Bajaj is one brand which is known by any single person living in India.Its brand awareness can only be matched by the likes of  TATA,Maruti etc.
Every indian belonging to any class or group knows about bajaj.Bajaj has a heritage which has served generations.
It has given many sub brands to India-From Chetak,Priya,Super to Pulsar,Discover,Platina.

I still remember the lyrics of this ad by heart.

Hamara Bajaj (Old)

This ad is close to everyones heart.Bajaj had a monopoly in 2 wheeler markets at this time.And Chetak was every one’s choice .But then things changed and other players started to come.

The Indian consumer preferences changed and Bikes came into the picture.Hero Honda kept on rising at a good rate.Bajaj felt the heat.The Bajaj’s also launched their own bikes with KB 100(Kawasaki) in 1986.

Then 4S champion,Boxer and Caliber followed.Meanwhile they also brought out their 4 stroke scooter Legend.

In 2001 a new ad was launched by Bajaj which not only showed their diverse product range but also had a touch of modernity telling that they are changing and adapting.

The core values were kept same,Hamara Bajaj was still there.The brand personality was made a bit modern but with all emotional and indian values intact.

Bajaj-2001

2001 was not only the year of this ad but also the the year of a new dawn, a new bajaj.2001 saw the launch of Pulsar,which changed the way ,Indians looked at bikes.CBZ was launched by Hero Honda in 1999,which showed there was an untapped market in india for performance bikes.

Pulsar was launched successfully with ‘Definitely Male’ campaign.Bajaj didnt go for Hamara Bajaj tagline for Pulsar.

Its a Boy !

Till 2007,Bajaj kept on growing in the bike segment as did the indian market as such.Scooters were a thing of past’.Chetaks,Vespas,Priyas all were out of indian roads.Only scooters like Activa survived.

Then came 2007,Bajaj repositioned itself from ‘Hamara Bajaj’ to ‘Distinctly Ahead’.

Distinctly Ahead comprised of three core values Speed, Innovation and Perfection.

The “Distinctly Ahead” vision was communicated through the all new “Hamara Bajaj” commercial. A break from the past, the communication was fast paced and aggressive and symbolized all that Bajaj Auto stood for. With one 220 Pulsar DTS-Fi’s morphing into many other Pulsar 220’s and racing against each other, the visualization and lyrics – “Alag Andaaz, Alag hai khoj, Rakhe Aage, Hamari soch” – clearly conveyed that Bajaj sets its own standards and competes only with itself.

Conceptualized by Mr. R. Balki, National Creative Director, Lowe this memorable commercial went on air on the 27 th June 2007.

Watch the end of the Ad,where the new logo and the tagline is unleashed.The ad keeps the Hamara Bajaj theme.

Till here the transition seemed smooth but now Bajaj has totally ended the Hamara Bajaj thing and are totally stuck to ‘Distinctly Ahead’ theme.
All the subsequent ads and communications are based on the D A theme.
Now personally speaking i didnt like totally foregoing the HAMARA BAJAJ theme.Change is inevitable but why we have to change so much that the old heritage is forgotten.
Same has been done by Onida and Videcon.Hamara Bajaj had a heritage of about 12 years.Suddenly it was replaced by Distinctly Ahead.

Few of my friends gave a presentation on Bajaj, They made a very interesting comment about the new logo of Bajaj.They said they asked few people about the new logo of Bajaj.Many told that the new logo looks like a Bluetooth logo or the rotated Volkswagen logo.See the image below for the resemblance.

Such things can matter in long run but never mind.

Bajaj has made India proud.Pulsar not only sells in India like hot cake but also in many other countries especially Indonesia,Malaysia etc.

Bajaj has come a long way from Chetak to Pulsar and Hamara Bajaj to Distinctly Ahead.

What Say?

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