmkaar
-Palmolive da jawaab nahin (Kapil Dev)
-Godrej Shaving Cream – “Mean?” one brightspot in
a man’s morning
-Chehre ki sundarta ko nikharta hamaam (bro told me same jingleis running from 60s)
-Tandurusti ki raksha karta hai lifebuoy
lifebuoy hain jahaan tandurusti hai wahaan
- (Much before Sylvinia Laxman) Bhool na jaana ECE Bulb laana.. ba ba ba ba bulb.. jyada de ujaala dino din jalne wala are ece bulb aur ece tube
- Karram kurram – Lizzat Paapad
- Cherry Blossom..
- Laajawaab Indana… Yaad Agaya mujhko gujaraa zxamaana
-Old Spice
Radio Ceylon days I remembers..
S Kumars, Tinapaul or Rani Paul.. and the Maratha Kewda agarbatti..
Guys watch these videos…..
Mile Sur mera tumhara.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LZ7l7nwU60
Ek Titli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seB1XFRjluo
milage,milage—”NO PROBLEM”
pick up,pic up—”NO PROBLEM”
can i have a drive,drive—”NO PROBLEM”
SUZUKI SAMURAI——”NO PROBLEM” :d
This is great topic. Indeed take us to a nostalgic trip. Good ol DD days..:)>- Even the sit-com serials they dont make it like them.
Lalita ji was a cult figure along with Rajani.
Serious nostalgia heaven!!!! Great memory there guys.
Oz, wasn’t Dippies a ketchup?
Yippie, it’s Dippies!
Giving away my age but does anyone remember (on the radio):
Patel roadways, Patel roadways
Kanga-roo hai nishani
Yeh jaani aur pehchaani
Patel roadways, Patel roadways
Oh man, someone should do an Indian ephemera website. Old ads, jingles, print stuff!!
my favourite line was…..Rukawat ke liye khed hai….with so many channels these days…its mad world. wish cud put that board across all the channels at d same time…
haha somen da…this line was given by kamleshwar..the then adg of doordarshan
n deluxe nirodh gave a new meaning to that song…pyaar hua ikraar hua, pyaar se phir kyun daarta hai dil….istemaal kiziye deluxe nirodh!!!
Boy O boy… just woke up with this ad playing in my head… it was played I guess through the entire 80s with only the actors and sets changed once or twice…
“Bade nazon se pali hamari banno
tujhe dulhan banaye ri pyari banno
hahahahahahah (girls laughing)
VO
Roop nikhar aaya hai gunakari huldi aur chandan se… blah blah”
Vicco Turmeric, Nahin Cosmetic
Vicco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream
Navdeep, Dippies was a ketchup? Darn… it’s been so long, the jingles are stuck in the head though we’ve now forgotten what the product was!!!
Morning Oz..the entire day i have been hounding this post….has been a trippy day
good maarning, Oz bhai!
abhi bhi ads mein mast ho?!:)
Good morning Guys… yes this post has been trippy… off to make some chai… have to rush to Santa Monica… see you guys later on/off line
Vicco Turmeric, Nahin Cosmetic
Vicco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream
You people won’t believe it but, in Cinema halls of Nagpur, the jingle still plays before each and every movie show, it’s like a ritual in that city( Nagpur being the home of Vicco house )and at times I remember seeing the crowd of people in the hall sing it out aloud…with a great burst of laughter at the end.
Do you guys remember Kayam Churan Ad…goliyo ka bi asar nahi…
Sourav – thanks for all your comments. It indeed has been a trippy day
Oz, please read this – On Vicco, I can write a whole post. But here’s shortened version. Firstly, the ad played before Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, YJHZ, played on Friday, is arguably the best serial that has played on Indian TV and Vicco will forever be linked with it.
This ad featured, I think, Sangeeta ‘bijli’ Bijlani with the standard Dulhan’s haldi ceremony as the theme. The song (and there can be no compromise on words here) went:
Bade naazon se paali hamaari banno, tujhe dulhan banaaye re pyaari banno;
tujhe haldi ka ubtan lagaayein sakhiyaan (gaggle of laughter from sundry extras posing as friends ostensibly because we see the aforesaid Banno’s legs)
teri kaaya ko kanchan banaayein sakhiyaan,
roop kundan sa chamke hamaari banno,
tujhe dulhan banaaye ree pyaari banno…
Then part two of the ad started with the next jingle:
Vicco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream,
Twacha ki raksha karey antiseptic cream,
Roop ko sanvarey, nikharey har dam,
Haldi aur chandan ka anokha sangam,
Vicco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream,
Vicco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream.
Then part 3 (this I don’t remember well): which went sadiyon se rishi-muniyon ne ayurved se daaton ki surakhsa rahasya dhoondha hai. Isi rishi-muniyon ke gyaan se Vicco ne banaya apna toothpaste. Then we had Vicco Ayurvedic Toothpaste ka dabba shown on TV.
As soon as this ad finished, what followed was pure magic in Kishore Kumar’s voice:
‘Hey, he he, yeh jo hai zindagi, thodi khatti, thodi meethi, thodi teekhi, thodi pheeki, phir bhi sang sang rah ke, jeene ka aaa…aaa…aaa.., ek alag hi hai mazaa, zindagi zindagi, zindagi….(chorus)
‘dil milte hain yahan anmel, sadiyon se bas yahi khel, phir bhi, har dukh sah ke, sang sang rah ke, jeene ka aaa…aaa…aaa.., ek alag hi hai mazaa, zindagi zindagi, zindagi….(chorus)
Subrat..u have done ur bit of research on vicco..lol…god set of observations ..:)
- Great memory Subrat. Yeah it was Sangeeta Bijlani… but before here the same song was played on other models. The Vicco ad was quite commonly played in theaters in Bombay before a movie and before the newsreel… does anyone remember there used to be newsreels shown before the start of a movie until the late seventies?
What a refreshing post!!!
Remember the Rajnigandha Paan Masaala — where the guy ends up buying East India Company? Super!!
Subrat – awesome…i still remember the vicco ads..but probably not as vividly detailed as you…
Regarding the paan parag ad…i still remember the jalaj agha ad ( that was later redone with kanwaljeet) … aur mere liye???
Do any of you remeber the most trippy ads – the family planning ads on DD?
the first scene was a matki breaking…then the classical voiceover…
“Arey kya hua?
Matki phoot gayi..Radha to bilkul toot gayi…
Radha kyon tooti…matki kyon phooti …
kyonki dono hi kacche the…” and so on..
imagine that in todays days….todays gen x would never believe the kind of ads we grew up on…
some of the ads coming to my mind right now
Mruti oil
Mohan bhandari and Sujaata mehta
aaj kaa khaana… badhiya khaana… aisa khaana kaise banayaa…
ho ho ho tab usne yeh bhed bataaya…
maruti..hoooooo… ab ghar me aaya.
maruti tel? haa maruti tel.
telon me sasta tail.. swad me bhi achch tel.
maruti.
——-
Kabj.. sardar.. acidity..
Rakesh bedi shooting three evils and saying: Goloyon kaa bhi sasar nahin..
Vishny Sharma as monk Says: inka ilaaz goliyaan nahin. dekho is churna se kabj, acidity aur sardard jaise rakhshash kaise gaayab hote hai.
Rakehsb bedi: Kayam Churna
bhavnagar waalse sheth brothers ka kayam churna.
Sophocles – the name of the girl in matki kyun phooti was Bimla, not Radha. Sorry, couldn’t resist
@Subrat, you really opened the floodgates..Feel like Happy Days are here again..Thums Up, Thums up…
am late in joining the party, and most of the ones i remembered i have been mentioned already, but had to add this one too… bunch of kids in a hostel room playing when they hear masterji’s footsteps.. suddenly all lights are off.. kids go to bed, hide in different places.. but one kid goes under the bed, and out rolls a bottle from his hand and lands at masterji’s feet.. masterji looks at him.. holds up the bottle.. little kid looks at him innocently and says “hajmola sir”
man.. definitely one hell of a trip.. thx for this, subrat!
WOW!! Took me back to the good old days..Thanks for the trip down memory lane Subrat. I remember we use to play Antakshari, and when we ran out of film songs, we would start with ad jingles.. Adding some more to to the list.
- Marlex, Marlex pressure cooker, khana jaldi pakaey, kaisi siti bajaye, Marlex, Marlex pressure cooker.
- Nescafe the English jingle – How are things with you, do I see a welcome in your smile, let’s sit and talk a while, in the warm world of nescafe.
- VIP (I think) Kal bhi, aaj bhi, kal bhi, in rishto ka safar chute na kabhi
- Treetop (does anyone remember this one) I use to love it as a kid. Tree top, tree top, taze falo ka maza.
- Akai TV add. Still cracks me up when I think of it, surprised it aired and was not censored. Classic..hehehehe..
Conversation of the husband to his wife(who thinks husband is on a business trip) on the phone while he is being fed grapes from sexy babes by a poolside in GOA
Shalini
How are you
and the kids?
Miss you too luv
Singapore, No No the conference has shifted to Japan
AKAI TV!!!
Relax, it’s now available in INDIA.
Striker mann..that was awsome memory …that ad still etched deeply in my mind. Damn!!!
Mala D ads used ti rule T.V. then..never used to understand what it was :P
I remember an ad in which a guy walks into a medical store and is not able to say what he wants and finally a guy walks in and in a thundering voice asks for Moods.
I was mystified by the packet that finally exchanges hands. I thought it was a new brand of shaving blade
Vinayak – that’s a phenomenal post in your blog. thanks for it
Subrat,
Thanks for the appreciation.
I remembered one more
awesoem stuff…
thanks for all the posts.. loving it..
can someone get me ZANDU BALM ad jingle ready to be downloaded on mobile..
thanks..