Dhobi ghat

Unhurried undressing of a city and the characters, right down to their restless soul. Each frame of the movie is crafted beautifully, making you fall in love with it. At times it transitions gradually, so that you continue to gaze lovingly and at times it deliberately breaks your journey all of a sudden. The background score is fabulous , in fact in some frames, the background score is almost like a dialogue speaking volumes...certainly more than words. Dhobi ghat is more than a story, its a journey. A very sensitive film , you can feel the characters restlessness and their search for something to quieten it.Simply loved Prateik, he is intense and simple. Aamir is restrained and brilliant as usual. But Monica dogra as Shaai holds it all together in a very natural way, admirable. Keerti malhotra as 'yasmin' stays with you long after the movie is over. Mumbai had never been shot so beautifully before, the cinematography is almost like the camera is making love to the city in broad day light.

Ms Rao, take a bow!! What a movie!

Leave the kids alone McD

I just can't get over the McDonald's commercial Rs 25/- aloo tikki burger commercial. What are less than ten years old doing talking about high maintenance girl friends? That they sell junk food by tempting kids with toys is just about tolerable, but using little kids to have an 'adult like' dialogue? not palatable.
I have been watching communication to kids closely and when i say communication i don't just mean advertsing, i mean design,retail, apparel and many other elements that say so much without words, and most of it is so non childlike.
Every establishment that is trying to 'talk to' and 'talk with' kids is attemptiong to fast forward them to being grown ups.
Why is everyone busy wanting to have an adult dialogue with little one's? Childhood is a rich area to find insights in, isn't it? Too much of 'grown up' thinking being dished out to young uns will make them cynical towards marketers as they negotiate their way through life and experience the contrary.

Well, lets be careful of what we are saying to young impressionable minds. we aren't just raising kids, we are raising future consumers...cynical consumers are hard to talk to..its going to backfire!!

Why waste a good recession

Recession is good. It does good. “Why waste a good recession”?

The key is to treat recessionary times as a 'call' to think like you have never thought before, and not like a storm where you duck and wait for the dust to settle down. This piece brings out why you should be 'riding high' on the 'low'. It is aimed at infusing enthusiasm about a bright future and getting them to believe slow down does what boom time can only dream of doing, it fosters innovative thinking and changes the world and it is a good time to be young and doing things in today's environment.

It is a great time to be talking about lessons to managers. Great time? Most of you are thinking “But wasn't it an economic downturn? A slowdown? a nightmare where people lost jobs? Well yes. but for a moment take a differnt angle when looking at the recession.

Give this a thought, when did the “development of the American railroads, invention of the automobile, invention of the electric light, the telephone, the phonograph as well as a great many other products based on electricity” happen? It was during the period 1866-1896…a time in American history that was a long period of declining prices…an economic depression! Was this long a bad period in American economic history? Not exactly. It was a period that shaped the modern world by some serious inventive thinking. It was during this period that the United States moved into the economic leadership for the world.

So, as we are emerging from the slow down, I would like to leave a few thoughts on why recession is good and that we should not fear it, but make the most of it to become successful managers and leaders of tomorrow.

For one, it dispels the myth that only money breeds' money. The truth is real and legitimate difference is made by a great imagination!!! Innovative and inventive thinking is what is teased out in recessionary times. Money is only the means. Limited resources challenge us to put them to better use and that is what leads to path breaking discoveries. Good manager think with their brain and not their wallet. (An example, google had no clue where revenues would come from for the first 3 years of their existence before they went on to become a 86 billion dollar company.)

The second learning that makes great managers is not accepting mediocrity. Economic slowdowns force businesses to only invest in the best projects. So there is no room for mediocre thinking, the environment will put to test the best and only the best will see the light of the day.

The third important thing that good managers do, is take risks and only in challenging times you know who has taken risks…like the famous quote by Warren Buffet, it's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked. To say that keeping your head up for opportunities and taking risks does separate the men from the boys… ( Example- to say 'daag acche hain' when the category is all about damming stains is a brave thing to do)

One of the most exciting things about a slowdown is that it fosters entrepreneurship. Most big guys are afraid to invest in new ideas and it is strategic to seize the opportunity before others show up. Smaller resources are more available and if there is a big idea, it is just the right time, so start ups get a head start

And in the world of communication, they say “When times are good, you should advertise and When times are bad, you must advertise.” Conventional logic says advertise during economic expansion and cut down during a recession. The reality says otherwise…a research study found that aggressive recession advertisers increased market share 2 ½ times the average for all businesses in the post-recession.

Apart from the numbers, there has never been a better time, simply because it is time to challenge. Challenge conventional thinking, conventional practices, a time when only creative thinking can pick up the pieces and create a mosaic.

And if I were to talk about the business of advertising and communication in the times of recession, It is quite honestly a good time to be in the business of communication. Not only will the advertising agencies role expand beyond advertising and branding into innovation, product ideas and creating new media solutions, but today we will be able to genuinely innovate and disrupt conventional thinking. and that is liberating!

Take a case of showcasing New York's street culture. Street performers were brought together to create a new album, they performed around town, the recordings were put on internet and it created a viral frenzy. Completely innovative, never done before, work that is truly game changing.

Agencies can go as far as creating content, creating programming and creating new media. And in the virtual world the ultimate test of creativity is 'if the idea isn't fantastic, people won't click on it' they will just move on…incredibly challenging and what a creative high!)

Smart thinking in recession time to use the power of internet to prove the potency of the idea, to a deterrent and scared client

(dove 'real beauty' first gained momentum on the viral campaign)

It is in trying times that communication partners can persuade clients to be brave and to take risks, because in any case conventional logic won't do in chaotic times. A time when integration is most critical and clients will treat agencies like close aides and partners.

And of course through history we know that communication has a huge impact on human minds. Many a war was lost due to low morale of people led by negative sound bytes. It's not just about selling jeans, soaps and powders, its about contributing to society, influencing mindsets and making a difference. When else would influencing sentiment mean more than in times of recession?

Hardly surprising that in the uk, with the collapse of financial services, all creative industries are still holding ground…be it filmmaking, gaming or advertising.

And on the lighter side, recession makes you bond better with family, makes you a better person and what's more it gets people to marry for love.

Don't just think of 'survive the recession' but think of how to thrive on the recession.

When Gay meant happy

Hollow.poignant.witty.warm.wiles.weapons...they infect, they infuse...words!!! watch them, feel them roll out of your tongue and even more intense, watch them change their association,meaning and usage over time.

1.Its fascinating,how word associations have changed over time, changing their context, their usage and their intent.
a few examples that come to mind...
cool or hot- describing the weather, hot; hang out - hanging out your clothes
chill- a state of physical discomfort in winter;happening- an event or activity taking place or actually happening;net- a net;surf- surf with a surf board or a detergent powder;hit- physicaly hit or popular as in a hit song;Kick ass- meant kick ass and not 'wow';Suck- meant suck .. a sweet or drink.
2.Sentence construction also has its own meaning...so i don't say , i totally disagree , but say i 'so' disagree with this...
3.The other phenomenon is to have acronyms for everything...i guess the sms and chat generation are responsible for it, but i just feel the impact is lost. I mean when one says 'What the fuck' it means something..it has impact , WTF doesn't come close to it!
and there is actually an Urban dictionary where you will find not just words but expressions which have their own meanings far from what conventionally words mean. So go look it up and yenjoy ! (this was my generation's contribution to evolution of language...hinglish,tamlish,bonglish...whatever!!)

Riding on the wrong side?

My first reaction to the Stallio Mahindra bike commercial was ‘Wow’ a brand is being really courageous, on a one way street riding on the wrong side? Very bold indeed!
Then as I saw the commercial the second time, some questions popped up in my mind. The first one being – who is this communication for? Is it talking to the usual bike TG? Because if it is, then does a biker to be look for safe driving as a motivation? No, I think. I have never worked on the two wheeler category so don’t know the documented motivations, but as a young girl a ‘boy’ with a bike meant adventure, freedom and a style statement. And nothing was cooler than the Bullet, even an Average Joe riding a bullet was cool.
Driving fast has always been cool, driving rash never!
The dare devilry and stunts in commercials are performed to package the experience, very naïve to assume that bikers aspire to perform those stunts themselves.
Do you know anyone who throws a watch in a bucket of water to check whether it is really water proof?
So Aamir saying, you can repeat all that I have done in this scene, though a tongue in cheek remark against other bike adverts, am not sure whether it does anything for the Brand itself.
I thought, maybe the commercial is talking to a slightly older TG. One who is married, with responsibilities and needs to be told that make your ‘cool’ statement but take your mom along on a date! If I know a little bit about purchases post 40, especially purchases that make a statement, then most consumers who I like to call the ‘older youth’ would buy youthsy/gutsy stuff that helps them hold on to the last few years.
Maybe the commercial is trying to woo potential two wheeler buyers who are yet undecided between a scooter and a bike. (Wonder whether that can be?) The proposition then could be the looks of the bike and the safety of the scooter? But it is so unconvincing even as I write it and even if there were a consumer with that need state, how big would be that segment?
Then who is this communication meant for? And what does it want to achieve by going against the very core of the category? When a Brand decides to break the rules, it still doesn’t get absolved of the responsibility of delivering the core emotional experience. Power, Freedom, Confidence, or whatever it is. Taking an ‘anti’ stance can build ‘Brands’ as long as there is a strong reason for the consumer to vibe to that stance. So if this bike is for people who need a two wheeler transport and promises ‘freedom’ with responsibility , it sounds way too idealistic!
When a Sprite says baki sab bakwaas , the product is ‘clear’ and supports the proposition and when a dove says imperfection is beautiful, it is supported with a product strength of simple moisturizing. If a Brand is breaking category codes, the product support has to be strong; The ‘Uncola’ wasn’t just a cola with less fizz!!


So when you say zindagi ka mazaa jeene mein hai, what jeene ka mazaa are you talking about after taking away the chutzpa of owning a bike!! Maybe you want to talk to parents who want to gift a bike to their kids? Every Brand has had its reasons to break the category code, what’s yours Mahindra Stallio?

Shelf of spiritualism

If you are spiritually inclined or even if you are not, I am sure you have noticed the range of guru gyan that is available today. With due respects to all the gurus that I am talking about, I want to say right at the beginning that I am a believer and have nothing against any of them. I am though; very intrigued by how each of these gurus are positioned and am bemused that segmentation works !!!
The gurus that are TOM are Goenka ji , Sadguru, Deepak Chopra, Sri Sri Ravi shankar, Ramdev baba, Asaram bapu and I am sure there are many more. If we plot them on one axis of spirituality through science and spirituality through religion, and the other axis of internal engineering vs outward expression.

Wok in progress…watch this space ..and if you have any pov please pen it in…

Doodh ka doodh , paani ka paani

I was working on a paper and sharing a piece about ‘experience marination’* to Jo and Vishal (fellow planners in JWT) and Jo got all excited about the word marinate. It did something to her, it made her imagine the process and decode all that I was saying instantly in that context. And we discussed something rather interesting, whenever we use a food related word to describe something non food, it invokes such strong associations that tere is instant understanding. For example just hear this…when I want to say that ‘I never said that, usne apna mirch masala lagake suna diya ‘ or when describing a person’s face ‘like a chusa hua aam’ or to describe a sexy babe using words like ‘teekhi/ karari , or when there is confusion of thoughts, khicdi bana di, or the proverbial icing on the cake, or tadka maarke. These are the immediate examples, I am sure if I think harder many more examples will pop up. The point is using food terms to describe is a great way to open up multiple associations and help visualize. Why is it so? Could be because food provides an intimate sensorial experience and hence has multiple associations that are strong.
So the next time you have trouble getting your point across, use a food related analogy…and catch the ‘aha’ gleam in their eye!


• refers to the pre, during and post time that we spend on an experience, its like marinating…hence the term experience marination

Luckbychance

I loved the film Luck by chance and even if I hadn’t known it was directed by Zoya, I would have known after the last scene that it was directed by a woman. The conclusion and observation that the man came and said things to do with only his life and issues, was fantastic. And it is not about gender, there are people who are like that and they not necessarily bad…they are just like!!! But it takes a woman to pick up that nuance and do so without being judgmental.

I have been lately thinking about cinema being too real. Not that we don’t enjoy the new sensibility but somehow it seems too ‘English medium’ type of thinking to me. It is admittedly Cineplex audience cinema. Good but is it not important for the so called upper echelons of the society to be familiarized with how masses in India think? Gated communities, Cineplex films, restricted entry clubs…are we insulating a part of our youth to what is? I wonder whether this new generation will then not want to associate with the common Indian and reality of the masses? One always works to alter ones own reality, not someone else’s. and the Indian masses are someone else to the Cineplex going youth?

Me too ….on SD Millionaire

Enough has been said , written about it so this comes a bit late , but honestly I was struggling to form a pov. I liked the film but it left me disturbed. Aishwarya Rai’s comment ‘It is just a movie’ pushed me into writing out my POV . I so disagree with ‘Its just a movie’ stance, it is a convenient stance to take. I think movies and real life are interdependent. Movies shape lives and lives shape movies. So to say the least , it is a flippant remark

War happens and countries where it happens often make films about War, The US has subway violence and it has money mindedness and an excessive lifestyle and that’s what their movies reflect. Then why are we getting so touchy about poverty and the showcasing of the really abysmal living conditions that a lot of India thrives in. I think I know why I got so disturbed.

Well we have recently undergone an image revamp. We have just about repositioned ourselves as the technology leader, the knowledge and services hub, and a youthful vibrant people. Like any good Branding exercise we want to play up our strengths and divert people’s attention from our weaknesses. Slumdog brings back the world’s attention to what we want to underplay. Brand India is now being proudly worn by the youth not because of its snake charmers and elephants, but because the generation has worked hard to make a place on the global map. We owe it to them to hold on to the new image till it is strong enough.

To conclude, Slumdog is a right movie at a wrong life stage in Brand India’s branding cycle.