Icons

What is common between Dettol , Cadbury, Lux, Surf, Colgate, Burnol ? Well a concoction of all these will be pretty funny to say the least.

These are all brands with which I grew up in seventies and eighties and these brands are still as relevant as they were. In fact they have assumed a generic state. In villages and small towns Colgate is the synonym of toothpaste and the actual toothpaste being used may be of some other make but it is still referred to as Colgate. Same goes for Lux and Surf when it comes to cleaning self or cleaning clothes.

Dettol is the first first-aid that we all come to terms with. And for a small burn, I never knew in those days any other substitute of Burnol.

And when it comes to chocolate, in my childhood did not know of any other chocolate which was not a Cadbury. A Cadbury was for small joys, for small celebrations like scoring good marks in exams, for birthdays et al. I recall one Geography teacher made us memorize the capitals of various countries and in the impromptu test at class the best three crackers got a Cadbury each. I was also one of the recipients once and I still remember the capitals of the countries fairly well even today.

In those days the Cadbury came more or less in one packaging- the standard violet one with Dairy Milk Chocolate written on it. A few years down the line came the other variants in other colours and tastes.

Today we know that Cadbury has been sold off and the company renamed to Mondelez. Currently the brand names will remain is what we are told.

However some years down the line will the small town grocer be asked by a child for a Cadbury or a Mondelez chocolate ? Only time will tell.….! But they have been icons in their own right !