Cocky Calories
An illustration of “sexy eating” in an ad by the new The V Spot Café+Bar.
One glitch- it’s a sad copy.
Padma Lakshmi's Carl's Jr burger ad, 2009
Death of a Villain
Manish Sharma
Source: movies.ndtv.com
In the recently released movie Rakta Charitra, the performance of Bukka Reddy played menacingly by Abhimanyu Singh has been lauded by everyone. This is after a long gap that Hindi cinema has seen a sinister character being cast in a mainstream movie. The last movie that paid homage to the depleting art of villainy was Aamir Khan’s blockbuster Ghajni that was named after the bad guy in the movie. But, apart from occasional instances it is quite evident that as a breed villains are disappearing from Hindi movies at a much faster rate than the tigers in India.
The gradual phase out of villains should not come as a surprise. In any case, Hindi films have seldom given any thoughts to construe the premise of a debate between hero and anti-hero. Hindi celluloid has always been larger than life in which characters were established on the basis of the artists appearing in them. The hypothesis was mostly flimsy and virtually every Hindi movie was a song and dance drama that preached the didactic victory of the hero in a set piece showdown. Villains had to make customary appearances not to prove a point but to play second fiddle to a hero. Heroines, comedians and other character artists never had much of a scope in a star dominated industry. Producers and directors milked money till the formula became a caricature of itself.
As the formula ran dry, Hero or the Star who fought with a selfish moneylender or a cruel landlord for most part of 60s and 70s, trained his guns towards the establishment with the advent of angry young persona in late 70s and early 80s. To make the transformation palatable to the viewers, who were still revering about Jai Santoshi Mata on screens, he was given the facade of Robin Hood, the messiah of poor to give an excuse to his vitriolic behaviour.
During post-liberalisation phase with the advent of urbanisation, the dynamics of movie making changed rapidly. With the parallel wave of cinema losing steam and angry young man losing most of its frustration, most films played safe with love stories where class divide was the focus of attention and parents filled in the shoes of Gabbar with a meek smile rather than a menacing grin.
Source: imageshack.us
In the late 90s financial shenanigans of Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh, gang wars of Mumbai underbelly and the dot-com boom were shaping the virgin minds of post liberalization generation and the films too hold forth. The last bastion was crumbling too. Not only in the real life but in the reel life too the distinction between a hero and villain increasingly got fuzzy. In Hindi movies, the antics of hero were becoming quite un-hero like. With materialism taking roots the question of moral and immoral was no longer valid for masses. The hero was no longer an innocent chap but evolved as a street smart guy and the bad guy got relegated to the verge of extinction. Today’s superstar Shahrukh Khan, a novice television actor by then, took the biggest gamble of his life and played a leading man in two films – Baazigar and Darr – that had negative shades. For the first time Indian the leading protagonist resorted to violence like never before and audience cheered his antics. Later Satya, a cult classic on Mumbai underworld, celebrated the sadism on bigger screen and celebrated the violence on bigger screen perhaps for the first time. Its thumping success encouraged other directors like Sanjay Gupta and Mahesh Manjrekar to push the envelope further.
Source: ugc.dhingana.com
Post millennium, in the last few years the evil is being fêted by Bollywood (popular nomenclature of Hindi film industry) with aplomb. Films like D, Johnny Gaddar, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Once upon a time in Mumbai, and lately Rakta Charitra have blurred the line between the good and the bad completely. The façade is finally off. The treatment, narrative, critical acclaim and commercial success of them finally sealed the fact that the bad is the new good as far as Hindi cinema goes.
If films are a reflection of our society then the death of a villain points towards the blurring distinction between the hero and villain and our own changing moralistic self. The changing moral values, erosion of traditional beliefs and a westernized lifestyle have led to a transformation in our approach towards life as well as in art. So certain symbols, rituals and practices that were associated with villain and vamps of yesteryears have gained acceptance with in our sub-culture so much so that they ceased to exist as bad.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
Manish Sharma
Yesterday, I came across a poll on Yahoo aimed at judging the fate of Suresh Kalmadi, media’s favourite whipping boy at the moment. Out of sheer curiosity I submitted my humble opinion and got confounded by the result.
Nearly 50 per cent of the respondents (out of more than 1,000 participants) were of the view that he will escape the imminent sacking that was a mere formality till the beginning of the much talked about opening ceremony of Commonwealth Games.
The fact that he was jeered and booed by the crowd present at the stadium when he stood up to deliver his customary address clearly reflected the anguish of people. However, the amazing opening ceremony act that overwhelmed everyone, including foreign media who have been blithe critics, has unexpectedly boosted the chances of Kalmadi survival.
That got me thinking- why public opinion that was so one-sided against Kalmadi till last week, has taken a dramatic turnaround since Sunday?
Are we a bunch of pompous and carefree citizens who have forgotten all the ills of poor planning, bad management and rampant corruption and got hypnotized by the glare of that helium balloon? Was all the hype generated by those firecrackers and billion watts of sound justify the sufferings of a common man on the street who has been subjected to the miseries of potholes, serpentine jams, water clogging and political apathy these past many months? Is two hours of spectacle enough to seal our place as the fast progressing country when the infrastructure in the backyard is still creaky?
Perhaps, the ancient literatures, religious texts and deep rooted cultural beliefs that exemplify a forgiving nature and tolerant behaviour could be one of the reasons behind this compassionate approach. Despite being feted as an emerging economy, we tend to follow the idiom of ‘end justifies the means’ wherein the process fades towards the accomplishment of any feat even if it achieved by shortcuts, tweaking adjustments and haphazard procedures. The fact that we somehow have managed to pull up a feat of measurable standards with our limited means has given us a rare moment of pride in our humdrum existence. Over emphasis on the great Indian untranslatable word jugaad that signifies our ingenuity to come up with unprecedented solutions at the eleventh hour is too ingrained in our day-to-day living.
At a social level we are so used to confusion, commotion and disarray at any public gathering that we have made a virtue of a vice. That’s why no eyebrows were raised when the Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Sheila Dikshit and sports minister M.S. Gill equated CWG with a big fat Indian wedding, and reassured everyone that despite all the chaos everything will culminate miraculously towards the end, as it happens at any public ceremony. In a way, the gratification over the dazzling display of the opening ceremony also typifies the subconscious aspirations of the middle class who has a tendency to show-off at any ceremony be it wedding, festival or any social ritual. In fact, this tendency resonated with our government approach also in the lead up to these games, resulting in unnecessary expenditure on beautifying already well laid roads and footpaths, Connaught place and Khan Market for instance.
The pseudo-nationalist approach adopted by a proliferating media of late 
that epitomize the acknowledgement of a rising India, particularly by western media, with great fanfare has given further legitimacy and credence to Kalmadi’s half baked efforts.
Commonwealth Games were widely tipped to be a PR’s lost cause by all but now seems to have been salvaged just by a colourful show. Any communication practitioner or PR professional can draw lesson from this to come out of an improbable crisis situation. In the midst of a crisis, relying on symbolism, traditional customs and cultural representation could help in turning the things around your way.
There are leadership lessons to be learnt as well. The thundering applause received by the Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit who did pretty little in the run up to the Games is now basking in the glory of pulling up a Houdini act. This is on the basis of her brief stay at games village which portends popular perception that wants their leaders to be in the midst of action when the occasion demands. The public lapsed on the fact that Dikshit had brushed aside the scandal of the collapse of a footbridge near the main stadium that had injured many, labeling it “minor glitches”.
Now the focus is on the closing ceremony. Bolstered by the euphoria of the opening event, Kalmadi has claimed of an encore. The expectations had hit rock bottom just before the opening ceremony, which later played a great role in the eventual success.
It’s ironic while public may be saying Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, it will be Kalmadi who would be humming Hum Ho Gaye Kamyaab!
Nokia – disconnecting from people
Manish Sharma
Pic source: Toonpool.com
Finnish telecom handset giant Nokia, which not very long ago was enjoying the monopoly over the Indian mobile handset market, has fallen off the clip, and how!
The latest report by IDC India, an IT research firm, has estimated that the market share of Nokia has alarmingly shrunk to 36 per cent this July vis-à-vis 54 per cent last year. Though Nokia has refuted the findings, alleging that the exports figure from its Chennai plant have not been taken into account but it is a reality that Nokia has taken a beating in consumer confidence over the past few years due to which its market share has been eroding continuously.
It is interesting to note that the case of Nokia is not very different from the two other monopolists – LIC and Maruti Suzuki. Both of them have had a market share close to 90 per cent when the competition caught up with them. However, unlike Nokia that failed to respond to the changing market dynamics, both LIC and Maruti showed amazing alacrity and came up with nimble footed response to manage its leadership position. They are still controlling close to 60 per cent share in the territories that matter most – Maruti still dominates the compact car segment and LIC still being the favourite of the ubiquitous middle class when it comes to new premiums.
From their success Nokia can really believe that it can recover the lost territory if it acts swiftly with its rearguard action. What it can do?
Showcase your strength: Maruti has been harping about its massive service network. In fact, one of its memorable commercial showed two lost tourists in Laddakh who did not get food and water but got surprised to find a Maruti Network in the Himalayas. Point is you need to speak about your strengths in your communication. Maruti has also managed to generate word of mouth publicity targeted at first time buyers that they will get a better re-sale value for their cars. Similarly, LIC also boasts of the massive agent distribution network unmatched by its peers so far. Moreover, the quasi judicial nature of its existence has so far been perfectly exploited.
Stay ahead: Maruti has not rested on the laurels of the success of either 800 or its current best selling model Alto. It has kept the competition on its toes with its tactics to unveil new models each year. While its detractors have slammed the strategy to crowd the space of compact car segment, its rising market share has proved them wrong. In fact it has introduced as many as 5 cars – Zen, Wagon R, A-Star, Ritz and Swift in the sub-Rs 500,000 segment that contributes nearly 80 per cent volumes to the car industry. While, skeptics fear that each car will eat into the market share of others but it has kept the customers within Maruti stable by providing them with more opportunities and more models to choose form. LIC also kept its focus more on the unit linked insurance plans to provide higher returns to policyholders. The approach was on providing market-linked products rather endowments policies that have been the bread and butter of LIC.
Follow the trend: Maruti underwent a makeover by offering new designs with the launch of swift. Earlier, its cars had classic line designs be it Zen, Esteem or even Boleno. It changed track with the launch of Swift and adopted a sportier, muscular and aerodynamic approach for its designs. Maruti positioned itself as the car for today’s generation with its trendy look. Similarly, LIC too is focusing on youth brigade in its communication. The new commercials, though less appealing on aesthetics, are being made keeping in mind the demographic profile of below-30 age group. Today, youth is increasingly becoming aware of financial planning practices and hence LIC is trying to pose itself as a company that is aware of their aspirations and needs and hence capable of providing answers to their problems.
It is obvious that Nokia has fared poorly in following the above mentioned dictum. It has almost got wiped off from the entry level segment. It did not pay any attention to the mid level segment for close to one year and did not care to launch any successful model when the market was asking for it. Samsung stole the thunder with the success of Corby in this segment. Then again its inability to successfully penetrate the market of Smart phone/Touch screen mobiles further turned away customers. On the marketing front, the strategy to rope in Shah Rukh as its brand ambassador too failed to evoke positive response.
May be a massive public relation campaign is the need of the hour than an array of endorsements. What do you think?
Facebook ousts Orkut from top slot in India
Rohit Sharma
Social networking site Orkut finally gave away the crowning glory of the ‘highest number of users in India’ to Facebook. According to comScore, Inc., Facebook.com grabbed the number one ranking in the category for the first time in July with 20.9 million visitors, up 179 % versus year ago.
Pic source: www.dailyworldbuzz.com
“Though Facebook has tripled its audience in the past year to pace the growth for the category, several other social networking sites have posted their own sizeable gains.” said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice president for the Asia-Pacific region, in comScore’s press release.
More than 33 million Internet users age 15 and older in India visited social networking sites in July, representing 84 % of the total Internet audience. India now ranks as the seventh largest market worldwide for social networking, after the U.S., China, Germany, Russian Federation, Brazil and the U.K. The total Indian social networking audience grew 43% in the past year, more than tripling the rate of growth of the total Internet audience in India.
Facebook.com posted an especially strong month in July, growing 12% versus June, to capture the top spot in the category with 20.9 million visitors. Orkut ranked second with 19.9 million visitors (up 16% vs. year ago). What’s interesting is to see a Bharatstudent.com taking over popular websites like Twitter and LinkedIn.
| Top Social Networking Sites in India July 2010 vs. July 2009 Total India – Age 15+, Home & Work Locations* Source: comScore Media Metrix |
|||
| India | Total Unique Visitors (000) | ||
| Jul-2009 | Jul-2010 | % Change | |
| Total Internet : Total Audience | 35,028 | 39,562 | 13 |
| Social Networking | 23,255 | 33,158 | 43 |
| Facebook.com | 7,472 | 20,873 | 179 |
| Orkut | 17,069 | 19,871 | 16 |
| Bharatstudent.com | 4,292 | 4,432 | 3 |
| Yahoo! Pulse | N/A | 3,507 | N/A |
| Twitter.com | 984 | 3,341 | 239 |
| LinkedIn.com | N/A | 3,267 | N/A |
| Zedge.net | 1,767 | 3,206 | 81 |
| Ibibo.com | 1,562 | 2,960 | 89 |
| Yahoo! Buzz | 542 | 1,807 | 233 |
| Shtyle.fm | 407 | 1,550 | 281 |
*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Gheun Taak! Mumbai bitch slaps Auto-cracy
- Source: MeterJam.com
Rohit Sharma
To fight the growing autocracy of rickshaw and taxi drivers, thousands of commuters have pledged to not to use them for travel tomorrow.
A web campaign – Meter Jam – which was kicked off a few weeks back, has been very well received by people who now plan to say a big no to autos and taxi-wallas in Mumbai on August 12. The three advertising professionals who came up with this idea say on their website, “Strikes need a strike back! We’re tired of meter that always reads more than it should, drivers who refuse to ply and demand return fare whenever they want. And if all that wasn’t enough, now we have to deal with strikes too, any time the ‘unions’ decide! Everyone is holding the janta to ransom. How much more will we pay? It’s time to turn the tables.”
Apart from the page on Twitter, the fan page on Facebook that was created mid-July has received the support of almost 20,000 people who are addressed as ‘Jammers’ and asked to flash Jammer badges, stickers, placards and posters as a sign of protest.
Meter Jam asks commuters to opt for bus services or car pool tomorrow. There are 90 supporters who have registered on the website to provide car pooling services through various destinations in the city. A list of bus services and their respective routes is also provided.
An NGO, International Consumer Rights Protection Council’s (ICRPC), has acknowledged the initiative and requested its members to join in the protest.
Do you think such a campaign is required in other cities like Delhi and Bangalore too?
Once you go black, you Can go back!
Rohit Sharma
“I cannot believe its 2010”, a reviewer of the controversial Vaseline Men Be Prepared application rants on Facebook. Another reviewer goes, “Supporting the maintenance of insecurities about the need for lighter skin is one of the most unscrupulous things a company could do to young men and women the world over. UNILEVER = modern world fail.”
Source: Amul
Hindustan Unilevel Ltd (HUL) and controversies go hand in hand. The issue has always remained the same- they want all of us to “whiten” our skin or how many call it, get “fair”. Companies leading products like Fair & Lovely and Pond’s have always kept the women’s skin lightening debate on rage and this time men are also involved.
‘Vaseline for Men’ has launched a unique application on Facebook that asks you to upload your photograph, which you can then lighten and keep as you profile picture. The application has attracted over 900 fans and almost 9000 monthly users. However, the reviews of the application aren’t every appealing- Based on over 70 reviews, the fairness calculator has received paltry 1.6 stars out of 5. Many are offended by the application and demanding it to be removed.
According to the research agency AC Nielsen, the Indian market in skin-whitening creams for men and women is now worth over US$430 million and is growing at nearly 18% a year.
FICCI, says that the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) market in India is worth Rs 1200 billion and HUL has a share of Rs 80 billion in it.
Top Bollywood stars- Shahrukh Khan, John Abraham, Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan have been promoting men’s skin lightening agents for sometime.
A member of Facebook group called India against fairness creams comments, “The real issue with it, just like with any beauty campaign, is that it’s taking advantage of people’s poor body image to make a profit. But there are countless products and companies that do this every day all across the world. Entire industries are dedicated to it. If you’re going to be upset about one of them you should be upset about all of them.”
Do you think it’s another shade of racism or merely a marketing campaign gone totally wrong?
White Trash is a trash is a trash
Rohit Sharma
“I ne
ver knew how a bunch of people half a world away chose a random town in New Jersey to populate. Were they from some Indian state that got made fun of by all the other Indian states and didn’t want to give up that feeling? Are the malls in India that bad? Did we accidentally keep numbering our parkway exits all the way to Mumbai?”
-Joel Stein, Time Magazine. Article- My Own Private India.
Here are some reactions on blogosphere-
“Joel Stein is a racist, xenophobic PIG. The last I checked, pigs were not Kosher.”
“I assume Stein is eating bagel and lox in his mother’s home while she cooks him a brisket.”
“I think America needs geniuses like us to keep you falling in the marsh of drugs and prostitutes. Someone with oiled-hair and extra cologne carrying an intellectual head on his shoulders is far more superior than a typical American pot-head.”
Time Magazine has apologised to the Indian community but has not removed the article from its website.
Joel Stein (who is Jewish) Tweeted- “Didn’t meant to insult Indians with my column this week. Also stupidly assumed their emails would follow that Gandhi non-violence thing.”
Do you accept Time Magazine’s apology?
The Gloves are Off: It’s Facebook vs Orkut vs Google Me
Rohit Sharma
In February 2010, England based online trafficking agency comScore announced that Google owned Orkut is still number one in India with 46.8% of the nation’s web population using the website. Besides India, Brazil also favours Orkut over other social networking websites but that’s it! Facebook is ruling rest of the social media inclined nations with the website gearing up to cross 500 million users mark worldwide out of which 8 million are from India.
Top networking sites in India (Copyright- INRS)
According to a recent survey conducted by Indiabiz News & Research Services (INRS), Facebook is the number one networking website in India. Get these figures- 85% of users prefer Facebook, 54% of users are on Orkut as well and the much hyped Twitter is preferred only by 30%. Another recent survey by Nielsen says that Orkut is the preferred social networking site but Facebook is gaining market share in India with 50% of social media users claiming to use Facebook most often, compared to 38% for Orkut, with the most common reasons for switching include friends moving sites, preferring the look and feel of the site, and offering more features.
So what makes Orkut so undesirable or simply uncool amongst the networkers? Here’s what I feel-
◘ The homepage takes times to load thanks to ugly themes and applications that just clutter the page.
◘ The main content view has shrunk with the introduction of new template feature. Templates also increased the response time of pages.
◘ Pictures and scrap lock feature have declined the interests. Orkut spoilt us, allowed us to snoop but suddenly becoming prude because Facebook arrived didn’t go down well with the users.
◘ Lack of innovations. Third party applications came in too late along with privacy settings and comments section.
Google is not taking the Facebook threat lying down. There are strong rumours circulating that the biggest online brand will soon be attempting another battle with Facebook, with the launch of reticently titled ‘Google Me’.
Google Buzz was an embarrassing failure (it doesn’t feel good when you wake up to see your email contacts splashed in front of the world) and Google Profile wasn’t a hit either. So Google has now decided to put everything into the blender and churn out something bigger than Facebook. Features from several of its previous networking “experiments” will be used to create something mammoth. But will the heavy user base on Facebook be willing to try out something new and even consider shifting? Google Buzz isn’t a good example. Or Facebook – which has been struggling with the frequently changing privacy norms, settings and questioning users- lose its throne to Google? Will you try Google Me?
Sex & Zara Sells
Rohit Sharma
Two major “fashion events” took place last week. First, the movie Sex & the City 2 (SATC) opened last week in US to a very excited audience and critics (who, based on the reviews, went to the theatres with a puke bucket, just in case). Second, globally popular Spanish clothing brand Zara opened its first store in a Saket mall to also very excited Delhi-ites who apparently have been waiting eagerly for the brand to arrive. What’s common between the two events is the massive publicity they received on social networking front, even if it was not very imminent. The SATC movie page developed on Facebook a whopping fanbase of almost 2 million users. The bustling and interactive group creates debates on scatty questions like ‘how will you be dressing up to watch the movie?’ or unabashedly promotes the non-fashion brand HP it tied up with.
Zara’s India experience was plain serendipity. First, no major fashion brand has opened in India recently. In fact, big brands are shying away from Indian market (Tag Huer closed its store in Emporio mall, D&G and Tiffany cancelled their forays). The curiosity levels of brand-thirsty-us, in due course, went high. Second, Zara, whose price range is quite equivalent to brands like Esprit and Mango, is confused for a luxury brand and the company dont clear the facts either. So when people come to the store, they are surprised by Zara’s affordability and eventually end up buying what they think is luxury. Third, Facebook and Twitter spread the word about Zara like fire. Zara India didn’t create any official group or fan page on any networking sites but got the free, word-of-mouth publicity from people who probably don’t even know about the origin of the brand but were strangely enthusiastic about its presence. Fourth, Zara is poised enough to not depend on advertisements or hire celebrity endorsers. The mystery around the brand is well churned out by the PR machinery, which also highlights its belief on its designers, creations and customers, even as it has been accused, over the years, by fashion designers of stealing ideas.
Using social media for brand promotion with a personal touch will go a long way not just to root a fashion brand in a new country or publicize a movie but also to combine the creators and prospective audience to determine what the next fashion trend or story line should be.
A confession- I will watch Carrie and the gang strut on the sands of Dubai, probably, wearing Zara.
VOTE FOR NONE OF THE ABOVE
So why can’t we have the right to vote against every candidate? Sharif Rangnekar has taken up the issue and created a group on Facebook called ‘Vote for None of the Above’. Within a few days of its formation, there are 60 members debating and the group is being talked about in media already The Times of India and The Economic Times.
Oscars: Behind the Scenes
R. Sowmya Sri
One of the most talked about movie- Slumdog Millionaire continues to evoke controversy and celebration in equal measures. The movie’s dream run at the Academy awards, more popularly known as Oscars, sparked of a debate on whether the award was a by-product of a clever marketing ploy or it salutes the accomplishment of a fine piece of art. Much of the debate has ignored the modus operandi behind the line – ‘and the Oscar goes to…….’
Different Strokes
“Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” -Aaron Levenstein.
One news, two views. Courtesy- Mint and The Economic Times (March 17th, ’09)
Ignorance is bliss
Stop the Presses? Yankees wouldn’t care a lot if local papers folded. Read this.
Happy 20th, Internet!
Science inspired the World Wide Web. Two decades on, the web has repaid the compliment by changing science. People have come closer than they were 20 years ago, businesses are shaping up and the world is running on its terms… thanks to the wonders of Internet. The Economist takes a glimpse of the dot com story.
PR Theory
A refresher for the PR champs. Tidbits you should never forget… Read this
Courtesy- Slideshare.net
IPL- Indian Pathetic League
Manish Sharma
The Indian Premier League (IPL) moved out of India. Entangled in the web of politics, brinks-manship and a game of one-upmanship, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) was forced to take the event overseas. A disappointing decision? Read more
Now you can
By Manish Sharma
Nano’s no to conventional media publicity and a big Yes to clever arrival blitzkrieg. Read more
Save Power, Save Earth
That’s what you call star power! Aamir Khan has brought in the support of thousands of those who are now vowing to save power. Earth Hour is creating waves now with corporate honchos (Wipro, HP, Google, Taj and ITC hotel chains), celebrities and civilians jumping in to promote the cause and spreading the word. Lights would be switched off or dimmed at 11 PVR cinemas in Delhi and Mumbai and corporate offices. After the first innings of the semi-final match of Teacher’s T20 Corporate Cricket Championship that is being held in Delhi, the lights at the Roshanara Club will be switched off for 15 minutes and 1000 candles will be lit and distributed among all the guests to show solidarity towards creating awareness on Climate change. WWF is also organizing a human chain at Marine Drive. From Monday onwards, the WWF will also start campaign in schools and colleges.
So will you switch off your lights?
Loot gaye!
So how safe are your private details in the computer? Well, Facebook can now claim to keep a safe distance from user’s personal data but the Governments, not just in India but across the globe, are sitting helpless and insecure. Reason- Data robbery. A Canadian group of researchers have revealed that the hacking system is being controlled from computers based in China (involvement of Chinese govt.’s hand is speculated).The sleuthing has infiltrated at 1295 computers in 103 countries, including India. Read more.
Stay connected
Manish Sharma
Even in the time of recession, at least 10 million news users are entering the ever swelling club of mobile owners. From the villagers in Olhanpur to Abhishek Bachchan, the telecom miracle- cell phones, have brought everyone closer. Marketers are resorting to the new age promotional methods and consumers have a bouquet of options to choose from. Read more.
Are They worth it?
Rohit Sharma
In our star-struck nation, Bollywood stars are probably the few set of people impervious of the recession blues. The dreamsellers are well endowed with movies, party appearances, awards and endorsements throughout the year and we haven’t heard of any movie star declaring bankruptcy, yet.
Aishwarya Rai. *Courtesy- LOreal
Apart from movies, stars (especially big ones) rake in a lot of money from advertisement deals that they are bombarded with. But brands- major source that bring stars their Porsches- are now tightening their purse strings. In an attempt to judge the capability and veracity of actors to take brands closer to people, an initiative called CelebTrack has been launched. Over 400 celebrities were ranked on five parameters-popularity, image attributes, power of persuasion, media presence and overexposure. Large companies like Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Indicom, PepsiCo, Cadbury and ING Vysya have already subscribed to the research. (Read the ET report)
What is to wonder is the authenticity and accuracy of CelebTrack. In the age of grilling PR machinery, isn’t tampering of such polls possible? Instead of nationwide online polling, why only on the basis of some odd 10,800 people, the interviews were conducted? How did someone missing-from-action and 1-2 brand endorser like Shahid Kapur manage to reach the top 5?
Lost in translation
Manish Sharma
Translation is a major problem issue with the public relation fraternity, especially in India. Popular readership surveys are filled with numerous publications that belong to the regional media space. However, the suave spin-doctors in metros find it hard to decipher vernacular language. Even a simple exercise, like that of English to Hindi translation, poses problem to most PR professionals. Read more.
Tweet Tweet!
Rohit Sharma
If you can’t beat them, join them. Social networking renaissance is making it big and if you’re not part of it, my friend, you’re losing a lot! Facebook might 
just almost be the perfect tool for marketers and advertisers discovering the joys of social networking. But if we look carefully, Twitter is actually the new face of New-media. The Twitter revolution is on the roll with not just ‘commoners’ like you and me but celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, media Goliaths like CNN and multinational corps. like Dell are depending on with the business blitzkrieg on this new phenomenon. Read more.
Kabhi vote kabhie Sloth
Rohit Sharma
Mumbai sleeps on voting day. All talks, no action. Did the candles stop burning in 5 months? Read more on Mumbai’s embarrassing fiasco.
AT&T’s no Idol
Rohit Sharma
For anyone who has even a teensy bit of knowledge about music and follows “American Idol” would find it hard to digest the fact that Kris Allen is a better singer than Adam Lambert. In the lines of Chris Daughtry and David Cook, Lambert stayed at consistent levels throughout his performances and barely received any flak from the sharky-judges. His rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” and Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” were earth rattling as judges and audiences roared with applaud. Then what cost the reigning king his throne?
A New York Times report reveals that AT&T, whose mobile phone network is the only one that can be used to cast “American Idol” votes via text message, provided the free text-messaging services at two parties in Arkansas after the final performance episode of American Idol last week, according to the company and people at the events. AT&T denies the allegation but people present at the two events organized by Allen’s fans claim that a few representatives of AT&T helped them send power texts (10 or more messages at the press of one button) which have more effect on voting than call-votes.
Another reason that might have brought down Lambert to number two were the rumours that started just before the semi finals. Personal pictures of Lambert flashed around the web that media further used to question his sexuality. Along with millions stunned by results, Lambert claimed it was probably because of his personal life that he lost the title.
The question remains why did the show sponsor AT&T break its own norms and favoured one contestant over the other?
Beauty with a Purpose(?)
Rohit Sharma
It’s difficult to keep your eyes off the woman who defines beauty. As Aishwarya Rai giggled, snuggled, wriggled and jiggled on the Cannes red carpet in France, the world was going gaga about this Armani and Elie Saab draped ice queen. Well, except for a certain Ms. Sonam Kapoor back in India.
Rai, posing in front of swarms of international media
International face for L’Oreal, Rai, just before her yearly Cannes ritual, rejected the fairness cream ad by her “parent” company. Why would’nt she? At least she struck to her words of denouncing the necessity of skin lightening in front of Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks. Rejected by Rai, L’Oreal knocked on emerging actress Sonam Kapoor who accepted the offer with open arms. And why wouldn’t she? Saawariya and Delhi 6 havent actually helped her join the A-league. Rai’s representative went on to sing praises of their boss saying, “Such stories seldom bother her. Aishwarya is primarily guided by her sense of ethics as far as advertising is concerned. She does not endorse products unless she believes in them. She was recently offered a fortune to replace Rani Mukerjee to endorse a popular mosquito repellent cream, but she turned down the offer.” Diplomacy and political correctness. Like master, like slave.
What appeared to have been turning into a media coveted cat-fight, later, actually turned out to be an abysmal PR stunt. Rai was flown to Cannes but was told that Kapoor will be joining her for the two minute gown parade on red carpet. The festival began, Rai pranced but Kapoor was nowhere to be seen. Poor girl made a mistake of calling the carpet queen “an actress of senior league” and ended up unpacking her saris, gowns and fairness creams in her Mumbai home. “Sabotage by Rai” claimed media and Kapoor wiped her tears and dreams off. But who had the last laugh apart from the Bachchan bahurani? L’Oreal. The company got their pre and post Cannes publicity using our scoop-hungry media. The Paris based conglomerate isn’t that “fair” to everyone actually. Last year, the company was lambasted by media and public for featuring singer Beyonce in an ad with a lighter skin appearance than her natural golden bronze tone. The company denied the digital enhancement but the truth was already out.
Blast from the past: Lux White Glow ad
Hypocrisy is the best kept secret of those in ‘glamour’ world and those who hire and promote them. Rai who reached the Goddess status denying the fairness cream ad, probably forgot that she is STILL promoting a soap that sells in the name of its fairness agents (Lux White Glow). Earning billions, preaching trillions, sincerity none… you’re NOT worth it!
Googl’eye
Rohit Sharma
Have you ever tried to Google yourself? As PR agents or marketers, you have the blessing of taking full advantage of Google’s-eye-on-everything. If you have carefully lined out your facts, information and data on the net, then there are many chances of your customer and clients reaching you than them trying to run infinite searches across pages, attempting to source out information and finally giving up.
![cool-cartoon-808865[1]](http://communicatingpr.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/cool-cartoon-80886511.png?w=600 "cool-cartoon-808865[1]")
A brand’s search results (especially the initials) throw an immediate light on the qualities and merit of it. Today, Google allows you to improvise on the search results through its clever tool called “Google Profile”. No matter what field you work in, it is imperative you take Google’s ability to enlist or cache and catalogue all your activities online. Wouldn’t it be better if Google finds our stories in as many places as it can rather than it finding someone else’s versions?
Fly away
![3291908607_90ea44446e[1]](http://communicatingpr.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/3291908607_90ea44446e1.jpg?w=600 "3291908607_90ea44446e[1]")
In April 2008, BBC released an extraordinary footage of flying penguins that would be featured in a new natural history series.
Following day, the corporation issued a press release confessing to the April Fools Day stunt which was to promote their new online catch-up service iPlayer.
(Source- TaylorHerring.com)
A Sexy Snub
Rohit Sharma
Megan Fox. Rings more than a bell doesn’t it? From those who’ve just hit puberty to those who’re counting their days on mother earth, men, women, boys, girls, Foxilicious is creating drool oceans. One Harvey Kindlon is swimming in it, holding a yellow rose.
Just a couple of weeks back this 11 year old toddler was pictured trying to hand Megan Fox a yellow rose as the vamp trod the red carpet in London. It was like a stable boy-princess moment as Fox covering herself from berserk crowd ignored the li’l Harvey and moved on. Photo company Kodak’s PR people were quick to turn this heart break moment into cash flow as they donned the cupid mantle announcing a reward of US $5000 to anyone who could identify Kindlon. Cha-ching! Kindlon-hunt began with more fervour than the one for Osama and the boy was handed over to Kodak in very few days. Remember, angel Kodak was letting the world know of their Godly intentions of making the stable boy reach princess’s balcony. The venue was decided to be Today’s Show and Fox was invited to meet the rose boy who was supposed to sit in the audience.
But then the PR chance became a PR disaster.
Fox’s appearance on the show was undone by news of Michael Jackson’s death. So she returned to LA without meeting Kindlon. Boy’s hope were quashed along with Kodak’s cupid dreams as Today Show denied talking to Kodak for having Harvey on the show and also denied ever inviting him. Snubbed again, the boy was sent back home.
Fox jumped in to gain some loving from public saying, “The paparazzi would not let you to me. I’m so embarrassed.”
So is Kodak, we and Harvey are sure!
What an “analysis”!
Team Communicatingpr
Economic Time’s survey (Page 1, 13 July 2009) claims companies that invested in advertising and marketing during recession last year reported high revenues and profits, compared to those that cut their ad budgets.
This is an interesting claim and is contrary to the general assumption across the globe and India too. Even if one digs a bit into the news report, one finds that the only example taken is that of Kellogg’s which has limited competition in its space. Not only that, the report does not clearly state the assumptions of the survey including the time period in question, other factors that impacted growth or even the return on investment for the ad spend. World over, several corporations cut back on advertising and publicity while shifting focus to core business. It has been widely reported that while ad budgets slipped to keep costs down, the value of PR and communication was enhanced.
One wonders what the basis is for the ET report and who actually benefits from it given the half baked nature of reporting. From the face of it, advertisers and the media are perhaps the greatest beneficiaries from this survey and the report!
Bad air day for AI
Rohit Sharma
So you thought people dangling out of moving buses was a common sight? Think again. Now that Air India’s started stuffing people in their flights, DGCA should pack their bags and let airlines make money their own way. Read more.
Movies with a new twist
Manish Sharma
Times, they are a changin’. Although mobile TV has made its lukewarm debut, watching a full fledged movie on phone is surely going to create some excitement not only in the world of mobile telephony but also revolutionize the business of entertainment. Imagine viewing a movie for 40 bucks on your phone, the bait looks promising and present an alternative distribution model for small filmmakers. While the quality of video and price of phone would be the stumbling blocks in scaling up this model, 3G technology promises to take care of that. Multiplex owners and Bollywood producers who were fighting over revenue sharing should better watch out. Its time for some action!
Sayonara!
Rohit Sharma
Sarah “Quitter” Palin has stayed as a media darling of sorts. She’s given enough fodder to the likes of legendary David Letterman and Saturday Night Live and many more. Vanity Fair recently caught hold of Madam Deer slayer’s Bye-Bye-speech that’s presumably become a joke for the copy-eds. Here’s how VF’s copy department caught Palin red faced and red marked. Time to hunt for the speech writers, Mommy!
Could’nt resist this blast-from-the-past of SNL’s and Tina Fey’s ingenuity. Watch it.
Blimey Choo!
Rohit Sharma
How many times have you stopped outside the Armani window at Emporio 
and drooled looking at those excellent-excellent boots? Thanks to the clever marketing world- over and well-established names, the flow of luxury brands has come in a big way to brand hungry India. All that glitters is gold for us. The name sells and recession has no effect on luxury. Here’s Vir Sanghvi’s take on a true story of one of the biggest shoe brand in the world.
Creativity subsides when marketing arrives.
Lets make it public, Bro
ADAG’s Attack: Anil Ambani takes a platform rarely used by the corporates to launch an opinion about the powers-that-be. Younger brother Anil Ambani has opened the family feud to a public debate and charged not only his brother (Mukesh Ambani) but whirled in “biased” government as well. Oil Minister Murli Deora and Bhaiya must be stunned… so are we.
Wicked confectionery
Rohit Sharma
Its not just Cola companies Coca Cola and Pepsi locking horns at the market with their scathing spoofs on each other. Just few days after Cadbury launched their high voltage marketing ad- campaign ‘Aaj Pehli Tareekh Hai’ (Enjoy the chocolate, today’s first of the month), rival Nestle didn’t take much long to launch a parody with the tagline ‘Sirf Pehli Tarikh Ko Nahin, Kabhi Bi Kha Sakte Hai’ (Not just on first of the month, you can have it anytime). Usually sticking to soft and candy-floss advertisement, Nestle breaks the mould by jumping into directly mocking their biggest competitor in the market.
The ad talks about Nestle’s highest selling chocolate bar, Munch (advertised by Bollywood actresses Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee), and is being campaigned on radios and internet ads. On the other hand, Cadbury’s chocolate bar ad is reaching consumers through radio, print, on-ground, mobile and online stands.
Cadbury’s ad is created by Ogilvy and Mather India and Nestle’s spoof is by their advertising partners JWT India.
No matter how they rip each other apart, its usually fun for us to watch brands like these battling for our attention.
Three mistakes Chetan Bhagat made
Rohit Sharma
In an article written for Hindustan Times, scriptwriter and author Chetan 
Bhagat, presents his views on India’s defence strategy. He stresses on the necessity to cut down on defence budget and suggests his version of foreign policy and steps to achieve peace. In an attempt to convey a spirited, goodwill message, Bhagat makes some unsolicited and naïve proposals. While stating his views on foreign policy of India he asks his fellow Indians- “How badly do we need Kashmir?” He further trickles down to strategic defence alliances where he suggests giving America access to our country by hiring them to protect our borders- “outsourcing” our defence. He claims it’ll save us some money as, “Having a rich, strong friend rarely hurts anyone”. Speaking on behalf of Pakistan, Bhagat preaches India to shake off its attitude and provide, people claiming over our land, “some room”- “We may not be happy about it, but we can learn to live with it.”
Do you also think that PMO’s PR department need to hire some experienced and mature political writers?
Top 10 Celebrity Tweets
Rohit Sharma
If you keep aside the millions in their bank balance, celebrities are not very
different from us. From Mallika Sherawat to Shashi Tharoor, they are using this new fangled networking mean to promote, demote and gloat about everything they do and experience. Here’s a look at few from the jumble of illustrious personalities on Twitter.
“Today, she is a joke”
(Pritish Nandy on Kareena Kapoor, after watching Kambakkht Ishq)
“Is any food, good food? Any romance, good romance? Depends on the chef or the lover or the writer.”
(Mallika Sherawat, on being asked whether any publicity is good publicity)
“And did they? Please name a few MNCs that ‘entered’ India after Sush, Ash or Lara, Priyanka?”
(Gul Panag, on being asked whether Indian girls were winning beauty pageants because multi national companies wanted to enter India)
“They want a CELEBRITY in their house not a WIFE!!”
(Rakhi Sawant, on being mistreated by the family of a contestant in her reality show)
“Shocked by Gujarat’s ban on Jaswant’s book. Freedom of expression is a constitutional right: how can it be denied to citizens in one part of India? Hope Jaswant’s publishers will challenge constitutionality of Gujarat ban in court. We must end such restraints on what people are allowed to read”
(Shashi Tharoor, on the banning of Jaswant’s Singh’s book in Gujarat)
“I asked my assistant to book me a Nano. When is booking open? I think we can do a Karnataka tour in the Nano.”
(S M Krishna)
“You know what the worst part about being an actress is? It’s the pressure to look gorgeous all the time and to behave perfectly. But I’m not perfect, nobody is.”
(Preity Zinta)
“CEC has no rules about Twitter. Is there a model code of conduct?”
(S M Krishna, on whether Chief Election Commissioner would have guidelines set for politicians on Twitter)
“Looks like Anil Ambani has decided to sue only me and the website and not the HT. You know now that he believes in freedom of speech!”
(Vir Sanghvi, after being asked to remove an anti-Anil Ambani article published on his website and served with a notice)
“All u folks are a BIG disappointment…Just 1 out of around 2000 followers wished me birthday…Have I gone forgettable?”
(Cyrus Broacha)
The Pink Money
Rohit Sharma
The phenomenal gay ruling has not only opened the gates to a breath in fresh, liberated air for the gay community but also paved way for commercial opportunities for the industries. The change might take a while to perch but the way to cash in on the ruling is beginning to roll. Here’s an article in Hindustan Times that talks about an imminent change in the mindsets, at least that of corporates.
(Left: An ad published in Delhi Times by Manre- Saket and Absolut)
Sena at it, again!
Rohit Sharma
Mumbai-based publishing company Magna Publication’s office was ransacked yesterday by Shiv Sainiks. One of the oldest publishing houses, which run film glossy Stardust amongst many other subsidiaries, had one of its lifestyle magazine ‘Society’ come out with an article that speculates about Shiv Sena’s future and made some uncharitable remarks for its patriarch, Balasaheb Thackeray. Article contentiously titled “What after Balasaheb” enraged the party members so much that they broke everything in sight and threatened to assault the staff. The editorial team had to lock themselves in a room out of fear and spread the word through Facebook.* The party has previously expressed their displeasure with the media by vandalizing offices of Zee News and Outlook Magazine.
*Pic Courtesy: IBNLive
Forget media rights, it is to wonder how long the Maharashtra Government will plan to keep mum on the increasing attacks on human rights by a sagging party whose might is limited to one city.
Looking forward to reading Society’s article, which might just establish the future.
*Sources.
YouTube introduces Pay per view
Rohit Sharma
If rumours are to be believed, you’ll soon be able to watch latest movies on
YouTube, with authorisation. YouTube will be releasing films on the site, for a fee, as soon as they are released on DVD, or even before. One of the largest and most favoured video networking websites that offer free video clips to users is in talks with studio biggies of Hollywood like Sony, Lionsgate Entertainment and Warner Bros for establishing a deal, NYTimes report. YouTube already offers some old movies on the website for free.
Analysts are wondering whether Google’s acquisition of the video site some three years ago for US$1.65 billion will pay off in the near future. A Credit Suisse analyst told the world that YouTube was on pace to lose US$470.6 million this year. Google has not yet revealed the account books of its fresh purchase but it is to wonder whether YouTube is actually bringing money to its owner with every video/clip uploaded or not? There are movies being uploaded illegally and copyrights are being violated on the website by the users and YouTube is doing its best to curb this problem. But the task is so tough and time consuming that impediments like lawsuits and losses incurred keep knocking in between.
In America, what might eat YouTube’s business is Hulu.com. Launched by NBC and News Corp., the website has free and full episodes of their popular TV shows and movies. Sony, Disney, ABC are apparently taking stakes in Hulu which might make it more prominent. The hitch is, Hulu, for the time being is, restricting to catering American users and cannot be accessed from anywhere else in the world. YouTube is lacking the veracity of professional videos and depends a lot on amateur form of entertainment. Nor do they go an extra mile to get something exclusive or latest clippings. I wonder how the company will make profit with paid-movies when they’ve come so late and in the midst of strong competition. Would you pay for something that has long been free?
ET in a not so pretty…
Rohit Sharma
On Sunday, The Economic Times came out with an exclusive that accuses ICICI Bank of a two year old sale deal of dud loans and that the institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has sought a central bank (RBI) audit. In the article, a spokesperson of ICICI bank along with the ICAI President has been quoted approving the content.
Today, an infuriated ICICI Bank came out with print ads that charge the report of being “baseless and a malicious plant aimed at damaging the Bank’s reputation.” ICICI claims the figures mentioned in the article are inaccurate and denies any involvement or suggestion from ICAI.
ICICI Bank, on a previous occasion, had found itself defending and clarifying through ads when reports had come out of the bank’s surge towards bankruptcy, which created panic amongst customers. This time the bank seems to be serious about the damage done and is planning to take up this matter with the regulatory and law enforcement authorities, as mentioned in the ad.
What’s surprisingly funny is that the ads have come out in both The Times of India and The Economic Times, which broke the story. Is it Bennett Coleman’s attempt to make some money in case they might have to compensate for the damage done? Or will it be the other way around?
You save some, you lose some!
Rohit Sharma & Manish Sharma
The sheer hypocrisy of government drips from the two very different stories (one- definitely planted and another- an expose) that appear in The Times of India. The Gandhi family’s option for financial “austerity” has been in top news since last evening. How the Gandhis are traveling Economy class and saving few thousands have media raving about the “austerity drive” and Shatabdi’s new guest. On the other hand, TOI tells us about a Rs 20 crore worth office built for Doordarshan, which has been lying under the layers of dust for the past two years. The expensive office built to accommodate DD’s staff has been lying vacant due to internal politics and administrational mistakes. That’s not all; DD now requires an additional Rs 174 lakh to fix the equipments, as the warranty period expires. The whole infrastructure set up has been lying unused for two years due to red tapism. Read the report here.
We’ve always maintained that the government needs to hire a better PR, which make sure the “austerity” reports don’t come on the side of goof ups worth millions.
Flying cows
Rohit Sharma
Shashi Tharoor can sure play with puns. In his terms, I assume, “cattle class” can be defined by the way people are huddled together in the lesser-privileged section of an airline. But with the austerity-drive on by the Congress, distinctions between the two classes seem to be blurring. But unless you’re a politician or a celebrity who’d prefer not to be disturbed, has it ever been worth traveling business class?
Picture courtesy: The Indian Express
Except if you’re flying international, the thought of traveling business class in domestic sectors is preposterous. The food quality and taste is the same in both classes, the crew works the same way, pillows and blankets you get are the same… even washrooms are the same. The only possible differences is probably the leg space (if you’re on the window seat, you’d anyways have to bug the guy next to you to get up), facility to board last and depart first and better passenger coaches. The biggest difference comes in the fares- A Jet Airways one-way, Economy class, refundable ticket to Mumbai would cost you somewhere around Rs 7000, whereas you’ll pay around Rs 14000 for premiere class traveling in a two hour flight, where all you can enjoy is a meal option and a pre-flight drink (read- a choice between juices and aerated drinks). My cabin crew friends in premiere domestic airlines tell me that major cost cutting measures have brought the service levels of Business class to the standards of Economy. The cold and hot towels services, free candy, pre meal drinks and even pillow-blanket combo have been curtailed due to high costs.
Economy fares in most of the airlines are flexible, value-for-money and affordable. But the business class fares have been set absurdly exorbitant. The distinction between both classes comes in only when crew draws the curtains after the seat belt signs go off. If you are willing to pay for some few extra centimeters of leg space, that means recession is not meant for you. At the end of the day, it’s the cattle class laughing all the way to their destination.
What the hic!
Rohit Sharma
The good times are just about to begin. There’ll be enough reason to say cheers to a delayed flight at the airport. A Resto-Bar is set to open by November, located right next to the domestic airport arrivals, 1C. The bar won’t just be open for the passengers but also for people who have no work at the airport. The move is definitely profitable as up till now, only people flying international had the option to consume alcohol at the international airport (IGI) lounge or in the flight. The plan has already woken up the sceptics who are concerned about the threat to security which may occur due to inebriated passengers. I don’t think there should be security concerns at all because a highly smashed passenger is easy to be spotted, goes through security checks and the airport staff as well as cabin crew are well equipped and trained to handle them. Why there should be concerns at all in the first place is surprising as international airport has been serving alcohol for years. In fact, even the domestic airlines have been pressurizing the government for a long time to allow them to serve alcohol in domestic sectors. Till a few years back, the law permitted drinks on domestic flights- Damania Airways and East West used to serve alcohol on board. Today, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Air India are amongst a few which have the liquor license to serve alcohol in their international routes.
Pic courtesy: Sauza
The bad news is that the pricing of alcohol at this bar will be so high, which only selected customers will be able to afford. The prices for items like a sandwich or even a meager tea, are so high already at the airports, I wonder how expensive a bottle of beer would be?
*Based on the news report that appeared in TOI.
Diwali Sale!
Bachi Karkaria endorsing Dairy Milk chocolate. Source: The Times of India
Freeway, Nonstop
Moving beyond the usual hullabaloo a PR firm creates at a product launch, MTS a new telecom operator has found a novel way to make its presence felt in the market. To mark the launch of its services in Noida and Delhi, MTS has provided free access to all the vehicles on the Delhi-Noida DND Flyway today! Vehicles will not be charged any money on the toll gates of Noida and Gurgaon expressways between 9-11am and 5-8pm on Friday.
Howzzat?
Rohit Sharma
- Picture courtesy: longhop.net
The refurbished look of HT is working for me. The headlines look catchy, the design is different from others and the content (at least of the main paper) definitely scores over its sharpest of competitors. The best section I’d say is the Editorial- they’re juicy, fun and not indulging in analyzing everything mundane and monotonous, everyday (Read these two).
But keeping the flow going each day can be tough. Today, HT commits a front page gaffe. The first report on Diwali traffic jams speak how commuting is becoming knotty for Delhiites. One of the reasons, they say, is the T20 cricket attracting crowds. But another report, right below, speaks about the empty stands at Ferozeshah Kotla grounds with barely few coming to watch matches! One glitch… we can give it to them, right?
New-Age Fashionistas
Emanuel L Joute
One of the most significant trends at international fashion shows this year, mind you, is not the clothes, the cuts or the style, but having fashion bloggers on front row seats. Chanel, LV, Marc Jacobs, D&G, you name it… major design houses are now embracing fashion bloggers as legit as any press or buyers. The dream of many a self-styled fashion aficionado, influential fashion bloggers are being wooed by fashion houses with all-expenses paid trips to big shows, backstage access, a chance to review clothes/accessories before being showcased and, sometimes, making them brand ambassadors. While some bloggers have landed on magazine covers, some have even attained semi-celeb status.
Having a dream run among this pack is 22-year-old Bryan Boy from Manila, known for his “witty and often bitchy commentary”, who is said to have made a “place in the fashion history” after sitting on the same row as some of the fashion industry’s heavyweights and other fellow bloggers at the D&G Spring/Summer 2010 show. On his experience at the show, he wrote, “I was so nervous throughout the entire show I even dropped my cellphone to the floor!” He was recently invited for the LV womenswear show at the Louvre in Paris, not to mention a Marc Jacobs BB ostrich bag named after him.
Source: www.bryanboy.com
Also famous: Susanna Lau, the creator of Style Bubble, is a permanent fixture on the front-row seats at Chanel shows. On her blog, she says she is “not a fashion expert/insider — merely a fashion lover/consumer — everything here is super personal and thus supremely self-indulgent”. While 13-year-old blogger Tavi was featured on the cover of Pop magazine, another blogger Alix Bancourt of Cherry Blossom Girl was named the ambassador for Chanel’s new line of bags Coco Cocoon.
Hard to give this new breed of bloggers a miss, the Telegraph has come up with the top 20 fashion blogs.While international fashion houses have finally recognised the importance of communication through the Internet, especially social media. However, the scene in India is dismal. Why only blogs, there is hardly any fashion journalist worth mentioning. But then, why blame them? The fashion industry itself is still to get its acts together for putting up shows that are worth writing about.
Big B-lunder
Rohit Sharma
Source: MidDay
Most of the celebrities these days are hopping on to the social media bandwagon, but their inexpertise and weak PR help is costing them what they cherish and secure the most- privacy. Look at Amitabh Bachchan’s interview with MidDay, which has become an embarrassing controversy, more for the former. After lambasting Khalid Mohamed, Bachchan has put zanjeer of accusations around a power-packed newspaper’s editor Abhijit Majumder. The alleged misrepresentation and sting operation has done less to question an editor’s journalistic credibility and more to bring forth an eminent and revered personality’s ill will and vengefulness. Over the years, Bachchan has become antagonistic and very defensive of his family-friend-citadel. A friendship with Amar Singh has earned him nothing but political dilemmas and built up in court cases, whereas a certain aloofness from the ‘camps’ and groups in Bollywood have made his friends list thinner.
If you read his response (it’d take atleast 10 minutes) to the reply Majumder gave to his accusation, by the end of it you’d end up sympathizing with Bachchan. The actor has become so emotional that he himself scratched his old wounds- Bofors, Barbanki. But if you look at it carefully, he plainly is doing what he has always hidden on camera- anger and defensiveness. His blog is a mere façade for his other, you can say, more human-like nature, where he has answers for everything. With his opinions/outbursts, Bachchan wants to keep a connect with his fans but naively forgets that his blog has readers, sceptics and critics across the globe who don’t necessarily have to be his fans. His opinions make news and affect people’s lives.
Everyone is entitled to presenting their side, their case but when a person in a powerful position goes on defaming the world, it becomes much more embarrassing than a preposterous Kamal Khan, stealing food in the middle of night, who Bachchan thinks is amongst the “talented and recognized”.
Live on the horizon
Rohit Sharma
It was a phenomenal moment when one of the world’s legendary bands U2 performed live on YouTube, a few days back. The band performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, USA, in front of a crowd of 100,000, at the same time, fans of this iconic Irish band from countries around the world were able to tune in to the concert from the comfort of their own homes. YouTube page (U2 Channel) that hosted the concert (2 hr 21 minutes) has received over 7 million views, so far. This is the first biggest live, online-telecast of any concert across the globe.
Money makes world go around
Rohit Sharma
This one might lead to an online renaissance. Money Control takes the crown for being the second largest financial website of the world. Get these astounding facts- The website has 15 million users visiting per day, spending an average time of 25-30 minutes per day along with 1 million unique users. Money Control follows Wall Street Journal which is the highest visited financial website of the world.
The trend setter in financial information, research and analysis, and the official website of CNBC TV18, moneycontrol.com completes 10 years today.
In a country that has 7% of internet penetration with 81 million internet users (China leads Asia’s online market with 338 million users) – Money Control figures paint a very different picture for the future. Do we see an online revolution ahead or is it just a flash in the pan?
Namaste Twitter
Rohit Sharma
- www.causecapitalism.com
We’re moving beyond Facebook and Orkut. Twitter is rampantly creating a fanbase in India and has established 1.4 million user base here- the third largest after Germany and the US. The microblogging website has 16 per cent of Indian users regularly ‘tweeting’ to get news updates, says a survey by technology site www.pluGGd.in. While 11 per cent use it to stay in touch with their friends, 10 per cent use the website for research purpose, according to the survey. In India, the site came into prominence in the country during 26/11 attacks when eyewitnesses sent an estimated 80 ‘tweets’ every five seconds, helping in compiling a list of the dead and injured.
The popularity of Twitter can be credited to Bollywood where popular stars and production houses are connecting with fans. Also, personalities from politics are also helping reaching out to public in an attempt to change the public image of a politician or merely to garner a vote bank.
At the moment, Orkut stays as the leader amongst social net working sites in India with 16 million users followed by Facebook with 8 million users. Twitter has settled in but with its limited functions, will it be able to reach an audience that prefer online chatting, crazy applications, games and pictures to look at?
Sympathy for the devil
Amit Gupta
Another blow for the Indian cricket team at the hands of once mighty Australians, which has lost much of its invincible tag over the last few months! It’s interesting to see how both the Indian media and masses commiserate with the Indian team (and Sachin Tendulkar in particular) for their ‘narrow loss’. And it’s equally fascinating to see a severely depleted Australian side to fire up at this occasion and take lead in the 7 match series when odds were clearly loaded against them. With their frontline bowlers injured, the Aussies are struggling to put on field an eleven member squad and add to that the inexperience of playing on the sub-continent pitches for the bench which has to fill-in for the injured players.
Coming back to the issue of both media and masses sympathizing with the Indian team for their supposedly ‘valiant efforts’ – should the Indian cricketers not be scorned at for their feeble bowling and fielding? As many as seven Indian batsman scored runs in single digit in response to a mammoth Australian score of 350. The team deserves nothing but criticism and hostility. Our cricket board which runs like a private corporation (and makes heavy profits) pays handsomely to its first-rate employees (read cricketers)! It is time that the board gives a boot to some of its redundant employees.
And our much befuddled media should do a double think before sympathizing with a team that does little on the turf!
Why Deoband berates the National Song?
Rohit Sharma
Some facts-
- Vande Mataram was actually author and composer Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s response to ‘God Save the Queen’, a song that the British rulers were trying hard to force their anthem, around 1870. The song was later included in his novel Anandmath, which has been widely criticized by Muslims as a propaganda and an attempt to spit venom at their community.
- The novel alludes to the devastating Bengal famine of 1770 and unsuccessful ‘Sannyasi’ rebellion. Based in an era when Mir Jafar, a Mughal emperor was ruling in Bengal, Anandmath also hints to the tragedy in 1771 when 150 Hindu ascetics were put to death in Natore (now Bangladesh), apparently for no reason.
A 1952 film, based on Bankimchandra's 'Anandmath'
- “Shatru ke khoon se seench kar man ko shasya-shyaamla karunga”. (From the blood of enemy, ill soothe my heart) – A line when a character from the novel pledges retribution from people, those seem to be Muslim. ‘Shasya-shyaamla’ are also the words used in the first stanza of the song Vande Mataram.
- The song offers the chanter to worship at the feet of Goddess Durga. Muslims clerics argue whether bowing in front of “mother” is salutation or worship. The religion does not allow a Muslim to bow down in front of any body else except allah.
- Rabindra Nath Tagore who had first sung the song before it became a war cry says the song in just a hymn to Goddesss Durga (Mother India). In a letter to Subhash Chandra Bose, Tagore said that “no Muslim can be expected patriotically to worship the ten-handed deity as the nation”. He did not want the song to be stressed as the national song in the Parliament saying, “When Bengali Mussulmans (Muslims) show signs of stubborn fanaticism, we regard these as intolerable. When we too copy them and make unreasonable demands, it will be self-defeating.”
Goons on the loose
Rohit Sharma
MNS activists rake up another national shame
Meanwhile, Jessica Lall murder accused parties on parole and Sheila Dixit defends it…
The Grapes Are Sour?
Emanuel Joute
- www.scrapetv.com
News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch is talking about stopping Google from indexing his newspapers. He wants his content to command a premium online, and not give search engines a free ride. So what gives? Leaving aside the financial risks, the immediate fallout would be a steep fall in traffic. According to Web tracking site Experian Hitwise, News Corp.’s flagship publication The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) could lose up to 25 per cent of its traffic. Hitwise said that on a weekly basis, Google and Google news are the top traffic providers for WSJ.com, accounting for over 25 per cent of its traffic. Also, over 44 per cent of WSJ.com visitors directed from Google are “new” users who haven’t visited the domain in the past 30 days.
Does Murdoch have a new gameplan and willing to accept this fall in online traffic? Or is this just a ploy to get Google into talking money? Google, on its part, has no plans to bite the bait as yet. It issued a statement saying how easy it would be for News Corp. to remove itself from the Google News tool and the search engine itself. This episode raises other issues such as the future of online content distribution, plagiarism and revenue models. According to Hitwise, links from social networks such as Twitter and Facebook account for 4 per cent of visits to news and media sites in the US – a percentage that is up 490 per cent year-over-year.
So, can Google live without Murdoch? Or can he live without Google? Pick your choice.
And they’re not even on Parole!
Rohit Sharma
Dont miss Praveen Kumar (left) going at it! Pic courtesy: NewsX channel
Lifestyles of the rich and famous. Photographs from a Hyderabad hotel aired by NewsX, has shown Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and few of his teammates enjoying the company of female “admirers” at a party which the channel claimed was held after India lost to Australia by three runs in Hyderabad on Thursday. Manu Sharma and Rahul Mahajan need to be RSVPd on such events people !
No Ball(s)
Rohit Sharma
- Outlookindia.com
It is surprising and actually disappointing to see an aged and respected (at least by his cronies) Bal Thackeray’s jabberwocky, that supposedly “warns” one of our nation’s beloved personality. It’s disappointing because at an age when colleagues like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Abdul Kalam gracefully take a backseat, Thackeray has been wasting the little time left for him in dividing Maharashtra from India. Taking a snap at Sachin Tendulkar for saying Mumbai is a part of India; Sena scion might regret the mistake for the rest of his life.
Shiv Sena has usually gotten away with its ‘A-Marathi-first’ agenda. Whether it’s beating up immigrants, rampaging media offices that dare to speak against Sena’s autocracy or threatening celebrities, each time Thackeray has outrightly challenged Indian democracy and constitution. For decades, we have seen a bunch of gutless goons creating a terror of sorts in Maharashtra, without anyone even trying to stop them. UPA or NDA- all governments in power have neither raised a voice nor taken a concrete action against vandalism in the name of Marathi chauvinism. Sena is now working to hold on its core constituency ground as the monster it created, called the MNS, seems to be championing the Marathi-manoos ideology (that slaps a Member of Parliament who represents thousands of people and dares to speak in Hindi). The rivalry between two idiosyncratic groups continues with innocents getting harassed – those who pay the price of not being Marathi.
Sachin stated a fact when he said that he is an Indian first then a Maharashtrian. Both Balasaheb and Raj Thackeray are blithely unaware of the fact that today people with Marathi as their mother tongue make only a small proportion of Maharashtra’s population than they did three decades ago. From 76.5% of the population in 1971, Marathi speakers gradually decreased to 68.8% in 2001, while Hindi speakers rose from 5 to 11%, according to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics in the state Planning Department.
Our government need to gear up against raging violence and casteism bubbling in the state before those who are suffering take the matters in their own hands and consider the good ol’ tit-for-tat.
Obama: India-US why try when India-Chini is not bhai bhai!
Sharif D Rangnekar
When it comes to communications and PR, President Obama knows it all and does it all. There are oh so many case studies related to his campaign that a book can be made on it. During his visit to China earlier this week, he cleverly used words on how China would ‘encourage’ better ties between India and Pakistan. While he did not specifically say that China would ‘negotiate’ or ‘involve’ itself in this direction, he virtually gave this large nation a role to play in South Asian politics.
Obama in Japan. *Pic source: The Associated Press
What he also did is ignore China’s investments in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). What a sentence or two can do is amazing and disturbing given the role a US President plays in global politics. So far the Indian government has close to ignored the statements and is fortunate that the media has not chased it down. A continued engagement with the media would mean keeping the story alive and further embarrassment for the Indian government and nation. According to sources, the PMO intends to maintain one line – a holding statement of sorts – the Indian PM will take the issue up when he visits President Obama a few days from now!
An idea whose time has gone
Manish Sharma
India has changed a lot in recent times, much faster than we could have imagined. Things that were a part of our daily lives till a decade back have become obsolete today. Not only that, even their memories too have faded away. TV antennas adoring roof-tops, an office typewriter, the big bulky MTNL phone, or a Murphy transistor glued to every year during a cricket match; I bet the population that frequently uses the Net these days and form the majority at social networking sites would not even relate to what I am writing. But that’s understandable; those things were meant to become redundant with the advent of technology.
However, when it comes to government the same swiftness is missing in its approach. It seems that those palatial-bhavans (buildings) that housed our esteemed legislatures prevent any fresh thought or idea to sneak in. I don’t know why age-old conventions that made sense in a different era are still being pursued with a missionary zeal. Here is a list of three things that could easily be done away with for the convenience of not only the common man but also for the government.
India International Trade Fair: Yeah IITF or just plain ‘Trade Fair’, as it is referred by the masses, tops the list. Now, when India was a closed economy, it made a sense to organize an event that brought international-level business person to deliberate business prospects with Indian counterparts. However, today when the charm of imported/smuggled goods from Dubai/America has become nostalgia and the internet has revolutionized the trade world; it is only fair to expect the government should stops such ‘Fairs’.
Rail Budget: This is another bogey of the British Raj that is being carried on despite losing its track. Now what is the need to provide an hour of fame to the Rail Minister to indulge in nothing but political grandstanding? If it is for the government officials, then they are supposed to do their duty with or without the minister’s speech. If it is for the common man, then in today’s age of satellite TV a simple press conference would do the needful. The lives of people are not hanging on fare revisions, and the new train services that are usually announced take years to get functional. However, considering the fact that it takes the government more than 50 years to change the timing of the Budget presentation from 5’o’clock in the evening to 11’o’clock in the morning, the yawning Rail Budget speeches will be a part of the Parliament for the next 50 years at least.
*Pic Source: Tribune India
Beating Retreat:
This is the annual colorful military musical extravaganza that happens two days after the Republic Day parade. The event that symbolizes the returning of troops to their barracks is again the legacy of British rule. With due respect to our military forces, the ceremony should be held without a doubt. However, with rapid urbanization it causes a lot of inconvenience for three full working days, almost always to the citizens. May be, it could have been accommodated during the same evening. I hope it is not cast in stone that the event should be held exactly three days after the event.
IIMs’ Moment of Shame
Emanuel Joute
- Source: www.topnews.in
It’s one of the biggest ironies of sorts how the best management institutes in the country – the IIMs – failed in managing their common admission test, known as CAT, this year. Many feel that the IIMs were over ambitious and ill-prepared to go the online way for one of the toughest entrance exams in the world. A few questions arise. For one, what made them believe they can conduct an online test for over 2.4 lakh MBA aspirants in just 10 days, knowing full well how bad the online infrastructure in the country is? Secondly, were they short-sighted? There was no Plan-B in place. Thirdly, don’t they teach crisis management? They way they have handled the situation so far has been pathetic. For the first two days (tests began 28 November), it seemed they were clueless about how to handle the crisis. Communication was poor. It was only much after some politicians raised the issue that the IIMs and Prometric, the company entrusted with conducting the test, came out with a statement that several centres across the country had been affected by viruses. On 3 December, finally, the IIMs came out with a list of instructions for aspirants whose tests have been rescheduled, as well as for those who have already given the test.
In all, it has been a big drub to the IIM’s brand image. This comes in a year when the number of CAT takers fell from 2.7 lakh in 2008 to 2.4 lakh, with many attributing this fall to the poor 2009 placements. Also, some observers attribute this fall to CAT going the online way, taking into account the discrepancy of students’ background in India. “A mere mention of ‘online test’ would scare away a dozen people,” quips a teacher from an MBA coaching institute.
CAT is usually conducted between the last week of November and first week of December every year. This period is crucial as most of the universities across the country conduct their internal exams in December. In a country like India, it is well known that exams not only affect the student but the entire family. Preparation for any exams has its momentum, and re-igniting a lost momentum is not easy. And as Mint commented, CAT is a test that promises educational, financial and social mobility. Chaos and a lack of transparency is not what they expect from the high priests of management education.
What lies beneath…
Rohit Sharma
As Congress clean the Ayodhya laundry in public, the blame game is once again at its high pitch. 17 years ago, BJP rose in prominence with its role in the Ram temple movement, knocking down a nondescript mosque that lay on the sight since 1528. In 1984, the party had only two seats in Parliament, in 1991, it won 119. The achievement didn’t take long to turn into the ghost of past that has been haunting the VHP-BJP combo at every elections and now at Parliament. As BJP MPs struggle with the fresh round of accusations, the Government is sitting back and having the last laugh. Congress’s hypocrisy comes out as a shining beacon as they overstate a sensitive issue ignoring the shuddering impact it had and repercussions it could bring. The day Rahul Gandhi says Atal Bihari Vajpayee is “respectful” and speculates over the accuracy of Liberhan report indicting the senior BJP leader, is the same day another Congress MP calls Vajpayee a scoundrel in his native tongue in the Parliament session yesterday. MP Beni Prasad Verma’s usage of derogatory slang against Vajpayee is a sheer contrast to the subtle PR practice that the Gandhi scion usually indulges in.
Haagen Daazs’ Howler
Rohit Sharma
Marketing plan gone bad… really bad!
American company that plan to open 30-40 counters in India says on its arrival – Sorry, foreigners only!
Would you eat there?
Sex and the Scandal
Rohit Sharma
- www.telegraphindia.com
It’s definitely not a Happy New Year for Tiger Woods as January first began with one of his biggest advertising client AT&T dropping him off after his adultery case. The fallout with many other brands surrounding Woods’ now very public romps has significantly brought down his status as a sports celebrity who previously earned an estimated US$110 million annually in endorsements. Back home, ND Tiwari, 87, on the eve of his life and career has grossed the title of a “dirty old man” (as Hindustan Times call him). After ruling Andhra, Tiwari’s ruling YouTube with lacs and lacs views to the blurry pictures of his “sexual transgressions”.
What do Tiwari and Woods share in common apart from their powerful positions? Amongst other things, perils of mismanagement of image, timely but worthless public apology, merciless chops of media gossip and a nonchalant love for women. Woods’ damage is done and he is paying (including monetary wounds) for it heavily. Tiwari has quit and probably will not be able to recover his image in the years left to him, just like Bangaru Laxman who is nowhere to be seen. Mr Ex-Governor’s case is more violent as the blot is so deep and malignant that it’ll be tough for the clean-slate-Congress to lessen the impact as of now.
It was in many ways a sloppy fall for Tiwari- the man known for his uprightness and white kurtas that symbolizes the purity and integrity of an Indian politician. Just before the sex scandal, few months ago, Tiwari was dragged to Delhi High Court in a paternity case. I don’t even think his administration has been a great success by far- at least in the wake of with Telengana tamasha. Years back, Bill Clinton survived the sex scandal because he came clean later, if not very soon. Tiwari is confusing everyone with his stance by staunchly denying his involvement but also apologising to the country. What is the need to apologize when he’s done no wrong?
Politicians are forgiving creatures- BJP took Modi back, Congress reassigned Vilasrao Deshmukh and R R Patil and in sometime Tiwari might just pave his way back into active politics. Even with the oozing of damaging information, he may not come out clean on the issue because the punishment is a mere “wait”, for few months or maybe a year.
The oozing is vulgar and noxious. “ND Tiwari sex scandal clip” is amongst the top Google searches in India. ABN Channel that ran the lewd clips of Tiwari in bed with three women quoted Radhika, a woman from Uttarakhand, as saying that she sent the young women to the Raj Bhavan on Tiwari’s request through his aide. The woman said she had to expose the governor as he failed to provide her an iron ore mining license in Andhra Pradesh. Tiwari is also accused of abusing young girls and arranged the filming of his dirty secrets in order to blackmail girls.
On being asked his opinion on the journalism that is going in the bedrooms of politicians, Tiwari laughs and says, “Well, how can I support otherwise no one can have a private life”.
Perhaps, “sex life” is the functioning word here.
All smoke, No fire
Emanuel Joute & Manish Sharma
Another year, another plan that’s likely to go up in smoke. According to a report by the Indian Express, the Union Health Ministry has said that the pictorial warnings on tobacco products have not been making the desired impact. So now it seems the Ministry is considering replacing them with new hard-hitting images. These pictures could be of a bent cigarette depicting impotency, a person wearing an oxygen mask, a picture showing mouth cancer and that of a heart affected by smoking. But will this drive home the point?
The initial response to the pictorial warnings, implemented from 31 May 2009, was tepid. And it kind of fizzled out in due course. The ministry said that the chest X-ray image that currently adorns cigarette packs was perceived by many as a “man wearing a black coat” and not “affected lungs”. And it’s business as usual for the many roadside cigarette vendors. Similarly, the ban on smoking public places that was enforced during the tenure of ex-health minister A. Ramadoss has little or no meaning now. Many pubs/cafes/bars/ restaurants flout the rule, with no policing in place. Even otherwise, smokers can be seen puffing their dose of nicotine at places they find deem fit.
If the government is hell bent on taming the sales of tobacco, it should have stricter policies and not fly-by-night ideas. Its attempt to ban smoking on screen has not produced the desired results. Even the ban on surrogate advertising did not seem to work. Liquor moghul Vijay Mallya has very cleverly named his outfit as ‘Royal Challengers’, thus extracting every ounce of mileage for the liquor brand that was earlier owned by Shaw Wallace but now falls under the ambit of Bangalore baron. The ‘Red & White’ bravery awards too strengthen the positioning of the brand further. The company that enjoys monopoly in the cigarette market also runs a clothing brand to exploit the lifestyle theme for its tobacco entity more than a meaningful brand extension tactic.
In short, if the government really thinks of banning the sale of tobacco products than nothing short of an actual ‘ban’ can work, ever. By posting an ugly image, the government might assist though unknowingly in boosting the sale.
Cigarette smoking is an addiction rather than a habit. And, like any addiction, kink plays a greater role in satiating the urge. A smoker may be smoking more out of a desire to belong to a cult rather than the need to inhale tobacco. Thus, the ‘herd mentality’ to belong to a particular tribe to present a particular image to one’s own self works behind the seemingly simple exercise of lighting a cigarette. Any pictorial representation indicating a heart affected by smoking might actually work the opposite ways and trigger the stimuli for smoking as people resort to smoking as an anti-depressant too. Moreover, human behaviour works on a ‘wishful thinking’ theory whereby most human beings tend to display overconfidence in their own abilities on most occasions. Thus, they are able to distance themselves from the object like ugly warnings of a mouth infested with cancer or a bent cigarette indicating impotency and make their mind believe that this may never happen to them.
The government needs to come up with some ‘out of the box’ ideas to dissuade people from smoking. This may include among other things a steep tax on retailers or may be even abandoning the sale in a packet altogether, thereby making it inconvenience for smokers to easily access their quota at one particular time. Else, any flaccid plan would just be another one of those “bent” attempts.
Jugular Vain
Rohit Sharma
- Source: Outlookindia.com
Jug Suraiya in his column has said that the highly ambitious TOI campaign ‘Aman Ki Asha’ is not merely an attempt to bring India and Pakistan closer but also ignite bonds between publications Hindustan Times and Times. On one end as Pakistani media speculates over the success of the campaign, Suraiya moves beyond Times’ “novel agenda” and takes a dig at the rival.
Shortly after the article came out, Vir Sanghvi Tweeted- “Sad to see Jug Suraiya reduced to corporate stooge in todays Times….thought he was better than that…”
Hard Times
Rohit Sharma
The third largest newspaper in US, The New York Times may soon begin charging for their online content. It’s likely that they will use a metered system, which will allow viewers to read a certain number of articles for free before paying.
The Times have tried something similar before with TimesSelect that operated from 2005 to 2007. The system charged US$50 per year or US$8 per month for access to certain areas of the site, but failed horribly and it was taken down. To make up for the blunder, The Times opened its archives from 1987 to the present, for free.
Last year, New York Times Co. posted a steep first-quarter loss of US$74.5 million. Their weekday circulations also fell 7.3% the same year.
Readership will continue to fall if such plans are thought of. Would you pay to read news online?
Nirvana, here
Rohit Sharma
Had enough of social networking? Commit a virtual suicide. Go absolutely off from your networks like Twitter and Facebook with Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, a natty service that will wash out your online presence from these life consuming sites. Ever since its December 09 launch, 83,481 friends have been unfriended and 284,622 tweets have been removed.
All you have to do is, become fed up of the social networking world, go to the website, hand in your log in details and click on Commit – the service will conk off your tweets, Facebook friends, connections on LinkedIn. Left will be the remainders – a profile with no info or data – only your profile picture stays with a suicide message that you’ve written. Not much different than manual deletion except for the long Q&A procedure and no permanent removal from social space- users after suicide will never be able to resurrect the same profile.
Final words or Testimonials range from morbid good riddance, “Together we stand, divided we fall,” “I regret nothing,” and disparages, “I told you so, you damned fools!”
Facebook has raised objections to their trimming number of users and warned the founders of Suicide Machine citing privacy infringement. It even went ahead and blocked Suicide Machine from accessing its website but to no avail as the tool continues to push people off the hill.
Oh Yes They Did
Rohit Sharma
For one of the world’s most renowned pizza joint that rule 55 countries including USA, it will be hell of a task to tell everyone that, “Hey, We aren’t that good!”
But that’s exactly what Domino’s Pizza has been telling everyone since last month.
In a not so traditional form of advertising, Domino’s has launched an almost 5 minute ad that focuses on an array of bitter complaints from customers, shows Twitter and Facebook users criticizing the pizzas (customers said Domino’s pies were even worse than microwave pizza and “totally void of flavor) and the company President admitting to their mistakes.
( New Domino’s Pizza – Oh Yes We Did. )
The company that reported net income of US$17.8 million in US, in October last year, is in no mood to take criticism down low – the chain decided to start refurbishing its recipe about 18 months ago. But for a 50 year old company, how ingenious would it be to wash its dirty linen in public saying what we’ve been feeding you for years is just crap? The ad boasts of company’s confidence of staying as the pizza king but moving the focus from speed and reliability to their deteriorating hold on taste seems indigestible.
Possibilities And More
Emanuel Joute
Steve Jobs is at his best again. No, it’s not about the iPad, but that of him changing the rules of the game. Love it or hate it, we all know that the iPad comes with intriguing possibilities – browsing web, photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books, etc. But Jobs’ got more on his sleeves. He has now shaken the e-book domain as he did with the music industry.
Even before selling its first e-book, Apple is already making e-commerce leader Amazon blink and bend the rules. Less than two days ago, Amazon stopped selling books published by MacMillan over pricing dispute. Now, Amazon has conceded to MacMillan’s demands to sell its book at a higher price, in line with the publisher’s pricing plan with Apple. Apple wants to sell e-books for US$12.99 and US$14.99, instead of the US$9.99 or less that Amazon had been charging. It will be interesting to see the response of the other big publishers who have sided with Apple in the pricing war — Pearson’s Penguin Group, News Corp’s HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and CBS’ Simon & Schuster. As of now, all of them sell their e-books through Amazon. What about Kindle buyers? Many of them are price-conscious consumers. Will they agree to pay more? So far, there has been no immediate reaction.
No doubt, Jobs’ effect can already be felt in the publishing world. Any revenue-generating ideas for the print media? For that matter, what’s in store for other online contents? The game is becoming more exciting by the day.
The sainik to panic
Rohit Sharma
Shiv Sena is at its shenanigans again with Mumbai civic polls around the corner, raging up the ‘marathi manoos’ debate once again. But this time, Balasaheb’s drama hasn’t had the expected start - major ally RSS-BJP have refused to play the puppet to Sena and frittered away the undemocratic idea.
Leading publications have ruminated over the significant move by RSS-BJP. Read today’s editorials of – Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Indian Express.
Thai flavoured marketing
Rohit Sharma
- Cabbages & Condoms. Pic courtesy- travelpod.com
How many reach out to public with a relevant social message and a marketing agenda cleverly packed together? Miles away in Bangkok, Thailand, Mechai Viravaidya runs an amazing restaurant chain, ‘Cabbages and Condoms’, which gives “information about safe sex in a funny, palatable manner!” The Times of India Crest carried an interesting piece, written by journalist Sharif D Rangnekar, about this restaurant with many flavours! Read it here.
Are media rounds important?
Emanuel Joute
Today, the business of Public Relations is extremely competitive. PR executives need to have an edge that makes them stand out from the crowd. Apart from the usual qualification demands, most would agree having a good relationship with a journalist is key. This brings us to the question if media rounds are important at all.
There are usually two standard responses to that.
1) Yes, it’s a relationship-building process.
2) No, it’s a waste of time. They can be contacted over phone or emails.
A dipstick among journos from leading dailies across five metros shows that 80% of them favour media rounds. Here are some interesting takes.
a) If it is meeting for the first time, media rounds are better. Subsequently, phone would do.
b) They go and watch movies.
c) A must at initial level, and regular intervals after that.
d) No, unless they are bearing gifts.
e) I find it pointless and annoying.
What do you guys say?
Total Recall
Manish Sharma
Toyota is facing a lot of flak these days for its tardy crisis management. The company sent the auto sector into a tizzy over its decision to recall nearly 8 million cars and trucks, including its leading sedans Camry and Corolla besides its much hyped hybrid model Prius, across continents. Read more here.
In the name of Khan
Manish Sharma
Shah Rukh Khan, the self proclaimed Badshah of Bollywood, finally got what he wanted. His latest offering My Name is Khan (MNIK) has created a monstrous hype before its scheduled release date, February 12th, 2010.
No amount of marketing gimmick would have generated the round-the-clock buzz on newspapers, TV channels, blogosphere, twitteratis and not to forget the age-old word-of-mouth flurry. The stand-off with Shiv Sena, another publicity hungry political outfit that thrives on controversy and rabble rousing passion seems to have paid off nicely. So much so, the mammoth marketing budget — touted to be around Rs 25 crore — now appears to be unwarranted and has gone unnoticed by many. Such is the power of PR.
When news channels flashed the story of his detention and subsequent questioning at the US Airport on Independence Day last year, it was evident that King Khan (as he prefers to be addressed) was trying to plug in his movie. However, turning a one-off skirmish into a strategic masterstroke would have been difficult had the issue of eschewing Pakistani players not came into being.
The decision to keep Pakistani players off the auction block was a business decision and not a political one. Pakistani players did not play in the last season that was held in South Africa and no one created a hullabaloo then. But, SRK smelled an opportunity to stir up the debate and deliberately attracted the ire of Shiv Sena, it seems. Just a day after the joint press conference of the owners of various teams, who staunchly denied any political motive behind their decision to steer clear of the neighbours, SRK played his tacit move. With his deliberate remark terming the whole incident as ‘unfortunate’, he very cleverly set up the media for the long haul. Shiv Sena, smarting under the setback of Raj’s growing clout and its own diminishing aura, found the moment opportune to shoot back to limelight.
The incident proved that though Aamir Khan is a savvier marketer, Shah Rukh knows how to manipulate the media too well.
From Bikini to Burqa
Rohit Sharma
Pic sourced from www.dailymail.co.uk
If Disney can do it, so can Mattel. Disney brought in a black leading lady as its princess in “The princess & the frog”, Mattel, now hopes to reach out to Muslim girls worldwide through its ‘Burqa Barbie’. The idea is novel- the doll went undercover for a charity auction in connection with Sotheby’s (auctioneer) for Save The Children, a few months back, when Barbie celebrated its 50th anniversary.
A "western" Barbie
But why burqa? After the launch, there were swarms of online protests when people questioned Mattel’s choice of a symbol of oppression. President of the National Organization for Women NY said, “Women are forced to wear the burqa or risk being murdered. Mattel should be ashamed. Making a profit by selling a doll that is clearly wearing a symbol of violence is not acceptable and there should be a public outcry to take this doll off the market.”
Someone in an interview to dailymail.co.uk made fun of the new doll saying, “The message with Barbie for women is you can be whatever you want to be… I have a Barbie in a wheelchair that was only out for six weeks.”
Mattel which reported a 3% slump in the worldwide gross sales for the Barbie brand clearly seem to be desperate.
American writer, Phyllis Chesler said, “Will clean-cut Ken now come (pun intended) with four burqa’ed Barbie doll wives?”
Quote of the week
pic: outlookindia.com
“There would be some security lapse here and there but everybody would be safe.”
-IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi at Commonwealth Shooting Championships
For more hilarious gaffes at the event read this.
Like only blondes aren’t dumb!
Rohit Sharma
Pic source: Ibnlive.in.com
Amongst HT City’s creative line of front page columnists introduced recently, one is a Ms Lara Dutta (Ex- Miss Universe and an “actress”). Her entire column speaks about her three New Year resolutions that she wants us to be aware of. First- awareness about her body and what she eats (not to forget Dutta’s a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador). “Like when I have stuffed another spoonful of low fat yogurt with a chocolate sprinkles into my mouth, I can hear voice in my head say ‘what are you doing’?”
After she finishes conversations with her own head, Dutta tells us that she needs to be committed to learning to drive. But the word commitment scares her, “I hate committing to anything if I know there is possibility that I might abandon it before completion… I guess this is the military background in me.” Somewhere Kelly Dorjee is guzzling down Smirnoff and crying himself to sleep.
Third, Dutta wants to concentrate on writing for the HT supplement for the next 10 months, “But it’s opened a Pandora Box”… for her or us, she doesn’t clear.
The article is titled ‘A New Start’ and subtitle reads ‘New Columnist Lara Dutta promises to bare her soul’ and below it is a life-size picture of Dutta… with her bare legs. You know what’s in store for next 10 months!
These deadly recalls
Geetanjali Kalra
Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda. Pic source: nydailynews.com
2010, the beginning of a promising decade, did not begin on a very good note for major car manufacturers across the globe. The year saw several car manufactures resorting to the most unprecedented thing in the past two months by recalling their highest selling brands. What began with Japanese auto major Honda recalling 8,532 units of its sedan ‘City’ in India due to defective power window switch, as part of a global recall initiative, was then followed by Volkswagen recalling 193,620 vehicles in Brazil because of a lubrication problem with the rear wheels. It was Toyota motors then recalling 4,36,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide, including the newly launched 2010 Prius model. The latest to join the recalling bandwagon is the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki which is recalling about one lakh units of its flagship export model ‘A-Star’ to replace a faulty fuel pump part, in cars manufactured before August 2009.
What can this really be attributed to? In a bid to maintain their leadership position and to take competition head on, companies are hastily launching models in each product category. This in turn leads to specifics being ignored and the quality of ‘quality control’ taking a hit. Not to say that harried customers too are looking in the opposite direction for their next car purchase.
Also read Total Recall.
Where’s our Breakfast?
Pic source: indiajournal.com
Economic Times’ post Budget event with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the key guest ended on an embarrassing note.
Actually, it didn’t even begin.
The event titled “Breakfast with FM” , which had 200 invitees waiting, was cancelled as the FM backed off at the last moment. The reason why Mukherjee didn’t make it was not disclosed but we can tell you that it was a giant snub.
On March 1st, ET’s front page boasted of Mukherjee’s quote – “I can’t think of a day without ET” along with a picture of him reading the paper. A seasoned politician like Pranab Mukherjee is not too publicity savvy and may have not liked his association with ET as was displayed by the paper. Another version doing rounds is that Pranab babu did not like the fact that ET decided to telecast the interaction Live on ET Now. Considering the fact that Opposition has turned the heat on the UPA government in the Parliament ton the price rise issue, hobnobbing with corporate class would have send wrong signal to the masses.
In the ad published in the paper, ET mentioned that Chanda Kochhar and Azim Premji would be ‘interlocutors’ for FM. Seeing his colleague Shashi Tharoor embroiled into a controversy over the use of this tongue twister, Mukherjee would have developed cold feet, perhaps!
Good, Bad & SRK
Rohit Sharma
Sandra Bullock. Pic source: oscar.com
Watching Filmfare awards and then Academy awards just a few hours later was a cultural shock of sorts. Academy awards hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were a sheer sense of relief from the ridiculous shenanigans Shahrukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan indulged in at Filmfare awards last night. Although, Hugh Jackman last year, was tad bit better in his “musicals are back” act, but the 82nd Oscars at least reach upto the level of those compered by Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres. Academy’s choice of Martin and Baldwin comes from their tremendous one show act in 30 rock season 3. The banter between themselves, mocking Meryl Streep, George Clooney and other Hollywood stars was hilarious. Neil Patrick Harris’ opening act didn’t seem Academisque-grandiose but Ben Stiller’s Avatar act was his best amongst all his Oscars presentations so far. The winners were upto everyone’s expectations (read Sandra Bullock, Monique and Christopher Waltz) but Hurt Locker’s 6 wins seem surprising as its over movie like Up in The Air which was ignored. Sad one of Hurt Locker’s producers was banned from attending the event.
Slapstick and burlesque, I would say are equally serious and tough genres to adapt especially for Indian awards ceremony. It’s very much out that Filmfare awards are rigged but what’s worse for then is that they are not doing a good job covering the fact up. No nomination for Abhay Deol, Ranbir being nominated for Ajab Prem, putting Sushmita Sen on the jury was one of the many mistakes… biggest of all- repeating “SRK” and “SAK” as hosts for the third time. The only person laughing to their jokes was Gauri Khan (who for once seemed a bit zonked about their “security check” act). Shahrukh seemed exhausted and Saif seemed uncomfortable, Neil Nitin Mukesh’s argument was clearly staged and the entire ceremony was way too long. The Lifetime Achievement awards to Shashi Kapoor and Khayyam and Katrina Kaif’s performance were the only saviors for Bollywood lovers as rest of the event was a giant snore.
Life in a Photoshop
Thumbelina with Katrina
Rohit Sharma
Either the long due surgery took place or Harper’s Bazaar India is too keen on perfection.
Presenting a normal limbed, 10 fingured Hrithik Roshan.
Delete that Tweet!
Emanuel Joute
Pic source: www.mediabuzz.monster.com
A simple status update of Tweet might seem harmless. But With the growing popularity of social media, the chances of leakages and defamatory information coming out from employees are quite high.
Who da thunk it?
Rohit Sharma
The world isn’t perfect without Prahlad Kakkar…
Or is it?
Post IPL snub, Mandira Bedi sets a feminist statement - protests through a ‘clothes burning movement’. In case you missed it, the brand is called Shree Ganesh.
JK Cement reported huge profit recently and we reveal their secret. The ad is pretty much self-explanatory.
Introducing, foursquare
Rohit Sharma
For the Indian social media fandom, a fun new game might just be in the offing. foursquare, which is rapidly gaining popularity abroad, is a social media application for your phones and a location based game. International press have received this game positively and even gone ahead and labeled it as “the next Twitter”.
For starters, fourquare is a Location Based Service that helps you not only connect with your friends but also help you and your friends find new ways to explore cities. Users can ‘check-in’ to a location, such as a hotel, restaurant or office to earn ‘badges’ and become the ‘mayor’ of a certain place. Social networking accounts on Twitter and Facebook also help the user widen the profile and reach of foursquare.
Foursquare is best suited for mobile phones like I-phone and Blackberry, whereas phones with web connectivity can also log in to the website. It’ an almost a year old company that has more than half a million users, 1.4 million venues and 15.5 million check-ins, and it’s still growing.
Interestingly, one of the founders of Foursquare Naveen Selvadurai is of Indian origin.
With top 3G players jostling to enter, emerging market for gizmos like I-pad, growing public interests in Blackberry and I-phones along with the success of social media games like Farmville, India seems to the perfect venue for foursquare to extend its reach.
Ya Allah! South Park points & laughs at our Gods
& only few care…
Rohit Sharma
In one of the most daring moves in American television, channel Comedy Central has taken a giant jab at religious beliefs of people across the world. Much worse, the makers have put their lives at stake by messing with Islamic community.
South Park, an animation-adult series, somewhat on the lines of The Simpsons, commemorates its 200th anniversary by burlesquing religious figures from around the world- Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Moses, Joseph Smith, Lao Tzu and Muhammad.
- Super Best Friends. Pic source- southparkstudios.com
In the episode titled ‘The Super Best Friends’, Kyle and Stan revisit the group of superheroes ‘Super Best Friends’ to try to get Muhammad to come to South Park, because Tom Cruise demands to meet the Prophet so he can steal his “impervious to being made fun of” goo.
Buddha is shown snorting coke, Krishna snaps and turns into a badger, Tom Cruise is a “candy packer in a fudge factory” (a hint at the rumors circulating around Cruise’s sexual orientation), Jesus is called ‘Jesus f****** Christ’ and Muhammad cannot be “presented to the township because violence can not be risked from the Muslim people”.
It’s not new though. In an article by Erik Childress in cinematical.com, he says, “ In 2006, South Park aired the two-part episode, “Cartoon Wars”, which featured Eric Cartman on a crusade to get Family Guy canceled after Muhammad is slated for a guest appearance on one of their episodes. Fearing a terrorist attack, the town buried their heads in sand in a show of solidarity to Islamists that their eyes would not feast on this unholiest of acts. Ultimately, the Family Guy episode airs but the moment of Muhammad’s appearance is cut away from with a message that read “In this shot, Mohammed hands a football helmet to Family Guy. Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network.” Strangely, unlike this time, there was no raging criticism or protests over the episode then
Revolutionmuslim.com has given a serious death threat to the makers of South Park ‘reminding’ them of the Van Gogh incident. Film Director Theo Van Gogh was shot 8 times by Mohammed Bouyeri. The assassin proceeded to slice his throat practically decapitating the filmmaker, stabbed him in the chest and then left two knives in his torso with a 5 page letter attached.
Watch the rare scenes (backwards, due to copyrights issue) from the controversial episode. (Note Muhammad’s image in the video has been censored)
