Of Colas and Peptic Ulcers.....

There used to be a time when the very sight of vegetables like baingan, tinda, lauki etc. bestowed upon my face a very peculiar expression, which according to my mom, was a mix of contempt, loathing, and downright disgust. I mean dinner used to involve laborious debating on taste vs health, where I was the only proponent for the former. The only two acceptable items as far as I was concerned were aloo and paneer, period. Look at it this way, can shopping for grocery get any simpler, thank you. Of course, now, after having been subjected to the vagaries of hostel food over a longish period of time, I have started eating everything. In fact, baingan ka bharta is now a personal favourite, and can be classified as comfort food. The reason behind this elaborate discourse on the gradual change in my eating habits was to highlight the expression mentioned in line one. Come to think of it, I was quite sure that it was a thing of the past and will not present itself again in its hideous glory. Guess what. I was wrong.

Enter the latest series of ad films by cola giant Pepsi. Not only is the expression back on my face, it now also involves the use of my fingers to plug my ears. I’m sure you will get my drift if you have been subjected to the first film in the series where a guy plays this really irritating song. The other films in the campaign are slightly better than the first but then relativity as a concept was invented to make the drab look divine. If there is a thought behind the series then it is definitely too much for my single-digit IQ to comprehend……and what the hell does “WHATTA TOP KA….” mean, will somebody explain!!

For an undifferentiated product like cola, the best hope for the advertiser is to build an affinity for the brand through feel-good advertising. Here’s a reality check for the mandarins at Pepsi’s Gurgaon HQ, “IT AIN’T HAPPENING”. I don’t know who is to blame here between agency and client but for the time being at least, its Thanda Matlab Coca Cola for yours truly.

PS - The brand name Pepsi comes from "Peptic Ulcers", which the original drink was intended to cure......The irony of life........Its now responsible for giving ulcers to people :)

The swoosh goes desi...

Nike just did it!!……The international sports major has gotten of its high horse and churned out a cracker of a commercial which is as local as Paav-Bhaaji. I’m sure you’ve had a dekko at this one, and if you haven’t….well, I guess you are probably a hermit, cut-off from the rest of the world, meditating in the upper reaches of the Himalayas (Waitaminnit, even they have cable TV now!!). The point that I’m trying to make over here is that everyone has seen and more importantly noticed this commercial. And for good reason to. If cricket is a sport for the masses then why should its advertising be any different. The commercial is simply dripping with mass appeal and local flavour as represented by a bunch of guys who make the most of a traffic jam by playing an impromptu game of cricket on top of their bus. Here lies the genius of this commercial as instead of using some superstars from the Indian team, it focuses on the common man, which instantly endears it to the blue billion. I agree that its an opportunity lost for Dravid & Co. to rake in a couple of lakhs more but in the larger scheme of things it means another day available for net practice, which is definitely needed.

Oh, and how can I forget about the background score. Simply fantastic. I’ve been told that its in Konkani and if you close your eyes, you can actually picture yourself with a bat in hand on the golden beaches of Goa as a bevy of angelic beauties cheer you on :-)