Yes, the World.

It’s my brand

Agencies have long been telling clients that the brand no longer belongs to a company but instead belongs to the people who use it, view its ads and spread the word.

With the internet, the consumer’s voice has only gotten stronger by the byte. And though companies are obviously not ready to surrender their billion dollar brands to the people, in some cases they are left with no choice.

After tonnes of people voiced their displeasure over the TVC, Verizon decided that it was best to just yank it off air. An example of a company bowing down to the consumer. Of course this has happened tonnes of times before. But it’s quite cool that with the help of the internet consumers can help shape the brand and what it should stand for. In most situations it would work best for both parties.

Yes, there may be that chance that a brand will be vandalized, but brands can still attempt to relinquish control, one baby step at a time.

Passion works both ways – II

In Part – I of this post I’d talked about how silly ads and marketing strategies piss people off, enough for them to switch their brands for good.

People may love a brand but they also have an equal tendency to hate it with all their heart and soul.

Here is another example of a woman who got mighty annoyed at the whisper ‘ have a happy period’ global campaign. (shared with me by Prof Falguni Vasavada)

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your ‘Always’ maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I’d probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I’d certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can’t tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there’s a little F-16 in my pants. Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse’? I’m guessing you haven’t. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I’ll be transformed into what my husband likes to call ‘an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.’ Isn’t the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you’ve no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers monthly visits from ‘Aunt Flo’. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it’s a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend’s testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey’s Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy! The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants… Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: ‘Have a Happy Period.’ Are you **ing kidding me?

What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness – actual smiling, laughing happiness is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you’re some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything ‘happy’ about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don’t march down to the local Walgreen’s armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory. For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn’t it make more sense to say something that’s actually pertinent, like ‘Put down the Hammer’ or ‘Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong’, or are you just picking on us?

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that’s a promise I will keep. Always.

Best,
Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX

Do share any more example of people switching brands because of its advtsg. Thanks!
You can read Part – I here.

The ‘e-mail-a-marketer’ experiment

I was watching this Jaffe Juice video on how companies are clueless about how to deal with their consumers since thanks to the internet they now have a voice (OMG!).

I decided to put that to test in India. You know, write a few mails and see what I get.

So I picked three companies. No, I did not want this to be a personal agenda against a company that I despised anyway. So I picked three that I positively loved.

Company #1

(snacksmart)

I’m a chips junkie and I figured it’d be great to just mail them and check up on why they aren’t selling any Uncle Chipps (which is the best!) in half the country.

Company #2

I love my chocolates too. And having seen their advertising about the Cadbury Lite, I figured I’d ask a bit more about the product.

Company #3

Since I don’t work in pest control, my love for Mortein might seem strange. But trust me, when you’re living alone in the mumbai monsoon (with no mom to rescue you from cockroaches and rats) you need your Mortein! I wrote to them with a query about their rat poison.

And here is what I got

Lays The mail bounced back.

Cadbury Server error.

Mortein No reply.

While more and more marketers rush to climb on to the digital wagon, they forget that sometimes just simple old emails do the trick. When I wrote this, I assumed they would at least send a reply, even if it was stupid.

Picsquare once answered my email within 20 minutes of my query. Oh and it wasn’t an automated reply.

Update. When Kapil didn’t receive a DVD with his magazine copy from Infomedia, the company actually sent him a copy with their next issue. Wonder when the sleeping marketing giants will wake up and smell the coffee.

Update 2. Kapil also shared this interesting post by Jenny and Dave who talk of the amazing customer service in India. It’s a unique take and a must read.

PS: is anyone else has had such an experience, mail me. I’ll add it to the list.

Passion works both ways

While many people are busy buying your cola because they loved your ad (yes for some it is as simple as that), there are plenty who aren’t buying it because they hated your ad.

When something with the ad goes a bit wrong, at most we expect people to switch the channel. However nowadays people receive so much of advertising that they’re self styled experts and will judge you for the vermin that you are.

Consumers are no long indifferent to shoddy advertising. In fact many are being quite harsh to poor advertising.

A recent verizon ad that shows a nasty pittbull has been at the receiving end.

[excerpt from Ad Age] Veterinarian Susan Ralston sent Ad Age her letter of complaint to Verizon, which says, in part: “I don’t know what your company was thinking. I don’t know how much money was wasted on this despicable ad. Perhaps you should donate the million or so spent on that ‘creative’ to pit-bull rescue in an attempt to undo the damage. I switched my BlackBerry to T-Mobile. Maybe if enough folks do the same, it’ll get your attention.”

Now it’s possible that there are only some 7-8 people who think the ad in question was inappropriate, but if those 7-8 people are blogging and commenting about it, then they’re the ones helping me form an opinion about your brand. (that’s where the internet really kicks ass)

Oh and by the way, I don’t drink 7Up. They did a very insulting radio spot on RadioCity once with a man eve-teasing a woman (in the cheapest way imaginable), only to be told that it’s the new 7Up curvy bottle. Like it isn’t bad enough having to hear suggestive stuff on the streets, now you gotta go and put that on my radio. Oh man!

Ads that ‘stereotype’ women may be banned

A recent article in TOI claims that there may soon be a move to ban ads that stereotype a woman and her role in society.

” Women in “stereotypical” roles like playing the ideal homemaker or advertisements that reinforce ideas of skin fairness to achieve success could be a thing of the past, if the National Commission for Women (NCW) has its way. “

Sure, great move and all. But this is just going to be so damned subjective. Now will it be illegal to show a woman recommending a washing machine? Or a woman discussing problems of a home maker? If most of India lives like that, I wonder if showcasing the ‘new woman’ too much would amount to gross misrepresentation.

I believe there was a study (done long ago) in the US that showed that people of colour were under represented on television while they constitute a good 30% in real life America.

Is there also a danger in over-representing the jet setting woman and alienating the society’s concern with the woman who is still struggling with her middle class home maker values?

The opinion on each TVC will be subjective. And there’s no saying where this will stop. While I disagree with the Fair & Lovely ads, I still don’t think NCW has got it right. We can’t project a world too far from reality… or we might end up screwing reality itself.

The More Syndrome

A recent discussion on the new Titan ad (Be More.) got some of us pretty sick with the ‘More’ word.

Yeh Dil Maange More

Be More.

Thoda aur wish karo.

While as people we may wish for the best and want all that and more, I’m not sure if saturating media with that one message will help. When everyone’s yelling for more… TBWA’s disruption would suggest we go for the less. Now’s the time.

The yelling, the traffic, the spending, the beta hydroxyl shit, the silver ions in my washing machine!

Perhaps our lives ask for a whole lot to be subtracted.

twitter article in the news

An article on twitter that I and my boss wrote was published in livemint and is now also on scott goodson’s blog. how cool is that!

No more Kroor Singhs?

With entertainment becoming so niche, there is pretty much a channel for everyone. While all this is great, I wonder if this means the end of collective memories.

In today’s fragmented world of entertainment, I haven’t a clue about shows on the gazillion channels, much less follow their story.

With too many shows and each one watching their own, I wonder if we will ever have a cult figure like ‘Kroor Singh’ again, whose ‘yakku’s are still doing the rounds in our collective memories.

I know I sound like the elderly lady who sits in the courtyard and mourns today because yesterday was so much better.

I think I would give up ‘personalized entertainment’ for a Chandrakanta experience which still brings people together to reminisce.

So sing along for old time’s sake. Lyrics are below (I know it by heart, just in case you were wondering)

Chandrakanta ki kahaani badi lagati hai suhani

Yeh purani ho kar bhi badi lagti hai mastani

Naugadh vijaygadh mein thi takaraar

Naugadh ka tha jo raj kumar

Chandrakanta se karta tha pyar

PS: If any of you have the original soundtrack do lemme know. My obsession with it continues. Oh and a guy has sung it on youtube.

Update: Trivia by s4r4bh : Nazim and Ahmed were Kroor Singh’s sidekicks in the show

Ajanta Hotel takes to the web

I came across a banner ad for a hotel in Delhi and I’m not sure what it was about the ad, but I clicked. And I’m glad I did. Ajanta hotel is perhaps the best example of an Indian Hotel using the web to its max potential.

A quick look at the site and you’ll find video testimonials, quick-booking and even a ‘send-an-sms-feature’(though I wonder why).

Clearly this hotel is looking to attract the foreign travellers and they’re doing it well.

The Hotel has a page on facebook, it supports UNICEF and is pet friendly as well. The perfect triple sundae to get those foreign tourists salivating.

Now that’s a businessman, who knows his TG well and is going all out to make it known. And yes their online banners show a nice picture of a clean hotel and their emphasis on ‘budget hotel’ sure made me click.

I’m really impressed by the way the hotel has taken to the internet and has said all the right things.

Their homepage is perfect and tells me everything I need to know. Their booking system is lovely and even shows you thumbnails of rooms to help you decide which one to pick. While booking you can even add a trip to agra if you wish.

That’s a wow for a little hotel in New Delhi.

ever notice how people…

1. Repeatedly press the button to call the lift, till
a. The button falls off
b. Lift arrives

2. Refuse to move to the back of the lift when new people enter it
a. Gaze at the ceiling till people stop expecting them to move back
b. Shuffle one step to the right and one to the left and pretend to have helped the situation

3. Want to be the first to get into a lift and the last to get off it

4. Fight for a place to sit in a crowded train, but love to stand at the door when there are enough available seats

5. Overtake slower people while walking, only to slow down once ahead

6. Show-off their escalator-riding-perfection (complete with chin high and hand on hip) when a first-timer is struggling to climb on

Update by Saad

7. As the number of floors a lift stops at increases, so does the probability of a person referring to it as a “passenger train”. Even though he/she has probably never been on a passenger train for year (if ever).

The probability of other people actually finding this funny is directly proportional to the probability of that person being their boss.