Bachpan Kho Raha hai...

Bachpan kho raha hai,

Usse koi bachao!

Vo school ke baag mai titli pakadna,

Vo bheegti ghass mai,

Masumiyat ke sath kudna yaad hai?

Aaj palat ke dekhta hun jab mai,

Unn baagon mai kaun khelta hai ab,

Aur kya hota hai uss barish ke aalam mai?

Dikhta hai toh sirf andhera,

Kahin latakta unn bejaan jhoolon mai, jaha kabhi bachpan ka shor gunjta tha.

Vo sadak ke beech mai ithen(Brick) lagakar cricket khelna, Aur diwaaron pe nishan lagake football marna yaad hai?

Kho gaya hai bachpan,

Kho gaye woh khel.

Un sadko pe ab sirf kaanch ki tooti botalen nazar aati hai, Un deewaron sirf paan ki peek he ab baaki hai.

Woh hath jinmai hote the ballee, ab cigarette nazar ati hai.

Woh baal the jo chotiyo mai lipte,

Ajeeb rango mai bikhre pate hai.

Bachpan kho raha hai,

Usse koi bachao!

Masumiyat kho rahi hai,

Usse koi bachao! 

The Most Dangerous Expression in Advertising - My review

Just another day at work and I encountered this article above.I at at some level I disagree, both with the above said 'list' mentioned in the article as well as the context of the article itself. We all(marketeers and advertisers)have conceptualized and executed one to many campaigns ourselves. How often have you got a reaction "I like it." and not "I like it, but...", while sharing a layout. Weather its the Client, the consumer(Pre-campaign launch research), a very senior creative or account management guy from the other team, they all seem to have some or the other suggestion, to make it a little more understandable by the consumer, esthetically appealing, relevant to the brand, etc, etc, etc.

The one thing that all marketeers and advertisers check in a pre-campaign launch research is, that how much does it rank on the 'likability' scale. And more often than not, people like the communication which is lazy and obvious to them and their lives and yet have a element of surprise.

In case of tactical communication which is usually focused at increasing sales, such promotional communication work best when the consumers realizes how pocket friendly the offer is(30% discount on i-Pad 2, 3 years maintenance free with the new Chevrolet car, etc.), than weather it has a human connection with them or not.

And last but not the least, whenever I talk to my target audience, I would like to talk to them in the language that they understand and not the entire universe. Baby, beer, microchips... they are all very different universes in them selves. A shared commonality among them is something that I can only imagine in utopia or wait a lifetime to witness.

Whats up with Linkedin?

How Different Brands Talk

Rin vs Tide

Recently Unilever launched a new TVC for one its detergent brands called Rin. This TVC is now commonly being addressed as the Rin VS Tide ad(because of obvious reasons). Now being part of this crazy industry called advertising, the first question that people ask me is... "Is it right? Can they actually do that". well this question based on moral and ethical ground still doesn't bother me as much as to WHY would they do that.

Well, there is something that we all are forgetting over here, that this kind of a brand war is not new. Don't we still adore the great Pepsi - Coke ad war. Or the Apple - Windows ad stints.

Moreover we all know that Unilever is actually one of the oldest, biggest and smartest entity, where some of the most appreciated and intellectual marketeers breed.

Questions: Then why would such a company do what it did. Spending a decent amount on the creative, and then a mammoth chunk on the media buying. Taking such a high risk, as if "all in" and that too on a blind fold.

Reasoning: If we compare the Brand DNA of both Tide and Rin, Tide has always overshadowed Rin with its international look and feel, which further suggests that Tide being and international brand (as compared to Rin) offers better results on usage (whiteness/ fragrance / cleanliness/ etc). Now this is merely a perception (as the end consumer himself lacks the measurement tools to scale the above mentioned results) strongly embedded in the consumers mind. And one of the best proven methods to do break such a strong perception (not a belief) is to take it down head on.And this is where Rin choose to attack via shock.

Results: Everyone's talking about it. People are discussing it in their peers, thinkers are blogging about it, marketeers are debating on different forums about it. Bottom line... people are actually comparing Rin and Tide on the same grounds, where its no longer like comparing apples with oranges.

My radio spot for Almond Board of California.

Dedicated to my......JULIET

OH!... Juliet...

Why did you love Romeo…

I’ve loved you even more then him...

And more then you’d know……

I know…

You've always cried for him……

You even have died for him…..

But love…

I would never cry for u

I Wouldn't even die for u

Because…

I wanna live in your arms

I wanna feel the warmth...

of yours & only your SOUL…