The Culture Of Cleaning

A Semiotic Analysis

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July 16

Understanding The Culture Of Cleaning

In order to appeal to the audience, a
brand needs to be based on deep rooted
consumer motivations and desires
We need to grasp the cultural context of
the audience in order to understand
these motivations

Language & Symbols

Heroes & Icons

Myths

Hofstedes onion model of culture is one

of the ore efficient tools to understand
subtle aspects of culture
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Values

July 16

Sense | Seek | Study Framework

A SilberStrat Proprietary Model for Cultural Analysis and Brand Absorption

SENSE

Observe the Cleaning world

Home makers / Household Maids

Sweepers
Municipal workers

Absorb the world built around it

Houses

Garbage bins
Cleaning trucks

SEEK

Public signages
Supermarket cleaning shelf codes

Interact with Consumers (in this case

housewives, cleaning ladies, male cleaning

workers)

STUDY

dissertations, white papers etc)

Municipal officers, employees, public sanitation

Discuss with experts who have done work in this

field (Samit Mehrotra, VP, Futurebrands)

Explore the surroundings of the target market

Level of cleanliness

Clean vs not so clean areas

Peoples behavior to existing level of cleanliness

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Popular Culture (cinema, advertising, fiction,

fashion, food etc)

workers

Online information (reports, reviews, analysis,

Apply Tools and Models

Hofestede Onion

Cultural Iceberg

Custom Tools

Arrive at cultural discourses

July 16

Cleaning Values
Mythological/Historical:
Dirty = Wrong, Sin, Impure; Purification is a part of all religious/ritualistic rites
Those who commit sins are usually seen as being dirty even in the physical sense. For eg. Rakshasa consuming madira,
looking ugly, living in jungles
Dirty = Imperfection
God = Perfection

To clean something is to bring it to its original state of perfection

(Food spilt on a table is not germ ridden but still seen to be making the table unclean. Dirt is that which exists in a system without context and therefore causes imperfection)

So,
Cleanliness = Perfection = Godliness
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July 16

Cleaning Values
Cleaning as Purification

Physical purification: To be clean is to be germ free/ stain free/ diseases free

Spiritual / Mental purification: Cleanliness is next to godliness / a clean spirit

Social purification: Clean conscience

Cleaning affects Social Image

Effect on friends / peer group / relatives. Looking good / bright / shiny implies looking clean

Cleaning is Monotony/Boredom

Cleaning is a continuous repetitive process. Involves the need of putting effort over and over again

Repetitive -> Monotonous -> Boring

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July 16

Cleaning Values
Clean is a state that is pure / positive / pristine and allows you to flourish
Dirt is usually seen as an enemy a negative force, that needs to be fought/battled against. Negatives OUT.
But cleaning could also imply positives IN
Cleaning is about allowing the good/the pure/the shubh in the house. The home maker is not necessarily a
warrior but a Lakshmi.
Feeling clean is what lends assurance to being clean. Just looking clean is not enough. Being clean means
a holistic sense of cleanliness (sounding clean, smelling clean)

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July 16

Repetitive nature of a task, without any associated learning, can take you to a point
of absurdity. Cleaning in itself might have a higher order meaning, but the act of
cleaning" per say is just a repetition of an act to the point of meaninglessness. The
home maker / house wife faces this state of drudgery, boredom and monotony
every day. And therefore could there be a need to make this inevitable act of
cleaning more exciting and meaningful for her?

The Drudgery Of Cleaning

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July 16

Cleaning Values
Sacred Clean
Worship and Food
The most pristine and personal of
household spaces
The degree of cleanliness is very high and
personal in nature
Limited access: Worshipping spaces
strictly DIY
Kitchen/utensils:

Either the cooks domain

Or the 1st task picked by the maid (before
jhaadu-poncha)

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Social Clean
The Living Rooms

Hygiene Clean
Toilets/Bathrooms

Shared socializing spaces

The most impure part of the house

Receives evaluative gaze

Traditional constructions: located at

the periphery of the house

Receives outsiders, hence unknown

impurities
Demands not just cosmetic cleaning
(dusting, surface stain removal) which
is the domain of the housewife, but
also a regular de-polluting of the space
(floor cleaning, fabric wash) jharooponcha-kapra by maid

Modern floor-plans: toilets and kitchen

are kept on different sides
Regular and rigorous decontamination
required
A task reserved for the jamadar
July 16

Values Key words

Purification
Perfection
Order
Multi-sensorial/
Feeling pure
+ve in, -ve out

Germ Kill
War / Battle
Sacred/ Social/
Hygiene

Pristine / white /
original state

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July 16

Cleaning Rituals
Ensconced in the religious context

Morning snan and prayer: har har gangey (prayer + snan)

Cow dung for cleaning mud houses in villages. Implies not just cleaning but purification

Paap Dhona, Ganga snan, hawan for shudhta

Festivity: Complete cleaning of the house during festivals like diwali etc
The Battle: Gearing up to clean is like going to war with cleaning tools similar to ammunition, the end
result being the death of germ/dirt (mostly media and advertising depiction)

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July 16

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Cleaning Rituals
Deep rooted importance in our core social construct

The caste system accounts for an entire set of people dedicated to cleaning. The importance of cleaning in our life is at the same
level as that of

Knowledge (Brahmin)

Power (Warrior Khshatriya)

Trade (Vaishya)

and thus the Cleaning sect (Shudra)

One needs to get dirty in order to clean something

The one who cleans is seen as being dirty

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Values Key words

Rituals Key words

Har-har gangey
Paap
Dhona

Perfection
Order
Cow dung
Implies
purification

Multi-sensorial
Sacred/ Social/
Hygiene

Germ Kill
War / Battle

+ve in,
-ve out

Pristine / white /
original state

Cleaning
During Diwali /
festivals

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One who
Cleans
is dirty

Purification

Battle/
War

Cleaning
Sect- Shudra

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Cleaning Heroes / Icons

Gandhi ji: Perpetrated hygiene (but cleaning was not the core to his teachings)
Anna Hazare: Is on a campaign against corruption to clean society (but is not necessarily known as the society
cleaner)

Lalitha ji: Icon for bargaining and effective home maker ship and therefore also effective in her decisions
on what to buy (not really a cleaning lady)

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July 16

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Cleaning Heroes / Icons

Can cleaning really have a hero?

The one who cleans is never looked up to. Never held in any sort of awe. Dhobi / maid/ Jamadar / (lower strata of
society)

What gratification does the housewife get for ensuring a clean house?

Possibly, housewife is a hero simply because she does the cleaning without getting any gratification / reward
Unsung Hero

Hence, the need for experts

Mr Clean / Mr. Muscle / Lab Technicians

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July 16

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Values Key words

Rituals Key words
Icons Key words
One who cleans is never
looked upto

Har-har gangey
Paap
Dhona

Perfection
Order
Cow dung
Implies
purification
Housewife
the Unsung
hero

One who
Cleans
is dirty

Purification
Germ Kill
War / Battle

Multi-sensorial
Sacred/ Social/
Hygiene

Cleaning
During Diwali /
festivals

+ve in,
-ve out

Pristine / white /
original state

Battle/
War

Cleaning
Sect- Shudra

Doctor /
Expert / Mr. Muscle/ Mr Clean

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Cleaning Symbols
Visibly Clean: Sparkle / shine / clean sweep swoosh / looking good
Colorful: The category is full of colors

Colorfulness of cleaning tools

Colorful / bright category in branded segment

Squeaky sound of clean

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Cleaning Symbols
Cleaning is a war and House wife the warrior:
Pallu tucked at the waist, and jhaadu in hand.
(Almost a Durga representation with weapons)
The Cleanliness Barrier: Yellow gloves / cloth :
Barrier between the one who cleans and what is
being cleaned? (mostly international)
Color Codes: Hospitals & Clinics with their typical
color codes (green+white) and smell

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Values Key words

Rituals Key words
Icons Key words
Symbols Key words

Visibly clean
Sparkle, shine, looking good

One who cleans is never

looked upto
Colorful
Har-har gangey
Paap
Dhona

Perfection
Order
Cow dung
Implies
purification

Warrior
housewife

Housewife
the Unsung
hero

One who
Cleans
is dirty

Purification

Multi-sensorial
Sacred/ Social/
Hygiene

Cleaning
During Diwali /
festivals

Germ Kill
War / Battle

+ve in,
-ve out

Pristine / white /
original state

Battle/
War

Squeaky
sound
of clean

Cleaning
Sect- Shudra

Doctor /
Expert / Mr. Muscle/ Mr Clean

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Gloves / clothes / wiper

Barriers against the dirty area

July 16

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Cleaning Discourses
1. Cleanliness is Godliness
2. Cleanliness is about achieving the original natural
pristine state
3. Dirt is the enemy and cleaning is a war against dirt
4. Cleaning is about letting the Positives In
5. Cleaning is a dirty act housewife as the unsung
hero

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6. Clean means shiny and bright The dominant

category discourse of Shine / Glow /spark
7. Cleaning is good for projecting a better status/social
Image
8. Cleaning is Monotonous and Boring
9. Cleanliness is about achieving Peace of mind
10. Cleaning can be magical and Multi- sensorial

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Semiotic Discourses For The Category

Residual Discourse

Dirt is the Enemy and cleaning is a war! (eg - Rin lightening symbolising a weapon against dirt,
or the Mr Muscle warrior)
Dominant Discourse

Clean means shiny bright and white: (The Tide white swoosh)
Emerging Discourse

Cleaning is just inconvenient (Could there be a positioning gap here?)

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Potential Brand Platforms & Symbolisms

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Freedom

Cleaning is Monotonous, so the brand sets you free

The proposition is to set you free from this drudgery

Open Circle

Freedom of flight

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Efficiency

Efficient and Quick Cleaning

Efficiency of Brand Quick cleaning More time for self

Chutki mein chamkaye

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Surprise / Magically
The star trail that shows magical and shine

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Purity / Natural Clean

Cleanliness is about achieving the original natural state

Organic natural shape

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Cleanliness Is Godliness
Cleanliness is about achieving the Perfect/Pure/Pristine almost god like state

Halo

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Symbolism Architecture

LIVING ROOM
Social Image. Want to shine hence the star

KITCHEN
Ziddi daag, need to be hard
working, hence saw wheel

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BATHROOM
Hygiene - hence the plus sign

FURNITURE
Fragrance

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To help brands & businesses succeed in a hyper-changing world.

Thank You

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