A glass of steaming milky syrupy tea is best served cut. One by two or two by three, it embodies the spirit of sharing and camaraderie (and more significantly a resource crunch). Come, have a sip.
I stay on the 12th floor of a 14-storey apartment building. This morning I had to rush to work and was waiting for the elevator and it stopped at every floor before it could reach mine.
No, as in the new Tata Sky Plus (Tata Sky+) ad my wife isn't to blame. In fact I made a premptive purchase of a Tata Sky Plus DVR just before I got married.
And this has been happening quite frequently ever since the ad in question (see below) began airing on TV. I suspect that is either disgruntled women (the IPL season is on) or inspired kids (more likely) pressing all the buttons. Whatever the reason, it's me doing the waiting.
The guys at O&M should think of the consequences when they come up with ideas that give people ideas (they also have wives at home, unless they already have a Tata Sky Plus or multiple TVs)
Tata Sky Plus - Cold War (Elevator / Lift)
My woes apart, the ads are fun. Here a couple more from the Tata Sky Plus 'Cold War' series: Tata Sky Plus - Cold War (Burnt Toast)
Hindustan Times seems to have a thing for makeovers. I remember seeing atleast four different avatars of the newspaper.
Good. Change is good.
Though I didn't quite like their print campaign advertising the all new Hindustan Times, their short TV ads do make a point and hit the paper right on the head, literally.
Here are four TVCs from the Hindustan Times 'it is time' campaign.
Ironically, the 'Better Journalism' ad is also being aired on news channels.
One of the highlights of the Mahabharat (you can watch the complete episodes of the original TV serial here) was Draupadi's cheer haran. And one of the wittiest Bollywood movies Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron also incorporated that in the climax.
Ekta Kapoor's tried to add a twist to the great epic with her Kahani Hamare Mahabharat Ki and instead of beginning from the beginning, she started the serial with Draupadi's cheer haran. The serial bombed.
If we conduct a poll on the most memorable scene from the Mahabharat, I doubt if anything else can pip the tale of the endless saree.
I found an (amusing) ad on the same theme. While logic says they should be selling sarees with the idea, it is for a brand of blouses - Citizen Sweety Blouse.
Playing the role of Draupadi is Preeti Jhangiani, the Chui Mui girl (I'll prefer to remember her for thosevideosonly). They had also roped in the original Shakuni, Gufi Paintal. So powerful is the impact of the colourful blouses that the blind King Dhritrashtra's eyes pop out (aankhe phaad phaad dekha). Aap bhi dekho.
Channel [V] India - is going for a makeover (on August 22) and they are advertising it all over. This 'peek into the changing room' ad is from their change campaign. They even have a website up to drive the excitement.
When I first saw the ad, must admit, it totally fooled me. I thought that someone has uploaded one of those voyeur mobile phone recordings (aka MMS clips) of changing rooms at stores. But it is not (else it wouldn't have been on this blog).
Others who have seen this share similar experiences. Some thought they had accidentally a reached porn site. Good idea. Inexpensive to execute. Good fun.
It's been quite a while since I posted a condom ad. So here it is:
Partner premium quality flavoured dotted condoms.
Looks like Medikit got this ad made from an in-house intern.
And much like Kamasutra's 'Jusk Ask for KS', you'll have to ask your chemist for a 'PC'.
Chances are, he might just direct to the nearest Nehru Place like computer hardware hub or better still, send you to North Block, Central Secretariat, New Delhi, to go find the Home Minister.
Sherlyn Chopra (previously known as Mona Chopra) is one of the most 'revealing' starlets of Bollywood. And now she (following the likes of Shilpa Shetty, Mahima Chaudhary, Amisha Patel, Isha Koppikar and John Abraham) poses for a PETA ad.
Since the ad is for PETA India, we don't get to see her naked, a two piece is what the Indian sensibilities have been stretched to, yet. Though she, lying on a bed, is chained at the ankle and weilds a whip.
Photographed by Rakesh Shrestha, the tagline of the ad reads "Whips and chains belong in the bedroom, not in the circus." This ad is the latest in the PETA series against animals in entertainment.
The problem with Bajaj Auto is that they are always in a hurry to launch new products and variations and they also discontinue the old brands and variations at an equal pace.
For the consumers such a constant endeavour to makes things better is good, but then there is always the feeling that if one had waited a little longer, he might have got something better.
The latest mean machine from the Bajaj stable is the Pulsar 220 DTS-i and they are promoting it as the fastest thing on Indian roads. And they have (I assume the agency is Oglivy) put up a TVC that's a combo of slowmo and pace.
The ad (titled 'Slow Jack') has a Wild West feel. A wanted criminal is robbing a bank at his own easy pace and the law enforcers are arriving fast. The robber is nonchalant. He sits on his Pulsar 220 and poof! he is gone.
'The Fastest Indian' is the catchline. Unlike other Bajaj (particularly Pulsar ads) this doesn't have any zipping bikes. In fact in this ad you can hardly get good look at the bike. Though the idea is nice, somehow the impact is a bit amiss. The first time I watched the ad, it didn't hit me as the makers would have liked it to.
Since bringing an Indian angle in a Wild West American set up might seem a little difficult (unless you transport Quick Gun Murugan to the banks of the Mississippi), they bank robber has American Indian features (I think so), and he disappears fast before the long (and fast) hands of the law catches up with him. Hence, 'the fastest Indian'. Never mind if he is red.
And in case you like the track, you can download an MP3 audio file from here. Since Bajaj Auto have themselves put it up, I'm saving myself the hassle of uploading it.
Why are most men's deo ads in India the same. There are numerous other ways to be sexy. Come on agencies you can do better. Anyway another for the collection.
But then this is not the real purpose of this post. Yesterday, Mozilla released Firefox 3.5 and one of the far-reaching features is the native support for HTML 5 audio and video with Ogg Theora, Ogg Vorbis, and WAV formats. In the not-so distant future, this is going to change how multimedia content is served on the Web. Proprietary formats like Flash and Silverlight would not rule the roost.
A simple sample of HTML 5 embedded video and audio of the Fuel deo TVC:
But the obsolete Web browser Internet Explorer 6 is the biggest impediment to the growth of the new Internet. One of the major pains while launching any new website is the compatibility with IE6. More than a third (38 percent) of the readers of this blog are still on IE6 and that's a huge slice.
And one of the major roadblocks to existing Firefox users upgrading to the Firefox 3.5 is the incompatibility of so many add-ons with the latest version. Maybe Mozilla should put a check in place that add-on developers upgrade their stuff. But then, the free nature of the Firefox browser would go against such curbs.
Learn more about Firefox and HTML 5 video and audio.
In a bid to retain its mammoth share of the internet browser market, Microsoft is trying to better its offering, now that more and more people are getting aware of the other better options out there. And they have also released a set of new fun ads for Internet Explorer 8 in India. It shouldn't matter that, for me, Firefox is still more fun.
I've found four such ads and each highlights one prominent feature of the browser.
A take on the MTV India Roadies auditions and the kinky selection process. They call it the Coadies. On a slightly different track, the MTV show is supposed to be about roads and bike riding - hence the name - but half of the participants can't even ride a bike. It isn't that Indian girls don't ride bikes, a lot do, but I think that such girls don't care much about such shows and their gas-filled producers.
Every guy's ultimate fantasy (girls' too), to go invisible. Some call it the porn mode. And this is what I believe that this TVC is not-so-subtly hinting at. Guy's water runs out, he goes into the girls hostel, invisible, to fulfill his needs - brushing, shaving, bathing and of course ogling.
The last ad of this series was released in April 2007 - the very catchy and wonderfully executed Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho ad for Madhya Pradesh Tourism (Incredible India). And in May 2009 comes another memorable ad. Some feel that the the first one was better and don't think much of the new TVC. I beg to differ, a little.
Like the last time Cutting the Chai is the first to put up the ad on the internet (I checked).
Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho was more like an ad showcasing the wonders of the state of Madhya Pradesh and inviting people to come visit. This time, the theme is similar but with a little twist, it is not an invitation for MP Tourism but an endorsement (dekho to dekha), a kind of a first person account. And the bioscope makes way for a pair of very expressive (and continually moving) eyes.
This new jingle is also very catchy, quite like the last, and would make for a good ringtone. Preview and download if you like:
This surrogate advertisement for AC Black Whisky (displayed product was AC Black Apple Juice) had stirred up a bit of controversy in the early 2000s. The TVC was subsequently taken off air.
A man takes a sip of Aristocrat Black Apple Juice/Whisky and looks at an attractive woman on the other side of the room, and her neckline gets lower and diminishes with every sip.
As he sips for the kill, he finds his shirt open. The woman is also playing the same game. The tagline says, Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai (Anything is possible).
The agency is JointArms Communication and the company Jagatjit Industries Limited.
Print ad:
Another memorable ad from the AC Black Series was one where a waitress is collecting empty glasses and a man and a woman place their 'AC Black Apple Juice' glasses on the tray side by side. And while the waitress carries away the tray, the glasses collide and so do the man and woman. As the glasses sway, the two begin to dance. And when the waitress turns on the tap to wash the glasses, it starts to rain. The rain dance continues as the glasses get washed and finally when the glasses are placed side by side to dry, the couple freeze in their dance posture.
[This ad was requested by Sanjay from Bangalore. Thanks Sanjay, for reminding me of this.]
Imagine on a rainy night you open the door and find Katrina Kaif drenched in a white saree (in typical Bollywood style) asking if she could seek shelter from the rain.
Though the advertisement says Old Admiral Aqua Pura packaged drinking water, like most such ads, it is a surrogate ad for Radico Khaitan's Old Admiral Brandy. The tagline reads, Har Pal Ka Saathi (A companion for all times).
In the background the lilting duet originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein from the 1974 film Ajnabee plays.
The music's by RD Burman and lyrics penned by Anand Bakshi. The sensuous rain number was picturised on Rajesh Khanna and Zeenat Aman (dressed, not in a white saree, but in an almost white dress that I think is a maxi).
The Seven Deadly Sins, in a way, summarises a day in the life of the Chaiwallah. And they sound so much more appealing in Latin: luxuria (lust), gula (gluttony), avaritia (greed), acedia (sloth), ira (wrath), invidia (envy) and superbia (pride).
Envy - Be thy neighbour's envy Lemax The Jean Co.
Gluttony - Bite more than you can chew Lemax The Jean Co. Greed - Want more than you shall need Lemax The Jean Co.
Lust - Leave a lusting impression Lemax The Jean Co.
Pride - Narcissism be thy religion Lemax The Jean Co.
Sloth - Thou shall love inertia Lemax The Jean Co.
Wrath - Thou shall not hold back thy fury Lemax The Jean Co.
And in case you haven't noticed, there is an apple (partially eaten) in each of them. Apple - the original sin.
A couple of other Seven Sins ads from other countries:
Seven Sins on five floors Harvey Nicols Beauty
(Harvey Nicols is an upmarket department store chain)
The Seven Deadly Sins Seven special programmes to lead you astray 13ème Rue The Crime Channel
(13ème Rue is a French cable channel)
Algida Magnum 7 Sins
The language might be different, but we get the meaning. Magnum had also released individual ads focussing on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.
(Algida is Wall's, the ice-cream manufacturer, in Italy)
And if these ads have tickled your inner sinner and now you want delve deeper. Here's, for you, Frederick Rogers' 1907 book The Seven Deadly Sins:
Open has come up with video commercials to promote the magazine. The theme of the ads is nothing new. We have seen a number of ads that use images of famous people (or incidents) with some messages in text with an underlying theme.
But the first time such ads are interesting to watch and also much cheaper to produce.
It's an international Who's Who list: Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, John Lenon, Mahatma Gandhi, Vincent van Gogh, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lance Armstrong, Barack Obama, AR Rahman, Princess Diana, Albert Einstein, Sachin Tendulkar, Dhirubhai Ambani and Oscar Pistorius.
The punchline "are you Open?" sounds like a not-so-effective pick-up line. Thankfully it isn't "do you Open?"
When I joined my first job, here in Delhi, one of the landmarks that I initially noticed near my office was the ECE House at Kasturba Gandhi Marg. It instantly brought to mind that unforgettable jingle "Bhool na jana, ECE bulb lana. (Don't forget, get ECE blub).
Gufi Kanwarjit Paintal, (best known for his role of Shakuni Shikhandi in Mahabharat, the TV series) is leaving for work and his wife in the ad reminds him to get an ECE bulb and on the way everyone - the maid, neighbours, bus passengers, Udipi restaurant owner, a Parsi bawa, dhobi, a Bengali lady - also do. Finally he manages to stammer "B..bb..bulb" to the shopkeeper.
This TVC had the multi-lingual flavour akin Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, with atleast five languages - Hindi, Marathi, Gujrati, Bhojpuri and Bengali - used (though this ad predates the much-loved national integration song by quite a few years).
The lines in Bengali "Bhoolbe naa, niye esho bulb, ECE bulb" sound extra sweet. And as a kid I relished the part where the bulb lights up in Paintal's hand.
This Slice Aamsutra TVC appears to be an U-rated version of the Kaamsutra/Kamasutra, with some mango nectar involved in a sensuous play with one of Bollywood's most dazzling beauties - Katrina Kaif.
I found it to be quite... erotic. The Rasiya Aaja number in the background is quite pleasant to the ears.
Katrina is the ultimate trophy heroine (could term it as an 'item heroine' as different from an 'item girl'). She doesn't need to act or even mouth lines (things that exactly aren't her forte), she just needs to be there in the frame with some closeups (including the extreme ones).
I think that Katrina can't ever look vulgar. Even in Boom - that scare of a movie - which incidentally was Katrina's debut and where she wore the skimpiest outfits of her entire film career, she looked pretty (Potentially NSFW). That's what Katrina is and therefore she is the hottest keyword on the search engines.
Many people are landing on this post looking for the Slice Aamsutra Rasiya Aaja MP3/ringtone. Just to ensure that they don't return disappointed, here's the audio version:
Knowledge is man's (in this case a cat's) most valuable asset. And this is what this cat=and-a-leashed-dog ad for The Economic Times attempts to stress upon.
This is from the early 2000s and I had clipped and stored it in a file. It probably appeared in The Sunday Times of India.
Hindustan Times seems to have a thing for makeovers. I remember seeing atleast four different avatars of the newspaper. 
One of the highlights of the Mahabharat (you can watch the complete episodes of the original TV serial 
The problem with Bajaj Auto is that they are always in a hurry to launch new products and variations and they also discontinue the old brands and variations at an equal pace. 
The last ad of this series was released in April 2007 - the very catchy and wonderfully executed 
Ever since the ads started airing during the ongoing IPL season, everyone everywhere is gushing about them. And they are indeed cute.
