Bail Kolhu kicks off humorous social media campaign

Bail Kolhu, the flagship brand of BL Agro, India’s leading FMCG company today announced the launch of a new social media campaign, an extension of the #RasodeMeinMardHai initiative which forges ahead of awareness and conversation, creating real change around men working in the kitchen.  The concept “ab kitchen mein badh rahi hai mardo ki bhaagedaari” is illustrated through 5  extremely fun-filled yet insightful and entertaining digital films.

The idea that kitchen duties are for women alone has been deeply embedded in the Indian psyche for ages and generations. Bail Kolhu wished to flip the narrative of this irksome mindset. To that end, the brand launched RasodeMeinMardHai TVCs in March 2022, starring Bollywood actors Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpayee, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

The campaign redefined the pressing concern that women are the only "cooks" of the house with three commercials. The TVCs depicting men cooking with aprons on sparked a revolution. Conversations about the need for men to shoulder kitchen responsibilities began to rage on social media. 

To evaluate the extent to which the idea they had introduced was accepted, Bail Kolhu went into the thick of it. For months, the brand spoke to men and women on the ground to understand what were their thoughts on equalising gender roles in the kitchen.

“The way kitchen duties and roles are perceived were metamorphosed with the introduction of the Rasode Mein Mard Hai campaign. We knew it had caused a paradigm shift in the subconscious of people of all ages and genders. Men were finally noticing the oft-ignored normative issue and inching their way into the kitchen. Women were applauding both the initiative to redefine how most Indian households regarded cooking and men trying to adapt themselves,” explains Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Chairman, BL Agro. “But that was half the battle won. We had to do more.”

Building upon the legacy the TVCs created, the brand decided to press on and give #RasodeMeinMardHai a new avatar with the latest campaign comprising of 5 films. Each depicts a typical day in the life of a man – a day that includes casually talking about cooking. They portray different scenarios where the male characters discuss the best oil to cook a dish in between the usual work conversations. The campaign has an ingenuous humorous spin and organic product integration.

"It’s Rasode Mein Mard Hai 2.0 if you will," says Richa Khandelwal, Managing Director of Leads Brand Connect. "The first version of the campaign put our hearts in the right place and got our minds ready to accept that men cooking is not something out of the realm of imagination. And it was welcomed with open arms by all. It became evident that we needed to advocate for and work towards more change. So, we launched an extension of the campaign. This time we’re normalising the fact that men too can discuss food, cooking, and kitchen chores during their day as comfortably and regularly as women do."

Leads Brand Connect conceptualised the campaign on the principle that men are increasingly taking on the roles of home cooks. Hence, the punch line, "rasode mein haath batayein saath pakayein." All previous campaigns by the agency, be it “Safar” or “Khushbu Ka Yaadon Se Rishta,” were strategically ahead of their time, making for effective advertising. This campaign follows the same path, not just provoking emotions but becoming firmly stuck in people’s memories long after they have seen it.

Bail Kolhu is the signature product of BL Agro, launched in 1986 by Ghanshyam Khandelwal, the current Chairman, with the promise of delivering pure and quality edible mustard oil. Today, it is an extremely well-recognised trade name, almost synonymous with mustard oils.