A Hard Days Night...

History Repeats ;-)

2006-07-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

History Repeats ;-)

History repeats they say. Times change, people change, attitudes change, leaders change, economic policies change, fashion trends change, Heroes change while heroines grow older … but few things seldom change… One such constant is the human tendency to get confused and confuse others. And these situations arise out of conflict, conflict within self , and yeah conflict with the world outside.

Because there is a line that separates greed and gratification.. Because often when one road leads to power and wealth, the other leads to passion & satisfaction. And the man seeks all of them and ergo, confuses self terribly.

History repeats. Many decades back, my great greater greatest grandfather’s cousin had a dilemma. He was this totally unromantic guy who never did any job and preferred the days to roll by, while he did nothing about them. But then he had his own talents and passions. He could drink all the juice of a mango fruit by just sucking at it… also he drew bird like objects and told everybody that these birds were machines and they could fly at the sound of speed. He scribbled notes on a paper which no one understood. “Musical notes” he called them.

The guy believed in astrology, his natal chart said he was incompatible with short, fat females with sour grape eyes, round noses and cauliflower ears. Anyways he dint care, never earned and soon he was broke and it struck him that he needed money to make ends meet.

One day, his mom told him “ You need to get married my sonnie, you shall realize responsibilities .”. She said “ There is this girl with sour grape eyes that taste like wine, round nose with 3 cm radius and cauliflower ears that makes great gobi manchurian. And if you marry her, you will get Rs 300/- as dowry. And sonnie remember this is late 19th century and 300 bucks mean a lot today. I don’t know about future” She then added, with foresight “Hundred years from now, a a box of imported chocolates might cost 300 bucks, life is like a box of chocolates isnt it ”..

My great greater greatest grandfather’s cousin had a dilemma similar to what I face today. Like some famous guy said “ History Repeats”…

He dint want to marry a female who was incompatible. But there was 300 bucks in the bargain. Should he get married to someone with whom he might not get along well with, for 300 bucks??

His mom said “ Sonnie its about co-existence, incompatibility is all shit and astrology is all crap. But then 100 years from now, astrology will become a million dollar industry in the internet.. Never mind about that.. its just mommas intuition.. anyways you marry her, because money will make you feel good” She added “ Money… It’s a gas”. He was confused.. He married her. He gave up drawing bird like objects, writing music notes

History has repeated. Many decades later here I am, confused about my career and future. Metaphorically, Here I am at the cross roads.. And conflicts within me.

Is life about the dough?? Should I work with an incompatible IT industry just for the currency?? Can’t I do better if I work somewhere else, some place where I rock.

Why the hell should I be reasonable??

And only when there is a conflict, we get a climax. If am getting into the IT industry just for the mullah.. I am going to be just another brick in the wall. If am not getting into it, I’ll set an example.. And at the end of the day, If am successful and get the fame, satisfaction, power and that passion which I was talking about.. people would praise me, for successfully chasing my dreams. Lest if am going to suffer tomorrow they shall say “ Idiot, dint take up an IT job and look what he is doing now”

Hmm.. My great greater greatest grandfather’s cousin married the incompatible girl. He got the 300 bucks. Meanwhile, Wright brothers invented the airplane and Beatles became a popular music band..

And should the history repeat?

;) MAK

[ Indian Constitution *coming soon* ]

India, My India…

2006-07-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

India, My India…

Introduction

I take the right hand to my chest and deliver my oath
“India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters. I love my country and I am Proud of its rich and varied heritage.….”

I have repeated this pledge so many times in so many places and in so many ways. The styles being Interested, disinterested or the in between the former and latter state wherein you look proud when you say “India is my country” but somehow lose interest and look around at those cute gurls standing in the third row, when you say “All Indians are my brothers and sisters”…
Now that I have established I am an Indian, let me get to the essence of the issue.
The issue here is “India”

Yes, I am going to write about India. No not about India’s History or Geography or about the legendary Kama Sutra.. Of course little bits of relevant History and Geography, but KS shall not be dealt with since the author has no issue with it. No one does in fact

'Being an Indian, It’s only my duty to highlight upon the land I was born and brought up in.:-)'

Warning
You might be shocked at the author’s ignorance, his inefficient and dreadful way of explaining the multitudes, problems, facets and the issues of his Nation. Nevertheless, the author promises his readers that he would do a good deal of research before posting any piece of information about India. Sometimes he might get lazy and not do any research as well.

On Independence

On August 15, 1947, India became independent. The Colonials finally gave in to the demands for a free India and returned back to the Europe. ‘Decolonization’ of India, left the native Indians jubilant of having a free nation for themselves, and the wise leaders were all set to set up a new government and a constitution. Setting up a Government is not an easy task, especially in a huge country like India where you can abuse a fellow countryman in 30 languages and his family in 100’s of further categorical dialects.
Firstly, Lets look briefly into Partition and the making of Indian Constitution, remember we are not concentrating on Indian history here. It’s the present issues which shall be dissected and analyzed, the author will run through the past for the heck of it and hoping some foreigner reads it.

On Partition

A day before independence, Muslims got a separate nation ‘Pakistan’ near the banks of the Indus river neighboring Punjab., Bangladesh was the East Pakistan then. Innocents murdered, women raped and money looted in the bargain.. It was an inauspicious start for the young India. This unfortunate Partition happened because of three factors

a) Some astute strategy by the British to win the Muslim support. Fearing the Muslims might reclaim their past Mughal glory with counter attacks and also to keep a sense of pandemonium and discrimination going, they clearly classified India into Muslims and Hindus. They gave Muslims a separate electorate. They opened up universities for Muslims, the MAO College at Alligarh. The plan clicked as Jinnah helped British with soldiers for the WW II, while congress boycotted any such participation.

b) The Muslims stubborn refusal to learn English or abide by the Colonial norms saw the Hindu’s getting all the better jobs and thereby recognition and power. This led to insecurity amid the Islam community, and a gradual ‘wall’ developed between the Hindu & Muslim. Also, there are so many ideological differences in these two religions.

c) The Congressmen laid rules which dint go well with the muslim community, For instance the earlier version of ‘bande mataram’ had lyrics which had anti muslim sentiments. Also, the Mughal empires domination for the centuries meant the Hindu’s wanted to get back their supremacy. Thus disharmony prevailed.

And Of course the Major Factor was Jinnah, and his Muslim league.. VeerSarvakar, from an Hindu organization called Hindu Mahasba .. Simply put, They wanted a separate nation for themselves. Their opinion was ‘Hindu & Muslim can never co-exist’

And then there was Mahatma Gandhi, who dint want separate countries. Hewanted a united India. Some say, he was more considerate to Muslims so much that it lead to his assassination. Gandhi died a discontented man. He said he was the unhappiest on the night of August 15th… He saw the 2 sons of his nation tearing apart…
One of his quotes concludes what this great man thought

“My whole soul rebels against the idea that Hinduism and Islam represent two antagonistic cultures and doctrines. To assent to such a doctrine is for me a denial of God.”

As Muslims entered and Hindus exited Pakistan( East & West), riots broke.. millions died.
On Jan 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi, the was assassinated by a certain Nathuram Godse, an hindu, who abhorred Gandhi for his role in splitting India-Pakistan and those thousands of deaths( especially his family). The Mahatma who had been idolized all over during his life time fittingly uttered ‘Hey Ram’ before passing away, some historians believe he never said that. The author was not born then. He gives the benefit of the doubt to ‘Hey Ram’, since you can expect a spiritual person like Gandhi to say something like that.

And that’s about it .. Let’s look at the Indian Constitution in the next issue of Indian Issues ….

On the positive note
We can take some solace in this entire episode of partition
a) India got a nice shape. A look at the India map, you see Kashmir as the head with Himalayas being its crown, Gujarat & North eastern states as two arms wide open, and of course the southern states are the feet of India. Pakistan’s presence would have given it an ugly look. India would have looked like it had some thyroid problem.
b) India Vs Pakistan cricket matches have provided wholesome excitement and entertainment, which would not have been possible otherwise.

Trivia Time
Pakistan although not developed like the UK or USA, still can boast of having a acronym like them!!!
P for Punjab, A for the Afghanis of the north-west frontier, K for Kashmir, S for Sind and Tan denoting Baluchistan. The word also means land of the pure in Urdu

A Grand Mothers Tale

2006-07-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

The news of an uncle’s father’s demise sent me to a deep reflection yesterday. Mr.Venkatraman passed away when he was 92 years old. He had been inactive and dormant, in a feeble and a helpless vegetable state in the later years of his life. His death, in a way, only meant a relief for the family, who found it extremely hard to take care of him. Taking care of him meant feeding him, bathing him, arranging his bowel, dressing him up and ensuring he took his medicines regularly.

Perhaps, Shakespeare referred this to as a “second childishness”, a state of mere oblivion.
The fact that intrigued me the most was, Mr.Venkatraman, who passed away, was an aeronautical engineer, one of the first and the finest of this profession in his prime. Five years back, when my brother made it into BITS Pilani, a very prestigious institution in India, both of us went to his place to inform him and take his blessings before my brother’s leaving. The old man looked excited. His eyes grew wide and a gentle upward curve in his aged lips, only confirmed he had some fond memory to share. He mumbled something which was faintly comprehensible… My bro and I tried to act as though we understood with regular ‘Ohh’s and ‘Ahh’s .. And all he was trying to exclaim was that he was one of the dignitaries, who were invited when the institute was inaugurated decades back!!!.

The sad part was the way he was ridiculed in the final years before death. A man who had achieved so much in his days of glory, the man who had an extensive knowledge and such varied interests, the man who had seen such heights and recognition was only treated as a burden that was obstinate in taking its medicines and was always restless.

His grandson, a teen aged dumb ass ordered and shouted at his grandpa with a great liberty.
“Shut up and go inside” he would yell at him when advised and “ What do you know?!!” Mr.Venkatraman was always shouted back at… His daughter in law considered it a pain to cook meal specifically for him… She would have only welcomed his death.
I wonder what went through this old man’s mind in the days when his body did not respond, when he became meek and weak and ‘a mere vegetable’….
………………………………………………………………….
Hmmmm Few days back I was taking my 68 year old grandma to hospital and I was ordering her not to walk in the middle of the road. She only smiled and obliged. I held her hand firm and shouted at her whenever she spoke, for she would start breathing hard when she talked and walked. “Can’t you keep quiet till you reach home?!!”. She gripped my arms for balance and dint talk back. The innocence which had become her ensured she wouldn’t reply. She came home calm and tired.

Here is my grand ma; the child who had only primary school education, a girl who was married when she was 16, became a mother at 18 and raised 4 daughters and 2 sons. She educated them despite factors like money, a conservative joint family system and a very stern husband (my grand father). She married her first 3 daughters and soon became a grand mother. Her elder son passed away only when he was 27. Her husband died when she was 59. She saw her other son go to USA. She has been left alone with me ever since.

Now am not trying to say she deserves a Nobel peace prize. But, with such an experience in her journey of life, it seems quirky and rather dumb of me to advice her, tell her what to do and what not to do! Look at it, she raised and taught my mother, my brother and me! I am just 21 and wouldn’t be here but for her! And yet I tell her how to walk, instruct her not to talk…
What do these old people think at such times …? Imagine the frustration they would go through, when folks less than half their age, order them around. They have more experience, more knowledge and more exposure. Their aging, with time, has made them tired, tolerant and surrendering. It is an irony, that all success and achievements in life end up with the exuberance of the youth and as body fails to listen and deters … the man is a mere shadow of his past.

Responses welcome
Arun

Off side & Leg Glance

2006-07-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

Football is incredible and so is cricket. That football has been making all the headlines and has pushed such other major events like the Calypso series, the Wimbledon, Sania’s t-shirts and yet another promising loss, Hockey tourno, Sachin Tendulkars son’s first day at school, the new look of our cricket boys(bald !), etc...and that such news have taken a back step is a cause for concern.

Ok, the above normally well hyped and insightfully covered events have been completely overshadowed by the foot ball craze... there has been a complete change of flavor in the commercials too. Advertisements have cars like Swift playing football, Roberto Carlos out-performing an alien( because of an orange drink), even Rahul Dravid plays football for Bank of Baroda , there is no Sachin or Sehwag for Adidas but we see a clever graphical work of the best football players for Jose’10 commercial and so on. Media is as transient as life itself.. Media tells us” You are hot, You are in.. If not , we put you in the bin” It was not long back when NDTV had news features on Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s hair style. Do you guys know that Sachin is back in action and scored a couple of quick-fire centuries against british universities... Oh! We were never told about this.

Ok the essential exigency for this post was to compare cricket and football.. Football is hard, rough, tough, magical and exciting. Cricket is not hard, not rough, not tough, magical at times and exciting once a while.. 90 minutes of football leaves goose bumps which 8 hours of cricket seldom manages to do. The great aspect of football is, the game is beautiful mix of team and individual brilliance and there are no 100% favorites before any game! And that’s why qualifying the world cup in itself becomes such a hard fight. In cricket, upsets happen rarely. When you know Aus Vs Zim is the match, it is quite obvious the match is a no-match...

Still the game of Cricket is gentle and charming! Watching test cricket feels like you are a harmless soul in a hill station on a Sunday morning with a handsome bank balance and lots of tea to drink. Watching ‘India Glorious’ or ‘Great Indian Partnerships’ in ESPN STAR, for instance, would give you such a complacency and ‘joie de vivre’, the football fanatic can never experience that! It’s like comparing two flicks “One fine day” & “Speed"... One relaxes you, the other makes you tremble uncomfortably in the edge of the seat.

Ok, yesterday while the Germans beat Argentina and Italians thrashed Ukraine, Indians were struggling at Kingston with our players, as ever, edging every ball outside off stump and giving ‘coaching-manual-like’ slip practice for the Windies . The pitch had moisture and it is fair and only habitual of our heros to score a total of 200 runs for the loss of all 10 wickets. Dravid & Kumble batted well I should add. The Cricket Match had zero crowd. May be, all of them were busy catching up with football in their TV sets. Still the absence of crowd no way stopped our batsmen from edging the balls to the slip fielders. They went about their overseas routine with appreciable consistency .

Surfing between cricket and football, my mind began comparing the two games... It is only a natural thing to do. Germany Vs Argentina at Berlin would resemble India Vs Pakistan at Eden Gardens/ Lahore. Indian cricket team would remind you of the Argentina football team. Lots of big names, exciting youngsters in the paper and still lose it when it counts the most! They gave it up almost Vs Mexico... and loss against Germany was on expected lines for me.
Meanwhile, Germany reminds so much of Pakistan! Maybe my tendency to draw similarities between their past.. Hitler and Jinnah.. There is an element of toughness and lack of flexibility common among both the teams. Pakistan Cricket has more flair maybe, nevertheless similarities outnumber differences.

Brazil, surely would be Australian cricket.. They play the game hard and play to win. They still seem to be the 2 teams who go out there in the middle and all the have fun. Just look at the way Ronaldinho or Adam Gilchrist approaches the game.

France, I would compare with Sri Lankan cricket.. Zidane matching the magical Murali, Jayasurya –> Henry maybe ! Spain play like New Zeland, fair play, neat game and yet don’t have the killer instinct to win tournaments and world cups!

England will be England no matter which sport they play. Over-rating, ridiculing and hyping up their darling players. Be it Flintoff, Rooney or Henman...they all have their days. Still England cant win. They wont. They never will. The Press might all explode and run out of adjectives and choke themselves with sweets just in case some victory happens. God knows what to give them.

Portugal play like the Windies ( the maroon parallel) Figo-Lara (not fair still chalega).. Italy can be compared to South Africa.. good talent and good style.. Still wont create magic.

Ok my mind was busy matching football and cricket... Germany meanwhile won on penalties. So metaphorically Pakistan beat India by one run.( by an unfair Duck Worth lewis System). I was disappointed to see the likes of Messe never getting a chance to play...

July 9 world cup ends. So the Media will be back to cricket. Chat shows with Dhoni and Yuvraj and football will be out soon, maybe a couple of discussions on Why Indian football sucks and what needs to be done.

Cheers folks!
Arun

1100 Birthdays of Jack & Jill

2006-07-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

English and its idiosyncrasies

Jack: When did you guys meet?

Jill: Me and Bill?? We met last Friday.

Jack: Am not asking the day… I want the date!

Jill: Oh.. I think it was 25th Jan, Jack.

Jack:Ok.. by the way, Why did you guys meet up??

Jill: It was Bill’s birthday on 25th !! He treated me at a Chinese eat out.

Jack: Hmm.. I forgot that his birthday was on 25th!!! Oh damn!

Jill: Hey Jack..Going by your date and day logic.. How can Birth’day’ be on 25th? Shouldnt it be Birth'date' ??

Jack:Yeah! You got a point there!

Jill: I guess the entire world has been wrongly wishing each other on occassion of birth !! It cant be happy birthday!!! It has to be happy birthdate..

Jack:Yeah.. Say you are born on June 1 Monday, every Monday becomes your birthday while June 1 is your birthdate !!!!

Jill:So logically everybody gets a birthday every week.... right!!!!??

Jack:Yeah. Which means I have had 1100 birthdays so far!!!

Jill:Exactly! Same applies to Christmas day, Valentines day, Fools day.. etc.. We 've been fooled all the while!

Jack:Yes Jill. Funny language. Funny World.. and hey how about a date tonight ??

A life time of Ambitions :)

2006-07-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

I have always had secret ambitions. Childhood, when money was not the driving factor in setting ambitions and directing dreams.. I always saw people around me and wanted to be one day like them. Logic and sensibility, prevailed seldom.. Because for a child, life is seen in a true sense and everything seems ‘big and bright’.

Okay, like everybody one of my first and favorite ambitions was to be an actor. Say at the age of 5, two guys who really inspired me to this profession were Rajnikanth & Jackie Chan!!... That was the long term goal.. Short term, I wanted to be a child-artiste.. I used to watch Home Alone part 1 and 2 in the VCR time and again. Then there was ‘Anjali’, A Mani Ratnam movie with kids. I used to visualize... Imagine myself to be the ‘Kevin’ and how better I could’ve performed in getting the thieves. Hmmm..

Another aim was to be policeman. Not a policeman wearing Khakis. but more like a C.I.D wearing a blazer without a tie ( that’s how I saw myself!) and a cooler But my elder brother discouraged me that I can only be constable with the marks I score . And that he studied better and would make a better CID. Anyways, I believed him and maybe that’s when I got exposed to the harsh realities of existence. Still, I dint mind Constable because he carried a long gun.

Then, I wanted to be a restaurant owner. Well, actually a sweet shop owner. ‘The sweet shop near a school’ …The whole concept of ‘Parceling excited me then … I used to admire the guy who took a dry banana leaf and then neatly place the ‘Vada’ or ‘idly’ in it . Liberally poured the chutney, sambhar in another layer he had just created … And envelope this with an old newspaper . And then came the real professional work, when the guy takes a thread and wraps the whole package in no time. ‘HA.. What A MAN ...’ I reflected then...

Postman was another of those dreams. Email and telephone were not exactly the chief ways of communicating! A postman went places , spoke to people ….

Apart from this , I would have won the Wimbledon a few 100 times , My back hand was like Agassi’s and served like Ivanesevic . I used to dive and attack like Becker. And was a nice guy like Jim Courier … Somehow Sampras dint fit the scheme of my dreams, in fact it was Sampras whom I used to drub all the time.

Then obviously a wrestler , My fav were 1-2-3 Kid, Tatanka and Bret Hart . I lifted Yokozoona easily ;) I dint like Diesel and Million Dollar Man as well.

Cricket has always been (and still is I think) my greatest wish! Last over 36 runs to win. Allan Donald or Craig McDermott , Mervin Hughes bowling at me . Injured Sachin at the non-strikers end . There I am winning the game and the world cup . Sachin looks at me and thanks me . He is my hero and I take blessings from him .

Plumber , Pilot, Bus Conductor, TTR, Scientist .. the list went on .

As time rolled by , and some sort of maturity developed .. I have wanted to become a novel writer, a columnist, a professor and musician !

Say now , after 4 years of an interminable Media Course and still one more year to go . I am all confused and my priorities all messed up . The past 4 years I’ve wanted to be a Movie Director, A News Reporter , Program Producer, PRO,..

As per now, Am training with the Client Servcing at RK Swamy BBDO , an advertising agency !!!.. So today I see a future in advertising . But Ad-Men don’t make much money ..they say ! An IT trainee makes triple the money to start with . This upsets me ..Maybe I should look to be a consultant then .. Ill be writing my MBA exams this year .Ha.. Am not clear yet . I need to keep dreaming..

I guess I’ll be unsure if the path I am treading is , right or wrong , or if am doing the right work for another 10 years or even more . You never know, I might have become famous and rich by then . But looking back at the past and pondering over all those little but honest ambitions makes one feel good..

Today when I take a bus and see the stylish way in which the conductor pinches the ticket.. And hands it to me.. The way he carries his brown-bag of coins and makes that lovely coins-shaking sound as he provides my change … I get thrilled and think.. ha ! What a man .. But my more mature adult-state snaps back.. ‘Conductor don’t earn much ‘.. I dream on ..
God be with you all
Arun :)

Back to the future !

2006-07-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Whew ! Back to the future..

You get these hunches don’t u .. ok make that a prophecy ..

There is this major virtual reality tour thingy going on … real life Action game .. sumpthin like MATRIX .. could be cricket too … the venue being your mobile phones .. a million participants this time over … Ur mobile phone apart from letting u have video conferences with friends ( so much bandwidth available !) , watch movies , sports ..also come with a provision for virtual reality .. just put on those V.R .Goggles .. and there u are playing the game which is as true as life .

TV channels specially dedicated to gaming .. hype up the event .. Sponsorships , ad slots , marketing strategies , brand salience et al !

So , Older children ,Students , Guys under 30 , folks over 30 .. participate passionately to be the winner.. Japanese make these games .. Nintendo or someone .. they monopolize the market .. The event is national level .. and the best get to compete with the best from other countries .. Even News Channels have a separate section for this event .. like the how geoff boycott n sidhu used to speak or NDTV for the more strenuous physical cricket ..

Soon , India starts making these games .. bored of just doing the outsourced work , start making their own versions . Tycoons see good money here .

Hmmmmmmmm…. Not an impossible thought . Wait for a few years ..
will post more ..
cheers
Arun

Advertising & Zodiac Branding-Part 2

2006-07-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

With Regards to my earlier post .. I thought ill clarify a few confusions ( even my own !)
The Zodiac Branding is not consumer oriented . It doesn give a damn what the sign of the TG (Target Audience) is .. it wants ppl of all the 12 signs to use its product definitely.. the more the better ..

What did i exactly mean then ..?
But then it ensures a personality for the brand . I 've always thought advertising has to touch that personal chord with the end user . the brand must ve life, a character.. it must communicate to the end user like a friend , lover , father & mother.. The brand has to be a relationship eventually !

I've chosen Sun Signs because it makes classification simple & not bcos i am an ardent believer of it ! .. Every Sign is 5 adjectives seperated by a comma . They are a sensible combination of matching attributes . For instance , u wont find conflicting traits in a single sign .. " The taurean will never be flexible.. he is stubborn " .. "The Capricorn is always calculative and not brash.." whatever .. Still the adjectives that describe taurean are - Reliable , Sensible, Stubborn , Romanticn & Honest ( those 5 adjectives i ws talking abt ) .. n hey i am taurean !
Thus , What happens with this theory is sumpthin like this....

----> The Agency with its Client Sevicing & Creatives is approached by the Client. They are sipping lime Black tea with nicely baked cookies .

----> He gives them the product .. "OK".. he says " --------- is my product .. I am launching this ------.. 3 months from now. We want u to present your ideas . The pitch 'll be 2 weeks from now . C ya "

----> The agency people continue sipping the lime tea .. "Ok!" says the account executive as he /she gulps some more tea .. and says " Will do dude .. piece of cake".. The creative guy cookie mouthful .. says "Yours is Capricorn "..

---> The client asks " What corn ?!!" .. .. the creative says " never mind.. we'll come with ours ideas 2 weeks from now dude.. " Cookie & tea is emptied.

---> & then the agency ppl think .. Give the Capri product a persoanlity . They ask a few questions .. What does the capri-brand wanna say ? What is his appeal gonna be ? Which trait of his must be our USP? What are the Traits we are not gonna highlight upon ... Let our creatives focus upon that . Let our positioning be accordingly .. & lets ensure we get our TG and communication tone clear !!!

---> and so they sip more tea and go for the pitch

Chances r they win the client
I'll think more & be back !

Cheers & God be with you all

Advertising & Zodiac Branding - Part 1

2006-07-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Advertising & the Zodiac branding

I've been thinking about this for quite long .. A model for advertising . A concept where the Advertiser could figure out his target audience easily, understand the product better and most importantly channelize his creativity in the most effective manner... And basically provide a 'structural framework' or a 'model/ flowchart' for this rather not so organized ~ Advertising sector .

Ok.. before i get deeper. lemme tell you , am new to advertising . I 've read a few books on advertising , trainned at a couple of ad agencies . I am still in my college mind you !
I aint expert . Still ad field is abt freshness and newer ideas ..

And so evolved this quirky yet sensible theory. The Zodiac Branding .
Ok. Zodiac signs , better known as sun signs, is very popular . everywhere! Astrology is a major money churning industry. Astrologers have hit celebrity status these days with their horoscopes , numerology and other manifestations of predictions !!...

Again , We are not concerned about the credibility of Astrology . But the major favour , which astrology serves in this case , is , A platform for classification.. to categorize in a neat way.

There are 12 sun signs . Each sign a zodiac .The signs categorised as
Fire signs --- Aries, Leo , Sagittarius
Earth Signs ---Taurus, Virgo , Capricorn
Air signs--- Gemini , Libra , Aquarius
Water Signs --Cancer ,Scorpio , Pisces

Okay , the funda works like this ..Now say If you are born on May the 6th .. You r born as a Taurean . If you r born on December the 11th you become a Sagittarian . Taureans are born with with a few attributes and so are the others under other signs.... Ok .. its needless explaining all this .. a) You know what i am talking about .. b) Its too complicated .. So try msn astrology site for more info

What is Zodiac Advertising all about .. In simple words .. it is " Providing a Sun Sign for evry product ".. You wanna laugh .roll over the place.. rotfl ,? the floor is yours! .. Still .. i recommand you read on..

Lets take for instance take a product and give it a sign .. Hmmm ..
A 250cc Motorbyke . u've just manufactured one of those beasts thats gonna burn rubber .. rip the roads apart .. It has the thrill of the speed . Requires a dare devil to ride her. Mileage or cost mean trivial here . Its the rush .. the adrenaline..& the road rash !

Now , The sign i'd give this motorcycle is Sagittarius . I'll tell you why .. The words you'd associate with a Sagittarean are Adventurous, Brave, Idealistic , True and Extravagant ..
Now when you classify your mean machine as a saggi .. you are doing many right things .
The byke has a personality now . It can communicate in its own way . The communication strategy is clear . The Byke has its target audience very clear too . Its not going to cater to the conservative , security or mileage seeking individual .

You are avoiding many wrong things too ! .. Your saggi machine .. wont all of a sudden become a happy family byke . Positioning the product becomes a lot easier .. The saggi knows its audience ..

" Men with the fire in the belly and that rage within " The byke moves on .. arrogant , rutheless and moves straight ahead like a racing horse .. raging bull !! . The byke isnt delightfully charming .. The byker is not happy-go-lucky or locquacious . There is nothing cute , chweet( like how gurls say!), It does not possess the Tom Hanks or James Bond Charm.. Alas it is the material of Arnold & Vin Diesel..A careful analysis would tell you that .. All this fit the sagittarean ...

It cant be a talkative Gemini , complacent taurean or homely cancerian .. You ve other bykes for 'em ... But the mean machine is fire baby ! ..

"Shogun" did a great job in such a positioning .. u find yamaha drifting these days ..lousy commercials where the product itself is all confused !.. we'll discuss abt this later !
Okay, thats it for today .. ill discuss more about this .. Opinions most welcome .

Cheers :-)

Knowing MAK

2006-07-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

My first blog .. hmmm .. I havent read many blogs before ...I know how blogging works though.And thinkng on what to write . Okay , I expect many ppl to go through my blogs in due course of time.. And let me build a strong foundation. A good start is reqd...

What shall I blog ? About myself .?. About people .?. About ideas .?. About events .?. About concepts ?!!

Yep.. The best part is I get to decide all that . dont give a damn for the reader .. I write , U read.. Thats my deal.. Hmmm.. and hey doesnt Blogging cater to the egotists soul .!!
Ok a brief intro about myself ..

Am Arun friends , 21 male, your neighbour . I could've been your neighbour .. you never know !. I've travelled so much..

Ok.. I believe in truth . Life has to have passion & truth . Definitely . And love & intelligence mean as much ... The virtues we possess , the inner strength and our ideas can sum it all up!

I love outdoor sports,music & food .

I love to think !.. Think & act accordingly ... The more u know me .. the more i ve to offer !!..
Anyways .. I am not gonna talk abt self more .
will blog again.. responses welcome

Arun