How Raymond Sold Cloth By Describing A Kind Of Man
Raymond solved an unsolvable brief by changing what it was selling. Suiting fabric has no visible difference between brands, no repeat purchase worth speaking of, and nothing a viewer can evaluate on screen.
Brand: Raymond, in suiting and menswear
Positioning: The Complete Man, one of the longest continuously used lines in Indian advertising
The films describe behaviour rather than product, usually a small act of attentiveness
The product typically appears as what the man is wearing and nothing more
Why Raymond Could Not Advertise The Cloth
Because nobody buys suiting often enough to develop a preference, and almost nobody can tell one fabric from another by looking. The category also sells through a tailor, which puts a third party between the brand and the decision.
A brand in that position can either compete on price with a product nobody can assess, or it can attach itself to something the buyer does care about.
What The Complete Man Actually Describes
A kind of masculinity that was unusual in Indian advertising when it arrived and is now close to standard: attentive, domestic, quiet rather than demonstrative. The films consistently show a man noticing something rather than achieving something.
That is a flattering mirror rather than an aspiration, which is the shrewder of the two available positions. A customer is not being asked to become anyone; he is being told he already is this, and the fabric is simply what such a person wears.
Why It Has Lasted
Because it describes a value rather than a style, and values date more slowly than clothes. A positioning built on what is fashionable requires replacing every few years.
It is also almost impossible to attack. A competitor cannot credibly claim the incomplete man, which leaves the territory uncontested for as long as the brand keeps paying for it.
More on Ad Tribe Campaigns That Built India.