Skip to main content

The advertising whirl

So here goes my first crappy contribution to the ‘whirl’ of advertising and marketing.

When you think back at any given day, the no. of products that you have used is no less than maybe 1000. This is my count. Experts put it at 3000.

From getting up to your Rado alarm clock (ok whatever alarm clock) to your Nokia phone on which you double check the time and see whether somebody tried disturbing you while you were asleep.

On your trudge to the bathroom to take your first pee of the day, you push down your Jockey boxers. Later you’d use a Dettol handwash to do away with the accidental pee drops on your hand and also think that your Nivea facewash might pull you up from the slumber.

You open the door and pull in the Hindusthan Times…the heading stares at you…”INDIA OUT OF WORLD CUP”…

You think “poor Pepsi…”..and therefore Coke.

You open the newspaper and there is a deluge of notice ads, appointment ads, classifieds, stupid ads, offer ads, all fighting for attention…

I am sure you’d cover atleast 100 – 200 symbols of products in that 1 hour itself…

After your morning dose of advertising, on your travel to office you are blasted into the ad 'whirl' where every street corner, tree, road divider, park benches and even morning joggers are adorned with brands. How many do you think you would have been exposed to? Another 100-200?

If you are in the habit of checking mails and reading up some news on the net…there you go…another 200 odd.

Man…how do you remember these things when you go into purchasing something?

Movies such as the “Truman Show” and the French “Mr.Average” tried to showcase some interesting aspects of this…In :Minority report”, it showed us how we can’t do away with it even in 2054…

That moronic truth that our choices are dictated by advertising is a bit hard to digest. But I think I am smarter in choosing to be a contributer…he he. For others, just enjoy the stay.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Taking the bite off 2018

The new Kochi airport looks plush - very plush, given the socialist Malayali's restraint to be self effacing when it comes to showing opulence. (Would like to clarify that this reference to plushness is only relative to other airports in Kerala) But with a delayed flight, it also gave the perfect setting for the adage "the more things change, the more they remain the same." Earlier, like a confused desi I had arrived at the domestic departure gate only to be told that my flight to Mumbai will take off from the international terminal. I left the domestic terminal entrance wondering whether this was the airport administration's ploy of showing off their new premises. The delay added more conspiracy to my theory. The extended airport tour, the delay and the unexpected opulence started taking the shine off the mallu dust settling on me, although it was a very short trip to my home state. The dust was mostly collected off the road during the 20 odd hours that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Time to undRape

The rape of this nation began much before the rape of its citizens. Didn't you see this coming? Trapped within our selfish community, religious and political moorings, we were mute spectators when the nation was crying hoarse with the unbearable pain of getting split wide. We refused to see the blood and the tired hustle of a nation trying to stand up as one. What we felt was only the throbbing libdio led by our self interests - be it reservations, corruption, religious one-upmanship, community pogroms, conversions and political brinkmanship.  Even when the soul sighed, your voice was muffled by your own communal and political insinuations. Each time the nation choked with the abuse, you joined the throng and pointed fingers. Even when it bore the mucky ink of the vote that was cast.  Stop soiling your social media wall with self-righteousness and borrowed sympathy shoved down by propaganda. Your selective social media outrage is as fake as the one you accuse your...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reality in real

Would we behave differently on reality TV? If you are on TV, will you share the real you? Or will you portray someone that you wish to be. (Which I believe is what we always try and do in everyday life.) Would you want to see real people do real stuff on TV (classified as boring) or do you want them to do something interesting or exciting on TV. Reality TV needs to be defined as people play acting real roles. And we are genetically peek-a-boo inclined. We are a very curious species. (one excuse given for a century of inventions and discoveries). But what we get is a show which is marketed as real. It is not really real. The audience expectations need to change. It is just another show.
Post a Comment
Read more