| What I've liked Conscience, sometimes, really is quite a pain in the back! Or the neck, or the joints et al. A brilliantly simple television ad for Iodex Pain Balm capitalises on the thought to remind us that besides being hurtful, aches and pains can deprive you of taking advantage of opportunities that come your way "" in this case, literally. |
| The film breathes simplicity in every frame and in the very efficient soundtrack, all serving to enhance the harsh reality that the most complex moral dilemmas come your way in the simplest of guises. |
| Now, I am not getting into the morality of the premise, but I am really happy to see that attempts are being made to break away from the monotony of the before/after pain reliever formats. |
| Does this mean that there is a consensus that audiences are maturing? That it is not necessary anymore to show an arching back with red arrows shooting up and down to let the audience know that pain is quite painful? |
| That having a good time does not fall into the stereotype of having fun with the perfect TV ad family? Is realism finally sneaking into our advertising? If so, three cheers! |
| Hopefully, a day after recall study has proved that yes, indeed, everyone who has ever known pain really understands the trauma of the gentleman in the film! And that having to walk away from a Rs 500 note on a lonely, leaf strewn path is the next most painful thing apart from the inability to bend down and pocket it! |
| What I've learned Happiness is...being blessed with clarity! Clarity must be one of mankind's most sought after gifts. Right from Hamlet's oft-quoted "To be or not to be..." down to the MNCs of today requesting all proposals be summed up in one page, it is clarity that we all seek in every sphere of our lives. |
| Because we know that once we have it, we need little else to galvanise us into action, to give us the courage to prune the irrelevant, to forge ahead towards our goal with an almost mystical awareness about what to do at every turn, and end up enviously happy with our achievements. |
| As usual, one of our ancestors, Bhatruhari, has already done the math on this issue. According to him, assuming we live till 100, we spend about 50 years of our life asleep, 12/13 years in childhood, 12/13 years in old age and during the remaining 25 years, we recover from random illnesses, spend a few years losing and pining for those close to us, etcetera, which leaves us with precious few years where we can enjoy peace of mind for us to self actualise. Unless we approach this period with total clarity, we would have zipped past it, ending up with an old age full of regrets. |
| I guess it is the many years that I spent in marketing and advertising that brought this need so sharply into focus. Clarity rules everything when it comes to selling a product. Right from the smallest detail to the larger issues, the clearer you are, the more efficient your delivery. |
| It reminds me of an incident when a guru had just finished a long lecture on some philosophical aspect of life. A latecomer walked in at the end of the session and asked one of the listeners, how the lecture was. "Oh excellent!",came the prompt reply. "What was it about?" the latecomer asked. The man shrugged and said: "You better ask the guruji!" |
| A good idea does not ensure that your audience gets the message. A lot of homework needs to be done to know which price segment, what the brand promise should be, besides a whole gamut of other details. It is only when you are clear that you can be sure that everyone else is too. For AGKspeak archives, log on to www.agkonline.com |
Top Section
Explore Business Standard