Surf's 'Lalitaji' Kavita Chaudhary no more

Chaudhary, who was 67 years old at the time of her demise, suffered a heart attack at a hospital in Amritsar

e4m by e4m Desk
Published: Feb 16, 2024 4:01 PM  | 3 min read
Surf's 'Lalitaji' Kavita Chaudhary
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Indian television actress, director and producer Kavita Chaudhary, known for her roles in the Doordarshan series Udaan and more famously as Surf detergent's mascot Lalitaji in the 80s, has passed away. Chaudhary, who was 67 years old at the time of her demise, suffered a heart attack at a hospital in Amritsar.

In the late 80s, Chaudhary came to be known as a feminist icon, known for her role as the IPS officer Kalyani Singh in the DD serial Udaan. Even before that, she was well-known in Indian households as the mascot of Surf detergent.



"Lalitaji", the character she portrayed, was part of the detergent powder campaign in the 80s. Chaudhary's portrayal of the prudent housewife, making cost-effective decisions for the household, created a huge impact on the brand.

"Surf ki kharidari mein hi samajhdari hai," was a catchphrase that she popularised as the beloved character, which created instant recall for the brand.
Dressed in the garb of a quintessential Indian housewife, her forehead adorned with a red bindi and a blue-and-white saree, Lalitaji represented the blend of traditional values and modern sensibilities.

Despite haggling with the vendors and shrewdly dealing with them, Lalitaji chooses to pay the premium price for Surf as if washed more with less powder. "Achi cheez aur sasti cheez main farak hota hain (There's a difference between a good thing and a cheap thing)," she famously said.

Adman Alyq Padamsee, who conceptualised the campaign, created Lalitaji based on his own mother.

Chaudhary's deft portrayal of Lalitaji created immense equity for Surf as a brand.

Brand Expert Karthik Srinivasan took to X and said, "Lalita Ji was created by Alyque Padamsee (agency: Lintas) for HUL's Surf, which was losing share in the early 1980s due to aggressive pricing by Nirma (which had its own famous "Washing Powder Nirma" ad campaign). HUL ran the "Lalita Ji" ads first during Doordarshan's airing of the 1984 Olympic Games. Since then, Lalita Ji has become—and easily is—perhaps the most iconic fictional character from an advertising campaign in India.”

“Of course, in today's content and media overdose times, it's difficult to envision a single fictional advertising-led character reaching such cult status (there are a few, of course, like the Gulab Jamun Uncle (See: http://tinyurl.com/jamununcle), but in those Doordarshan-only days, Lalita Ji was truly a phenomenon! The campaign featured Kavita as the smart and value-conscious housewife, and through her, it helped Surf pitch against Nirma while not playing the price game.”

Several industry heads shared their memories of Lalita Ji on social media.

 

Published On: Feb 16, 2024 4:01 PM 
Tags Alyq Padamsee Kavita Chaudhary Surf detergent

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