When Tongues Start Wagging Again: The Story Behind Center Fruit's Bullock Cart Revival

It was January 2025, and Center Fruit was about to do something it hadn't done in years—bring back the phrase that once made India laugh, wag their tongues, and remember a chewing gum brand like no other. "Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee" was returning after a significant hiatus, and it was coming back with a story that would bridge the old with the new, the rural with the urban, and tradition with urgency.

For those who grew up in the 2000s and early 2010s, "Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee"—which translates to "How the tongue waggles"—wasn't just a tagline. It was part of popular culture. Center Fruit had created memorable campaigns featuring wagging tongues, including the famous ATM commercial where a teller dispensed money from his mouth, and a musical face-off called Jugalbandi. Each advertisement was wilder than the last, built on the simple premise that Center Fruit's irresistible fruity taste made tongues go crazy.

But times changed. The brand shifted its focus to the "Mood Ting Tong" tagline in recent years, using it across various product lines including Tennis Ball Shape gums and Soft Chews. The iconic tongue-wagging phrase that had once defined Center Fruit seemed to have been retired to the archives of advertising history.

Until now.

The Director's Return

The 2025 campaign was directed by filmmaker Prasoon Pandey, and this detail matters more than it might initially appear. The ad film was created by Corcoise Films, the same production house that created the original 'Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee' commercial. This wasn't just any director picking up an old tagline—this was the original creative team coming back home, bringing with them all the madness and brilliance that made the early campaigns legendary.

Pandey, celebrated in Indian advertising circles for his distinctive storytelling, was tasked with doing what seemed impossible: recreating magic that was nearly two decades old while making it feel fresh and relevant for 2025.

The Story Unfolds: A Woman, A Cart, and A Deadline

The film follows the story of a city dweller stranded on a bullock cart after her car breaks down, desperately trying to reach the airport on time.

Picture this: A modern urban woman, complete with makeup and all the mannerisms of someone who lives life in the fast lane, finds herself in a scenario that's the complete opposite of fast—seated on a bullock cart, moving at a pace that would make a snail feel competitive. The irony isn't subtle, and it isn't meant to be.

Portrayed as a typical city monger, she is seen applying makeup and exuding urban mannerisms. The contrast is deliberate—here's someone used to Uber rides and quick commutes, now entirely at the mercy of a bullock and its patient, unhurried driver.

The woman is anxious. She needs to catch her flight. Time is slipping away with each slow, deliberate step of the bullock. She's stuck between panic and helplessness, a situation many of us can relate to—not necessarily the bullock cart part, but that sinking feeling when you're running late and completely out of control.

The Twist: When Craving Becomes Solution

This is where Center Fruit's genius comes in. The cart driver, spotting a Center Fruit, experiences a tongue-waggling moment that unexpectedly prompts the bullock to pick up speed.

The driver pulls out a Center Fruit. The moment he pops it in his mouth, his tongue starts going "laplap"—wagging uncontrollably in that signature way that defined all those memorable Center Fruit ads. But here's the clever part: the bullock, seeing or sensing this tongue-wagging frenzy, suddenly picks up pace.

This clever twist showcases the cart driver's unconventional solution, reinforcing the brand's long-standing association with its irresistible fruit flavor appeal. The driver has essentially used his own craving for Center Fruit to solve the woman's problem—his enthusiastic tongue-wagging somehow motivates the bullock to move faster, ensuring she reaches the airport in time.

It's absurd. It's hilarious. It's quintessentially Center Fruit.

Why Bring Back An Old Tagline?

The decision to revive "Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee" wasn't made lightly. Center Fruit commands approximately 25% of India's chewing gum market share, making it a significant player in a highly competitive space. When a brand holds that kind of position, every strategic move matters.

According to Gunjan Khetan, Chief Marketing Officer at Perfetti Van Melle India, "'Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee' is more than a tagline; it's an expression that captures the essence of Centerfruit's promise of irresistible taste". He added that the campaign brings focus back to the brand's signature product functionality and taste, delivering what he called a fun and irresistible experience.

For Khetan, this wasn't just nostalgia for nostalgia's sake. He described it as "a true reflection of our dedication to turning every bite into a burst of joy".

The Creative Mind Behind The Madness

Anurag Agnihotri, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy West, who conceptualized the campaign, shared his perspective: "Centerfruit is one of the most loved brands in India. And its tagline, 'Kaisi jeebh laplapayee' has been iconic".

Agnihotri was candid about the creative journey. He noted that over the years, they've "created wildly funny stories on the simple premise of yummy taste," and with this campaign, they were back with "yet another crazy, memorable story". His hope? To "get tongues wagging, both literally and figuratively, again".

The phrase "wildly funny" and "crazy" aren't exaggerations when it comes to Center Fruit's advertising legacy. Previous campaigns featured everything from people dispensing money from their mouths to elaborate musical performances triggered by tongue-wagging. The bar for "crazy" was already set absurdly high.

Balancing Nostalgia and Modernity

What makes the bullock cart campaign particularly clever is how it manages to be both familiar and fresh. For viewers who remember the original campaigns, the tongue-wagging returns like an old friend. The familiar tagline, the exaggerated physical comedy, the absurd premise—it's all there.

But the scenario itself is thoroughly modern. A city woman rushing to catch a flight, stranded in a rural setting, navigating the collision of urban urgency and rural pace—these are relatable contemporary anxieties, even if the specific circumstances are exaggerated for comic effect.

The campaign acknowledges that India exists in multiple time zones simultaneously—some parts moving at internet speed, others at bullock cart speed—and finds humor in that collision rather than judgment.

The Technical Excellence

The campaign was created by Ogilvy India, with production by Corcoise Films, reuniting the team that had made Center Fruit's advertising so distinctive in the first place.

This continuity matters. The visual language of Center Fruit's ads has always been specific—a certain type of exaggeration, a particular comedic timing, a way of making the absurd feel grounded. Having the original production house return ensured that the new campaign felt like a genuine continuation rather than an imitation.

A Strategic Pivot

The significance of this campaign extends beyond mere nostalgia, given Center Fruit's position as a flagship brand within Perfetti Van Melle's portfolio. The decision to bring back "Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee" represents what industry observers have called a shift in the brand's advertising strategy.

For the past couple of years, "Mood Ting Tong" had been the dominant tagline across Center Fruit's offerings. The return to "Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee" signals that the company believes there's still power in its original brand identity—that perhaps in moving forward, they had left behind something valuable that deserved to be reclaimed.

What The Campaign Gets Right

The bullock cart commercial succeeds on multiple levels. First, it understands its heritage. The campaign doesn't try to modernize the tongue-wagging away or make it subtle. It embraces the absurdity that made the original campaigns memorable, understanding that Center Fruit's brand identity is built on being unapologetically over-the-top.

Second, it finds a fresh context for an old idea. Rather than simply recreating an old commercial, it places the tongue-wagging in a scenario that creates genuine narrative tension. The woman needs to reach the airport. The bullock is slow. The driver's solution, while ridiculous, resolves a real problem within the story.

Third, it demonstrates product benefit through storytelling rather than declaration. The driver's intense craving for Center Fruit—so intense it makes his tongue wag uncontrollably—communicates the product's irresistible taste without anyone having to say it directly.

The Broader Context: Revival Trends in Indian Advertising

Center Fruit's decision to revive its classic tagline fits within a broader trend in Indian advertising where brands are rediscovering the power of their heritage. In a cluttered marketplace where new campaigns launch daily, sometimes the most distinctive thing a brand can do is remind consumers of what made them special in the first place.

But nostalgia alone isn't enough. The brands that succeed with revival campaigns are those that find ways to make the old feel new—not by changing it fundamentally, but by placing it in contexts that resonate with contemporary audiences.

The Test of Time

Will the revival work? The early reception suggests promise. The campaign has generated conversation, both among those who remember the original tagline fondly and younger viewers encountering it for the first time. The humor translates across generations—you don't need to remember 2007 to find a tongue-wagging cart driver motivating a bullock hilarious.

What's particularly smart is that the campaign doesn't require viewers to understand its history to enjoy it. If you know the tagline's legacy, you get an additional layer of appreciation. If you don't, you still get a funny story with a memorable phrase.

Conclusion: Some Things Never Go Out of Style

In the end, the bullock cart campaign is a reminder that good advertising ideas have staying power. "Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee" worked nearly two decades ago because it captured something simple and universal—the way truly delicious things make us react physically, involuntarily, with genuine pleasure.

That truth hasn't changed. Our tongues still wag when something tastes irresistible. We still make faces when we eat something delicious. These physical, human responses transcend trends and timelines.

By bringing back its iconic tagline with a fresh story, Center Fruit has done something that's surprisingly rare in advertising: it's reminded us that some brand ideas are too good to retire. Sometimes the way forward is to remember what made you special in the first place, dust it off, give it a new context, and let it work its magic all over again.

And if that magic involves a bullock picking up speed because its driver is too busy wagging his tongue after eating a chewing gum? Well, that's exactly the kind of crazy that made Center Fruit legendary to begin with.

After all, in a world that takes itself too seriously, sometimes what we need most is to let our tongues wag freely—both literally and figuratively.