How Lux became 'the soap of the stars'
Lux sells stardom. The soap is a corollary. From Deepika Padukone’s bright smile to Sharmila Tagore’s everlasting grace, Lux has always established itself as the secret behind the stellar beauty of the most sought-after faces of the day.
Hindustan Unilever’s ‘Lux’ was first launched in India in 1941 and the legendary actress Leela Chitnis, known for her films Kangan (1939) and Bandhan (1940), was chosen to be its first brand ambassador.
With its tagline: “Filmi sitaron ka manpasand sabun” and Chitnis’ declaration that “9 out of 10 film stars use Lux toilet soap”, the brand very efficiently distinguished itself from the competition. Since then, Lux has come to represent the magical doorway into a world of glamour and luxury that was only open to film stars before. Using this star-endorsed beauty product convinced people that they too could have a piece of that lifestyle.
For the actresses as well, a deal with Lux became symbolic of success, and a heralding of their arrival in the film industry. Through the years, Lux has roped in top Bollywood heroines as its brand ambassadors.
An enduring brand
From Madhubala, Rekha, Meena Kumari, Zeenat Aman, Hema Malini, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Aishwarya Rai, Juhi Chawla, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone to Alia Bhatt, there is a star on the Lix list for every generation, passing the baton to the next. Suhana Khan, a Gen Z icon, is the current brand ambassador.
In 2005, Mega Star and ‘Romance King’ Shah Rukh Khan, became the first and only male star to appear in a Lux ad. The campaign, celebrating 75 years of the brand, marked a clever departure to attain wider appeal and rope in broader audiences.
Lux would go on to enlist real-life star couples like Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, and Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma in its ad campaigns. This further established Lux’s link to a life of beauty, success, and celebrity.
Lux’s brand campaigns have continued to sell the dream of attainable beauty and luxury and a century later, it’s a dream that people continue to invest in.
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