everything is complex, nothing is without its politics, yet when the voice you know so well does its familiar lilt and stretch and sound segues to the next hit song, or you seize and peruse the toy that’s just popped out of a toothpaste box, that joy, that spike of thrill, there’s no complication in it. no politics either. which is why perhaps the mind grabs it all and puts it away in a safe place, knowing one day, it’ll…
can ads change the world? i have no idea. should advertising, a clearly commercial pursuit, even venture into discussing things that matter a little more than buying the next thing… again, i don’t know. but as a copywriter, i often felt you could add something to your story… a little kindness, a bit of laughter, some protest even if the time for that had come. just a feeling. of course, there are public service campaigns, but i am speaking more…
credit: uploader The new Vicks commercial presents an unconventional mother-daughter story. The viral ad has already got nearly 6 million hits, and it’s not even been a week. Two of our writers post their thoughts on it. Do share yours, please. What consists of a family? One might ask. A mother, a father, one or more children, along with a set of grandparents might seem like an ideal image of a family. But does that necessarily have to be so?…
the world as i knew it surely changed just now. so my smooth suave deadly mistah bond is chewing pan bahar paan masala these days. he’s kissing it too. dum di dah dum di dah dum di dah dum… the bond theme saunters in into my head and does a cool pirouette. pan bahar is forever forever forevvvaaaah, plush velvet notes fill and swirl in my middle ear. this just did happen. pierce brosnan, the swish remington steele and our…
Limca never could compete with its ever popular parent product Coca Cola or the brand’s arch enemy, Pepsi which was endorsed by superstars like Shahrukh and Sachin in the 90s. Primarily an Indian recipe, Limca has a sharp fizz and rather pungent taste with the hint of a lemoni after effect. Let’s just say, am not a fan. Most evenings, my uncle would have Limca with his vodka, alone in his room, with his new Jeffery Archer novel. This taboo excitement of the grown…
i don’t observe father’s day. my father passed away many years ago and back then, no one celebrated father’s day in india. and yet, every time the day comes around, i think of this ad by david abbott. so perfectly written, you think you wrote it yourself for your father. even though you didn’t celebrate the day and your father wasn’t around and you weren’t a young man of thirty eight; you were a woman. come to think of it,…
say utterly… no say “ut-terly” and the mind will automatically murmur “but-terly delicious.” it’s as if there is no other place the word utterly could take you to. butterly was its destination, butterly was its mate, where one went the other had to follow. the first ad with the amul girl i don’t remember how old i was, must have been around ten, when these words got embedded in my memory. possibly the first copy, as in advertising writing, that…
A little girl walks upto a man in a cafe. She has come to say, “Thank you“. The man is curious, smiling at the cute girl. “Why thank you?”, he wants to know. He is probably a bachelor. Appears kind enough, happy to indulge a kid. Maybe, even happy at the idea of someone thinking he has done something good. She explains. “I have Thalassemia” (I had to look up the spelling of this blood disorder). The girl has a believable…
vicco vajradanti. vicco thunder-teeth… or should it be the one with thunder-teeth? ever heard of this toothpaste? Can’t remember exactly when, must have been in the mid ’70s since I remember I was still in school, I switched to this new toothpaste shaking off the hold of the one and only Colgate that I had known since birth practically.This was a time when dental care was pretty basic. There was no widespread access to things like teeth aligners or effective…
I wasn’t planning on writing a piece on Titan advertisements until I chanced upon this ad that has Katrina Kaif in it and the time was perfect to remember my favourite Titan ads. I have been married for the past 5 years. A love marriage, those gossipy aunties would add with relish, if you cared to ask. One of my friends wanted to marry a boy she has been in love with. Just this year she had an arranged marriage…