American Standard's campaign to project itself as consumer-centric brand

The firm is present in 175 cities. Its products are available in 405-plus stores

Think about it: This is a category that would never feature among the top 10 advertising categories; the end consumer would rarely take the trouble to go to a retail outlet to choose what she wants; once bought they are expected to last a lifetime and chances of repeat purchase are, therefore, low.

Little wonder then that less than one per cent of the annual industry sales of about Rs 50 billion is spent on advertising bathroom fixtures. The products are more or less similar except in the premium category and there is hardly any true innovation involved. 

Hence, it is uncanny