The famous television commercial featuring Ustad Zakir Hussain portrayed the perfection in playing the tabla as the result of hours of dedicated work, just like the work of a master tea blender
Ustad Zakir Hussain, was seen as having the right mix of Indianness and talent. He also had a persona apart from his talent. And so he became the choice for the new ad campaign for Taj Mahal Tea.
Grey clouds darken the sky, cool drops of rain splatter against the window, and one gets an unmistakable whiff of wet earth. It is at times like this that one wishes to sit back, watch the rain, nestling a cup of hot tea (and maybe munch on a few pakodas, too). Monsoon and sips of hot tea…..magical!
Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea was launched in 1966 in Kolkata. It was a premium tea brand, made from the finest leaves, promising a superior tea drinking experience.
Taj Mahal Tea was seen to be for the upper crust, having a strong western influence. Mornings were considered incomplete without a cup of Taj Mahal Tea. Models like Malavika Tiwari appeared cycling and doing aerobics in advertising to emphasize an elite lifestyle. The advertisement ended with the model exclaiming “Ah Taj”.
The company decided to relaunch this product when it realised that a larger group of consumers, the aspirational middle class, also liked this tea. It was seen as a “western” brand and now had to communicate with a larger Indian audience.
Research revealed that three parameters were very important for a tea connoisseur: colour, smell, and taste. The team at the advertising agency, Hindustan Thompson Associates (HTA), researched how tea was processed. They realised that a tea taster, an individual who specialised in matching these three parameters, was crucial to the process. The communication to the consumers had to reflect that Taj Mahal Tea lived up to these parameters to provide a fine cup of tea.