Sonam-Dhanush to endorse Lux

The bath-tub moves to the ghats of Benares as legacy soap brand Lux finds its calling in the lead pair of the just-released Bollywood film Raanjhanaa.

MUMBAI: The bath-tub moves to the ghats of Benares as legacy soap brand Lux finds its calling in the lead pair of the just-released Bollywood film Raanjhanaa.

As the world moves to a more metrosexual avatar, its best-selling soap that started off as a feminine skin and beauty soap in 1925 has decided to be brave once again and roped in the Kolaveri lad Dhanush along with Sonam Kapoor to endorse the soap.

Lux ' derived from the word luxury ' has always used successful film actors of the time such as Madhubala, Hema Malini, Kareena Kapoor to endorse the product.

"We always tried to be a little ahead of the game, and along with roping in established stars, we also try to rope in tomorrow's stars. Sonam is a great style icon and Dhanush is an authentic romantic hero," said Sudhir Sitapati, general manager ' skin cleansing at Hindustan UnileverBSE 0.55 %, adding that he first noticed a unique chemistry by the unconventional jodi two weeks ago while watching the film promo.

With the pairing, the Raanjhanaa duo now shares a common link with Shah Rukh Khan-Katrina Kaif and Abhishek-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan pair, who also sold the soap as a couple in the past.

While the unlikely pair has caused some buzz at the box office, the question is can they whip up some lather for a venerable brand? "The risk obviously is that the recognisability may not be as high compared to established stars in smaller towns. But the reward is that you surprise the audience with a couple that they didn't expect," adds Sitapati.

While Sonam Kapoor endorses premium brands such as L'Oreal Paris, Electrolux, and Mont Blanc, the Tamil star is mostly associated with mass brands such as Tata Nano and Marico's Parachute.

Experts feel that HULBSE 0.55 % has been tampering with the product positioning in the market place more often now with increasing competition in the Rs12,500-crore soap market.

A leader in its category among the Rs1,000-crore plus luminaries in HUL's Top 10 brand quiver, Lux has been facing intense competition from Wirpo Consumer's Santoor and ITC's Vivel which have been gaining market share much faster.

"It's a double-edged sword for HUL and could prove to be a big hit or a big flop. It's a dramatic change ' the brand is slowly moving away from a beauty soap for a star to a soap for couples," said chairman of SK Advisors, Sunil Alagh.

While the overarching Lux celebrity quotient has remained intact since 1929 when Leela Chitnis promised smooth skin through Lux, the brand positioning has shifted. The over 90-year-old brand Lux is the county's second-largest selling soap, which has been extended to a range of body, hair wash and deodorants products so far.

They r tryin to promote their movie thro' soap .. 😆 Jst like how SRK - Kat did when JTHJ got released .. 😛