The Tamanna-Micor sandal soap saga is much higher than the latest celebrity endorsement to attract the flake. It is a textbook case of older marketing, a misleading discovery of beauty ideals, and a “pan-India strategy” that brilliantly misunderstands by looking at its roots.
Tamannaah Bhatia was to lift KSDL’s bet of Rs 6.2 crore, Mysore sandal soap from doldrums. Great intentions, perhaps. But, justification? “Pan-India appeal,” “Digital appearance.” For example, in 2025, consumers are swept away by a follower count on the actual connection.
This is just no soap; This is its own in Karnataka, which is a matter of deep regional pride. The displeasure is not against Tamannaah – she is only a celebrity who is doing her work. It is about us. It is about a government -owned enterprise, which already ignores intensive, biological connections with its people – a local Kannada will ignore actor or actress with a more powerful, organic connection scene.
In fact, many Kannada actors and actresses must have adopted this role for free, out of pride for the state – such as the late Puneth Rajkumar and I participated in the Pro -Bono for the campaign led by ‘Hosa Belku’.
It incorrectly performs an enterprise in the field of beauty standards, yet significantly, yet significantly, importantly. In an era, where women globally are actively eliminating unrealistic ideals by the media – think that the change from ‘Fair and Lovely’ to ‘Glow and Lovely’ – a government -owned unit of a government should have the voice of the cause, not the echo of dated aspirations.
Looking at pigeon campaigns, it is never characterized by a traditional brand ambassador, but to strengthen normal, regular people to feel strong and beautiful in your skin. Oppose it with the struggles of brands such as Victoria Secret, which was properly suffering to stick to exclusion, aspiring beauty ideals rather than embrace reliability.
The Mysore sandal soap, unlike a luxury product, resonates with farmers, nurses, IT professionals and families across Karnataka; It is reliable, not aspiration. It is about the feeling of belonging and unity. To support a celebrity, injecting a different cultural field, especially from a separate cultural field, distinguishes the risk of making the brand aspiring in a way that separates its core, diverse user base. It replaces powerful relativity that promotes loyalty with an inaccessible image, unknowingly resentment and promotes the feeling of “not being very good”.
And then “PAN -India Strategy” – often a lazy solution for innovation. For the alleged struggling company, a brand ambassador defines the basic financial argument by spending Rs 6 crore. How many soaps should be sold to recreate that fee again?
Mysore sandals are entangled deeply in the state’s pride and inheritance. It has loyalty – the type that sticks you by RCB through thick and thin, victory or necklace. You do not require a celebrity to tell people what to buy when shopping already. Amul understands it; He never needed a celebrity, relying on a prestigious mascot and brilliant campaigns to create a sense of national ownership. Global legends like Amazon and Apple do not rely on face; They rely on the vested value.
This chase of a “pan-India” mask, grabbing a desperate for external verification, feels less like a strategic revival and is more like an expensive eye-handle. You do not need anyone to make Karnataka’s brand PAN-India. You make Karnataka Pan-India, and will follow Mysore sandals soap.
In a market where Lux also fights daily for relevance, the actual strength of KSDL lies in its stability, quality and intense, permanent pride Kannadigas in their soap. Can be intended, but execution? Everything is a fundamental wrong that actually makes a brand great.
(Divya Spandana is a former member of Parliament, and an actor and producer)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
