MUMBAI: Adding glamour to life on a daily basis! Beauty soap brand Lux from the HLL stable is celebrating 75 years in India. On the occasion it has kicked off a consumer promotion Har Star Lucky Star. This offers something for every consumer who purchases a Lux Soap.
In what is a first Lux is for the first time in India using a Bollywood male star - Shah Rukh Khan for the promotion. It has come out with a celebration pack which besides SRK will be endorsed by Dream Girl Hema Malini, beautiful Juhi Chawla, stylish Kareena and sensuous Sridevi. The four variants of Lux that are being pushed are Golden Glow, Almond Delight, Orchid Touch and Energising Honey. Basically each pack comes with a star. Each star has a number one to five. That represents the discount a consumer will get on the next purchase. If the star says 75 years then the consumer gets one years worth supply of Lux soap.
A TVC has been created which will hit Indian television screens shortly. In the ad SRK is in a bath tub. With tongue n cheek humour he says that he is going to reveal his beauty secret. When he asks the question about who the viewers favourite Lux star is the four women appear. They end up shoving SRK into the soapy bubbly water.
HLL VP skin care Ashok Venkatramani says, "The word Lux comes from luxury. It was introduced in 1929 at the princely price of 2 annas. Over the years it has been the epitome of what glamour is. While styles and fashions have changed over the decades what has stayed constant is Lux's association with film stars. We have positioned the brand over the years as enabling a woman to express her beauty.
"Our first endorser was Lela Chitnis. It has been endorsed by almost 50 film stars in India from Madhubala to Aishwarya Rai. Now we are looking to take a leap forward by using the badshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan. The ongoing promotion will run for two months after which we will announce more activities. The personal wash asegment is worth Rs. 45 billion. Lux has a share of 15 per cent and HLL has a share of 56 per cent in total."
Venkatramani went on to add that for the promotion consumer research was done. HLL found that consumers wanted to be an integral part of experiencing the celebration of the brand. Therefore HLL decided that to promote Lux the consumer the housewife who has been loyal over many decades would be the focus and not the brand per se. Consumers did not want the priviledge of celebrating the brand restriced to a select few. Last year 700 million Lux products were sold.
A promotional film says that if a film star endorses Lux it is a clear sign that she has arrived. There have been times when Lux spotted emerging talent and then sought to be associated with her as was the case with Madhuri Dixit. Malini said, "One of the turning points of my career was when I was signed up by Lux. It was then that I knew that I had made my mark in Indian cinema. To be a Lux star is a much sought after honour among leading ladies and it truly means a lot to me."
Chawla said, "It has been over 12 years since I was first a Lux star and the brand has evolved with time. I do believe that a significant recognition I received other than winning the Miss India crown was being named a Lux star."
