When Ramesh-Suresh became synonymous with Cadbury 5 Star

In the mid-2000s, Mondelez International, parent company of Cadbury 5 Star, approached Ogilvy India with the brief that 5 Star be repositioned – the idea was that it was a chocolate in whose taste the eater can lose himself/herself.

This generated a genius idea in the mind of Abhijit Avasthi, Ogilvy India’s former national Creative Director, who then crafted the tagline ‘Jo Khaaye Kho Jaye’.

Cadbury 5 Star, whose initial positioning since its launch in 1969 was around ‘togetherness, hunger, irresistible and soft chew’, as per a media report, evolved to adjust with the changing consumer behaviour.

Youngsters are subjected to tremendous pressure, due to constant directions or orders to get something done. The creative team—which also included Amitabh Agnihotri, Creative Director and Sameer Sojwal, former Senior Creative Director—at Ogilvy India wanted to introduce characters who had a casual attitude, and took a chill-pill. “That's what Five Star enables one to do after tasting it. And, it's like a trip where one gets almost detached from real world pressures,” Avasthi said.

Two quirky characters, brothers Ramesh-Suresh are born who become synonymous with 5 Star. The rest is history.

Genesis

In a conversation with Storyboard18, Avasthi said one of his colleagues at Ogilvy India had suggested the concept of ‘short-term memory loss’ when one tastes and chews Cadbury 5 Star.

When scripts around ‘Shopkeeper’ and ‘Tailor’ were written, the creative team reached out to the famed ad film director Prasoon Pandey, where two characters with an eccentric sense of humour were picked up, who had appeared in the 2006 Caravan ad, that first brought Ramesh-Suresh on the screen.

Pandey recollected that for the first and second year, the scripts came from the creative team at Ogilvy. With time, he became a part of the team, and they brainstormed together on what the next idea would be. Slowly, ideas began to evolve and along with that, Ramesh and Suresh’s look.

Prashant Sippy directed the Caravan ad and had cast Rana Pratap Sengar and Goldie Duggal as Ramesh and Suresh. The subsequent ad film series were helmed by Pandey. In the first film, the duo are spotted having long hair, and are not wearing shades.

When Pandey took over, he found an issue in their eye movement and they were slowly losing light. He suggested they wear shades, and were seen in that avatar till their iconic characters were no longer seen in ads. Their names, Ramesh-Suresh, did not come up until 2009.

Thus, in 2009, Pandey directed ‘Pitaji Ki Patloon’ which till date is the most memorable in the Ramesh-Suresh series of ads. Ramesh-Suresh with hands on each other's shoulders enter a tailor shop with their father’s pant, requesting it be shortened by ‘Ek Bilang’.

The tailor complies with their request. As the duo tastes Cadbury 5 Star, what follows next is a series of quirky acts, where the final product that comes out is way beyond one’s imagination or the intention of the duo when they first approached the tailor.

The other memorable ad to remember after ‘Pitaji Ki Patloon’ is ‘Uncleji Ki Kursi’. Here, a friend visits their house, and their father asks the duo to bring a chair for ‘uncle ji’. The duo open up Cadbury 5 Star and get lost in its taste. As there is a delay from their end in this regard, they go inside the room. After the duo finish chewing, that is when it strikes them what their father had asked them to do. And, it is here, hilarity sets in.

Avasthi stated that their challenge was how to up their humour game and keep the audience engaged.

On its release on television, the campaign was a runaway success. “According to me, it began with having a phenomenal product. Five Star is a unique chocolate where one does get lost in its taste. Hence, the campaign managed to capture this whole sentiment of ‘Jo Khaaye Kho Jaye’ really well,” Avasthi said.

The Ramesh-Suresh duo was last seen in 2018. Despite being out of action, they still enjoy popularity amongst the masses and are fondly remembered. “Ramesh-Suresh captured what people really wanted to do - not slack and just chill. And, they managed to do that in an effortless manner. That struck a chord,” Avasthi said.

Sojwal added to this. Those characters acted as brand ambassadors which people hadn’t come across. They were goofy, they made mistakes, they acted foolish, and they were forgetful. Because they were forgetful, they did things which got them into trouble.

Avasthi also credited their success to three major factors: power of simplicity of positioning; a sense of originality; a sense of freshness.

“People love stories, and they can create stories. I think that's how great brands are built,” he concluded.

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