Har Ghar Redux: That homes reflect one’s personality still rings true

It was the year 2002. Ogilvy’s veteran adman Piyush Pandey had written a few lines and rang up then Asian Paints CMO Amit Syngle and CEO KBS Anand to come down to his office. They stopped whatever they were doing and rushed.

As Pandey read what he’d written, all three had moist eyes, stated Pandey in a conversation with Storyboard18. What he’d written were the lines of what eventually went on to become the `Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai,’ ad campaign, which shows that one’s home is a reflection of one’s personality.

Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai: challenges, strategies, and extension

In the late nineties, Asian Paints shifted the focus of its campaigns from festivals to homes. The company understood the emotional energy people invested in making a home, and the brand wanted to be a part of this emotion, said Syngle in a conversation with Storyboard18.

In an earlier conversation with CNBC-TV18, Pandey had stated that as a reference, he had suggested his own name for the voiceover of the 'Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai' campaign. But one of the promoters of Asian Paints felt that Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan would work better.

As Pandey set up an appointment with Bachchan and ran the ad film, the latter suggested that it not be touched and be run the way it was.

The film was shot by veteran ad filmmaker Prasoon Pandey, and post its release, the reception, as Piyush Pandey put it, was ‘beautiful’. He added, “It required bravery on the part of the client. The ad was not about singing and dancing or using a celebrity. It was about doing an honest job, and talking like a friend.”

Speaking of the challenges, Pandey touched upon how important it was to be honest in saying ‘I'm not trying to define your personality, I'm saluting your personality.’ This had to be said without the brand sounding desperate that they wanted to sell something.

“We did not even use the word Asian Paints. We just talked about Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai, and people understood it, loved, and respected it,” he reminisced.

Extension into home decor

After some time, Asian Paints looked at getting into home décor in a big way in order to leverage the ‘Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai’ campaign to the fullest.

Here, the thought was to have a new visual identity for the brand, which brought home décor into the picture. And in 2012, the new visual identity of Asian Paints was born.

In the words of Syngle, the new identity amplified the colours red and yellow. "Our shift from ‘apnapan’ to ‘apna ghar’ was lauded since it gave an emotional tug the brand required," added Syngle.

Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai: the comeback

In Indian advertising, various brands have made nostalgic comebacks over the years. On October 22, 2024, Saridon brought back its iconic jingle ‘Sirf Ek Saridon Aur Sardard Se Aaram’ in a new campaign. Even brands like Mountain Dew, Pepsi, and Onida have taken a trip down nostalgic lane.

This year, ‘Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai’ once again hit television screens after a span of 22 years. On the reason for re-running the vintage ad in its original form, Pandey stated that the concept that one’s home is an extension of one’s personality is still relevant and will continue to remain so.

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