WHAT I’VE LIKED
Glitter galore!
Normally, when it comes to endorsements it requires no stretch of imagination to figure out which came first — the celebrity or the ad. It’s always a question of how seamlessly the agency can marry the celebrity and the brand without making the former look like a misfit. But with the recent blockbuster ad from Airtel with its galaxy of superstars, it’s really hard to tell which came first. The story is so expertly crafted around its starry cast that one almost imagines that one round of 10 celebrities was summoned up just to bring life to the story! The last time one witnessed such a round up of glitterati was in the Om Shanti Om title song. But this ad goes way, way beyond just another line-up. A poor bewildered Rahul can’t quite get over being the centre of attention of all the superstars who seem to smile at him with such knowing familiarity. I love the way he squirms uncomfortably, sandwiched between the current Airtel endorsers. It looks like almost everyone present have been the brand’s ambassadors at some time or the other. To have them all vouching for the new baby is quite a nice touch. The detailing is great too — I think I even spotted a large lotus with a couple of gods and goddesses waiting at the airport! And what a perfect revealer to the equally sophisticated teaser series. One was just not expecting layers and layers of star performers from such diverse fields waiting in the final ad — so deftly executed is it that its dazzle is bound to blind us to every other for some time to come! One line summation: Great execution of a great idea.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
It was the best of times and now the worst of times?
Not very long ago, we were all so very excited about the Feel Good Factor that the economy and consequently we, were experiencing. Everything and everybody was glowing with the spend-happy quotient. And then of course came the blasts and the financial tsunami sweeping across the globe and our malls and bazaars, and suddenly we have all become jitterbugs, fearing for our lives and our bank balances at the slightest sound and technical glitch! Recently, I was travelling by train and we heard the sound of something that sounded like gravel hitting the belly of our compartment. My immediate reaction was that it was just that — gravel, but it was also accompanied by clouds of dust swirling outside our windows. The crowd inside the train panicked and behaved exactly like a panicking mob — yelling, shouting and pulling the chain! Mobile phone calls were frantically made to their near and dear despite the TT assuring us that it was just gravel and loose sand that was swirling around. But no, it looked suspiciously as if the train was on fire to a jittery mob. When our feet finally hit the safety of the platform I overheard a co-passenger telling someone that nothing would have happened even if the train was on fire as there were intermittent bouts of rain. But this reasoning flew straight out of the window in the face of fear. In an another incident, when two of my cheques bounced a couple of days ago, my first reaction was that the bank was bankrupt even though at the back of my mind I knew my bank was rock solid! It so happened that the signatures did not match but I still refused to see reason, so sure was I that they were fobbing me off with a minor technicality to mask a bigger problem, till I went to the bank and spoke to the manager who showed me the mismatch! The point I am trying to make with both these incidents is this: we desperately need someone to assure us that life is not so bad after all! We can’t have one billion Indians thinking that the world is coming to an end every time someone sneezes! So, is there anybody out there who can show us that it is just a coiled rope and not a serpent lying in wait for us? We so desperately need to Feel Good again.
agkbrandconsult@yahoo.com.
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