Tag Archives: rajnikanth

Do you want to Stay Ahead of the Times?

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Brand wars are common in the advertising world but many were rather amused when The Hindu advertisement campaigns went viral last month. It was startling for two reasons – The Hindu had suddenly become aggressive about  advertising its paper and its new ads directly targeted rival Times of India (TOI)!

The new Hindu ads, designed by Ogilvy and Mather, followed a four question format. To start with, an interviewer asked people (mostly youngsters) serious, general knowledge, questions such as “Who is the author of Harry Potter?” and “Who succeeds Ratan Tata?”. Most youngsters replied shockingly, wrong answers like Julius Caesar and even Mukesh Ambani – alas, they thought Mukesh Ambani was  Ratan Tata’s son!! The third question was mostly about movies and Bollywood such as “what is Hrithik’s pet name?” Surprise, surprise, everybody answered correctly – duggu! The ads have become a rage on YouTube with over 3 million views and numerous shares on social networking sites.

After listening to these ridiculous answers, the startled interviewer asked the all important question about which newspaper they read.  Times Of India, was the prompt but proud answer (of course, the word TOI was beeped, but you could not miss the starting “T” :) )! You can even lip-read “Times of India” in the following video:

A direct attack! You may wonder how it all started. Read on.

It all started with the TOI’s Chennai ‘wake up’ campaign, designed by Taproot India, in September 2011. Did you know that Chennai’s print market is valued at over Rs. 300 crore? The Hindu has been the leader in the Chennai print market but the national player TOI wanted to level the play field.

TOI depicted The Hindu as a paper that puts readers to sleep and asked them to ‘Wake up to Times of India’. Take a look at the following hilarious video:

This was enough to infuriate The Hindu and voila they came out with a ‘slapstick’ ad campaign targeting TOI as a frivolous paper with no news sense!

The aggressive ad campaign of Hindu has left even ad gurus’ surprised. The ‘tongue in cheek’ ads mock TOI for its overly commercial and page 3 culture. As the campaign is a recent one, it’s too early to decide who wins the battle! However, everyone’s having a laugh because both ads portray ‘facts’. ;)

The brand war is so intense that a parody twitter account of Manmohan Singh tweeted he had asked Rajnikanth to look into the raging brand war.

However, I feel the issue can have an interesting end.

Why not ask Rajnikanth which newspaper he reads?

End of the story! :D

How Bollywood Celebrities Influence Tourist Footfalls

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Recently, an article in Economic Times listed Bollywood actors/actresses who endorse tourism projects. As I read through the list, there were a few predictable “Bollywood celebrity-state tourism” tie-ups. For instance, Rajnikanth and Preity Zinta are brand ambassadors for their native states – Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh respectively.

Then, there are some Bollywood celebrities who choose to endorse an Indian state that is not their native. For instance, Amitabh Bachchan – the legendary actor from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh – has chosen to advertise for Gujarat state’s tourism.

These alluring advertisements of Gujarat tourism (featuring the legendary AB) have hit the jackpot! The state’s tourism has seen a drastic increase in tourists (after AB’s endorsement) including a 30 percent rise in foreign travelers!

Amitabh Bachchan is not the only Bollywood celebrity who does not endorse his native state’s tourism. To give him company are Shahrukh Khan and Prachi Desai. Shahrukh Khan endorses West Bengal’s tourism while Prachi Desai is Goa tourism’s brand ambassador.

The last star in the list – Akshay Kumar – is endorsing neither his

native state Delhi nor any other Indian state. He has chosen to endorse the American country of Canada. Soon, you will see Akshay Kumar in advertisements recommending Canada’s heritage monuments, national parks, food, and even culture to Indians. Salman Khan too has recently featured in a tourism advertisement for Cuba!

If Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan do (for Canada and Cuba respectively) what AB has done for Gujarat, then imagine this – Canada and Cuba might receive more number of Indian tourists than many Indian states themselves!!

It surely seems like a wake-up call for tourism ministries in Indian states and a new way of revenue generation for Bollywood celebrities :) !!

By the way, have you seen any advertisements of Canada featuring Akshay Kumar? I haven’t!!

 

Is Bengaluru Forcing you to Spend on a Particular Luxury Accessory?

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Over the years, Bengaluru and Bengalureans have been tagged as friendly and tolerant! For instance, Bengaluru’s weather (temperature, in particular) ensures that residents can wear a wide range of apparel throughout the year.

This could soon change given the way the city’s air and pollution are taking shape. Residents might soon complain that Bengaluru is not as friendly as before – that Bengaluru is forcing them to buy and wear a particular luxury accessory called sunglasses or cooling glasses!

This garden city is plagued by dry air – the kind that carries a large number of particles such as sand, dust, and pollen. The number of harmful particles in Bengaluru’s dry air is increasing manifold thanks to rise in vehicular pollution and dust from construction projects. These harmful particles in the air enter your eye and cause allergies and dryness.

An astonishing number of Bengaluru residents are complaining about itchy or burning eyes. Initially ophthalmologists suggested that the main cause could be prolonged exposure to computer screens, but their diagnosis has since changed! Most ophthalmologists now suggest that you should wear cooling glasses while traveling in Bengaluru. Sunglasses or cooling glasses prevent tiny air pollutants from crash landing into your eyes and also provide relief from the glaring sun!

You are thus left with no choice but to wear cooling glasses while traveling in Bengaluru. So, the next time you spend a bomb on those designer coolers, don’t feel guilty because the doctor says it’s good for your eyes :) .

If you still need more inspiration or cannot figure out the right kind of cooling glasses, the following video featuring Tamil super hero – Rajini (in the movie Sivaji) – donning various sunglasses, could help :)