16/08/2017
In 1984, the buzz around was that Honda motorcycles was coming to India, and sure Royal Enfield fans turned their noses up and said Honda, who the hell rides a Honda, give me a Harley Davidson any day, and Honda fans showed them pictures of the muscular Honda CBX 1000, and said the Bullet was for Mamma's Boys, but everyone was surprised that, "those guys who make cycles in Ludhiana, Punjab," were chosen as Honda's Indian joint venture partners. The Japanese with their penchant for Kaizening everything, Just In Time, and Zero Inventory, liked the way Brijmohan Lall made cycles, his business relationships, his ancillary network, his financial good manners, and they decided he could deliver on their motorcycles.
The Munjals called in all the top agencies in India to pitch, I was asked by Ulka Delhi to work on a strategy and campaign, and present to BM's son, Raman Kant Munjal. They bought my campaign. The launch was a huge success, and now came the challenge of putting the motorcycle on the road. The Indian automotive marketplace is littered with post launch gravestones, LML Piaggio's Vespa is one such case, but the Munjals delivered, and a year later we were all proud to release an ad saying the brand was on the road, and had kept the promise. In 1991, in his prime, Raman Kant Munjal was cut down by a heart attack. All people mourn when fathers have to cremate their sons, and my thoughts often moved to BM Munjal.
He came out of semi retirement, began to come office regularly, and some years later when we presented in Ludhiana, for the launch of Hero Puch, it was to him. I recommended that they drive the moped from Austria to India, and feature the journey in a campaign. All the negatives we had of the moped, no power, no stamina, no endurance, would get removed at one fell stroke. At one point in the presentation, he and his guys started talking to each other, and I pointed out that he didn't seem very interested in my idea. He gave me one of the best compliments I have ever received, he said there had been a fire in his factory, and he was still listening to me instead of supervising on site. To him and his eldest son, and to OP Munjal, thank you, you kept the promise....
By Roy Daniles