Colgate’s new campaign exemplifies countering social judgment with optimism

Showcases the journey of elderly singles to find companionship while overcoming the fear of social judgment.

In its continuous endeavor to Keep India Smiling, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, the market leader in oral care, recently launched a new communication under its ‘Smile karo aur shuru ho jao’ campaign.

The new film inspires people to use the lockdown as a moment for reassessment and start challenging journeys with optimism. The story reveals the journey of an elderly woman whose heightened loneliness during the lockdown propels her to take charge of her life with a decision to find companionship. The narrative describes her experience of overcoming inhibitions and fear of social judgment, leading us to witness a pivotal moment in her life after the lockdown where she embraces a new beginning with optimism and confidently introduces her new partner to her family and loved ones.

This film is another in the series of Colgate’s films championing optimism to create a better future, in line with its message of Smile karo aur shuru ho jao or Get started with a smile.

Talking about the TVC, Mr. Arvind Chintamani, Vice President, Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, said, “While the pandemic has been a time of uncertainty and difficulty, it has also given people a chance to reflect and reassess their individual life journeys. One such opportunity for revaluation is the challenge of loneliness faced by elderly single people who often remain single burdened by the fear of social judgement in starting afresh and finding companionship. Our story, narrated wonderfully by Deepti Naval, encourages people to be positive and look beyond the worry of what society might say and celebrate their lives fully. We, at Colgate, strive to tell such stories to inspire hope and courage to reimagine a better future…and smile karo aur shuru ho jao.”

The campaign ad film is conceptualized by RedFuse, WPP’s integrated communications partner to Colgate India, and is directed by Bollywood director, Vikramaditya Motwane. You can watch it here in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, and Telugu. The campaign can be seen across all platforms of India Today Group, other television and digital and social platforms.

Speaking about the idea behind the campaign ad film, Delna Sethna, Executive Creative Director, RedFuse, said, “Since the beginning, Colgate’s Smile karo aur shuru ho jao campaign has narrated stories of confidence and courage. The latest ad film touches upon the topic of remarriage, which is known to be a sensitive topic in India, especially among women. We want to encourage conversation on this often taboo subject and try to normalize the culture of women in India remarrying, for whatever reason they deem worthy. The overall aim of the film is to encourage optimism and to look beyond the fear of judgement and act with the hope of a positive future.”

The Smile karo aur shuru ho jao campaign has also featured unique stories of real people like Yashasvi Jaiswal, the youngest Indian to score a double century in the history of ‘List A’ Cricket, Divyanshu Ganatra, India’s first visually impaired solo paragliding pilot, and that of Sindhutai, India’s mother of orphans.

Apart from ‘Smile karo aur shuru ho jao’ Colgate also continues to spread optimism through it’s Keep India Smiling Mission, which includes several social initiatives like Bright Smiles, Bright Futures™, Oral Health Month, Save Water, and the Keep India Smiling Foundational Scholarship. The recently launched Keep India Smiling Foundational Scholarship, a national program offering financial aid and mentorship at a foundation level to deserving people in the fields of education, sports and community initiatives, has received around 75,000 applications.