of hammers and nails

There's something wrong with advertising. I think that reflects in our lingo.
We don't usually consider our consumers as people. We think consumers are mindless tin-men whose behaviour depends on what we 'communicate' to them.

How else can you explain the most commonly used phrase in advertising - "hammer the audience"

Usage: 'we'll hammer the audience with the message through TVCs and mall activities'

Meaning: We'll repeatedly send out the same message till they know it well and recognize it in spite of current brand clutter.

Glad you all hate wearing helmets. Makes my job easier.

So excuse me while I go and figure out new ways to hammer you all.

zappos. doing it right.

There are very few companies that seem to be making a concerted effort towards engaging with their online audience... perhaps it's easier for companies whose business exists in the online space.

I've been pretty impressed with zappos.com. It started in 1999 (wikipedia) with zero sales and is today the largest footwear selling business online.

So here are a couple of things they've done online (and done well I might add)

• They have a blog.

• They also do cute and crazy videos called Zappos TV on youtube. Their video on 'why do ppl work at zappos' is a fun way to impress potential employees.

• Their CEO is also on twitter and sends out regular tweets. This is a video of him asking an employee to slap him :D
  
  
  
  

• They also ran a contest recently where people had to make videos about what's the craziest thing you can do with a shoe. They received some 17 video responses. It's not much, but the energy around the brand is just so cool and fun.

The company of course is hugely popular because of their free shipping policy and some 365 day return policy. I haven't bought anything from them since they don't ship to India (bummer). But I sure do love the brand.

in-tunnel advertising

I saw a mention of in-tunnel advertising on TV some time back and it's worth a mention here too.

In tunnel advertising is the newest thing to hit the market is already being used by Kotak in the Delhi metro.

What is in-tunnel advertising
It is advertising inside tunnels where neatly lined and lit up screens provide a moving picture experience to those sitting inside the train.

More about it here.




Of course people are already complaining about how marketers never leave them alone. I for one am thankful for the entertainment it offers during the commute. For once the men will be distracted by the advertising and stop staring at women passengers. No?

It's only words, and words are all I have to take your heart away

The Bee Gees sure got something right. Nothing is truer in advertising than this.

So I figured that I'd mention the two ads in recent times that have (IMHO) used words incredibly well.

1. Chuskiyaan zindagi ki

I just loved this. Those three words play up so much in my mind. So many memories, anecdotes. It just encapsulates the perfect Indian experience... family conversations over tea. While the CCDs of the world proclaim that a lot can happen over coffee... tea promises a lot of simple and memorable conversations. sigh. too bad i don't drink tea or coffee. Else Red Label would be my way to go.
Though I find it off that they didn't capitalize on a line like that. I have seen on this one commercial. Are there more?

2. Lagan ki syahi se...

Okay so I hope I got the brand right. The new TVC by Cello is really my favourite these days. Simply because of the words. If memory serves me right, it goes something like this..
mehnat se himmat se lagan ki syahi se kuch kar dikhao kuch ban dikhao

and I totally love the lagan ki syahi se part. what a nice way to look at pens.

However the situation isn't all that great for everyone. the new Reliance Ad tries to force fit some good writing even though it has nothing to do with the brand. Sure the words are good but then make no sense with the ad:

suna hai khwaabon ko room mein band rakhne se par nikal aatey hai... it goes on like that but at the end i'm left wondering what the ad was really about. Cuz the words went one way and the brand was... well, lost.

Any ad I've missed out?

Update by Prof Falguni. It turns out the ad is not from reliance but by Tata Indicom. So much for brand recall :) Whatever happened to look & feel of a brand being similar across communication?

ragging on TV

Ragging is obviously our national pass time and since they banned it we now put it on the damned TV.

Dadagiri, a show on Bindass (the youth channel? Urgh.) is all about ragging. The self-proclaimed ‘meanest show on tv’ involves 4 contestants or fucchas (I never understood what that word meant but I know newbies are referred to as that).

The mean guys come in one by and one and abuse, heckle, dominate the contestants. From snake dances to climbing ropes, the fucchas do the drill. Of course this is peppered with the correct number of beeped out abuses. If you lose you have to eat worms out of a shit pot. (How did they get this on TV!!)

I have only 2 questions:

1. To Bindass
Why the hell would you create such a show? Why would you allow your anchors to pick on a scrawny fellow with glasses. Wasn’t it enough when it happened in school?

2. To the dadas of dadagiri
Get a life will you?

Dadagiri, you are not cool che-ed.

Poll: What are you most likely to forward?

Hi, this isn't a formal research (obviously). I'm just interested in knowing what people forward...


What are you most likely to forward?

Also what's your favourite forward/viral? I'd love to know. I'm putting together a list of the most popular ones.

5 professions the internet has most annoyed

1. Doctors

I think doctors are great and they know a lot. But then they can’t know more than google right?

Anyway, point being, the internet allows us to figure out what’s wrong with us and what to do about it. It doesn’t replace doctors of course. But imagine having to deal with a patient who tells you to check for so and so complication because Maria in Brazil suffered from it last year .. so says google.

So I won’t blame the doctors if they hate the internet and the free and perhaps inaccurate medical advice it brings.

2. Teachers

I remember telling a professor at MICA that now that the internet rules our lives, we no longer need teachers. Err.. after all we can learn from the web, right?

Sure the internet lets teachers access amazing study material from across the world. But it also lets students know more about stuff than their teachers. Imagine telling a class about Shakespeare for the first time and having a kid quote Macbeth to you off the net.

I think the internet is forcing teachers to evolve. They can no longer be information gatherers.

3. Quizzers

I’m no quizzer. I never have been. I find it impossible to retain information and I lost the only quiz I ever participated in. I remember my partner giving me the stink-eye after I passed every question. (Sorry little boy who had to team up with me. You were good but so was I. They just didn’t ask the right questions!)

Anyway, I think that the internet takes away from quizzing too. While it’s a wonder that someone knows the names of so many of the capitals of the world, I think it was a bigger wonder that the person put it all together. Google surely takes away from that. No?

4. Match makers

I am told that earlier every village had a match maker. A man who was often a postman or a barber, would know the inside scoop on families. He would help out in suggesting matches. The internet sure did him in.

5.___________ So while I’d have loved this post to be about 5 I couldn’t think of anything. So help me out a little :)

Kunal says it's the postman. Poor chap can't even ask for bakshish anymore :)