Bajaj has launched the Dominar 400 in two new colour variants, the Canyon Red and Glacier Blue. But, it’s not the new colours that are creating a buzz for the Indian motorcycle manufacturer.
Recall that after the launch of the Dominar back in 2016, its ad campaign had the tagline ‘Go Hyperriding’. The TVC, created by Ogilvy & Mather, was mainly about the Dominar with a dig at a few bikers riding elephants on the road.
While the ad doesn’t mention any particular brand, it is quite evident who Bajaj was taking a potshot at: the Royal Enfield! To make things worse, the phrase “Haathi Mat Palo” says it all (Royal Enfield Bullet was known as ‘Haathi’ back in the eighties and nineties).
Soon after that, Royal Enfield fans had a reply of their own for Bajaj bike riders.
After the first ‘Hyperriding’ campaign, things went quiet at Bajaj’s end, but the recently updated portfolio of the Bajaj Dominar has brought with it more social media chatter and verbal bouts between Bajaj Dominar and Royal Enfield fanboys.
In the first episode of the new #HaathiMatPalo ad campaign by O&M, Bajaj is having a go at its competitor’s braking prowess. And why? Just because the Dominar 400 comes with disc brakes both on the front and rear wheels bundled with an ABS option.
On the other hand, older Royal Enfield motorcycles, especially the Bullet and Classic 350, had just one disc brake up front and no ABS (Classic 500, Himalayan and Thunderbird have dual disc brakes, but ABS is still not offered in India).
Part 2 of the campaign shows two brawny bikers struggling with their elephants not wanting to ‘start’. The background noise is the sound of a motorcycle (possibly of a Royal Enfield) struggling to start due to some problems with the starter motor.
Right after that, the ‘Hyperriders’ mount their Dominars and ride off.
The third and the final ad of the series shows a herd of elephants carrying bikers in absolute disarray in the middle of a road trying to back up because of the steep road ahead.
It is a known fact that motorcycles in excess of 200 Kgs (mostly loaded Royal Enfields on trips to Ladakh) are difficult to manoeuvre, especially on steep roads.
Not long after, three Dominars whoosh past ignoring the warning calls by the ‘elephant riders’ of steep roads ahead.
Pulling off these campaigns might have taken a lot of innovative thinking on Bajaj’s part. But do these kinds of defamation tactics from brands really work?
Not really, and Royal Enfield’s sales figures seems to corroborate that.
In December 2017, Royal Enfield sold a total of 47,558 units of the Classic 350 whereas Bajaj sold just 975 units of the Dominar!
Objectively, the Bajaj Dominar is a powerful machine and is much superior to the general Royal Enfield line-up in terms of specifications and features.
However, Royal Enfield as a brand has a cult following, not only in India but globally. The brand has existed since 1901, much before Bajaj even made its first spark plug. The sales numbers simply do not lie.
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