Monday, March 31, 2008

Demand and supply

Incidentally, Emami's Fair and Handsome Cream promises fair skin in just 4 weeks.

Incidentally, America has never had a non-white President.

Incidentally, I see an opportunity.

Incidentally, Michael is sulking.

Sex and the city

Krish Ashok recently wrote a superb piece on the Chennai Metblog, on the difficulties of being a boy or a girl in some colleges of Chennai. Now that leaves only the the middle path and rules out both sets of stairs. The lift then?

Check out these college rules. I borrowed it from Krish Ashok.




Why send criminals to jail? College looks worse.


Click to read what Balaji Balasubramaniam has to say.
Click to read what Abi (T. A. Abinandanan) says.

Watch the Times Now report
Part 1
Part 2

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Arey, what are you saying?

I finally have an inkling of why some people call it an 'ego problem'.

Your ego drives you to do better than them.

And they have a problem. See?

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Bangalore or Chennai. The argument continues.

Chicken or egg?

Coffee or toffee?

Bangalore or Chennai?

Ever since I've come to Chennai, a little less than 2 years ago, I've seen this topic discussed in various places. Blogs, coffee shops, offices. Everyone is trying immeasurably hard to give Chennai the advantage of his/her voice.
My friend Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan is the most recent.

Yet in 32 years in Bangalore, I've never encountered a debate on this topic. Chennai just doesn't exist on the Bangalore horizon. It is not even acknowledged as competition. In fact as far as Bangalore is concerned, there is no argument. This tells me that the feeling of not being up there, exists in the minds of Chennaiites more than anybody else. What it still doesn't explain is why the weekend trains are full of young Chennaiites going to Bangalore for a break. And not the other way around. So in defence of Bangalore, I'll say it has more to offer young people than Chennai.

I've lived in Bangalore for 32 years and now in Chennai for the last year and a half. While I love the change and everything that’s uniquely Chennai, there are things I distinctly dislike as well.

I love the love and respect Chennai has for everything to do with art – music, dance, theatre etc. I love the food – 5 chutneys with 2 idlis, a million varieties of mixed rice and so on. I love the beach. I love the old architecture. I love the movies. I love the love for the mother tongue.

But…

I hate the conservatism that's thrust upon the southern metro by self-appointed guardians of moral standards. It shows in the way people are forced to dress, in the way entertainment is viewed, in the way tenants are accepted or rejected based on caste and eating habits, in the chauvinistic ways of some educational institutions (boys and girls are prohibited from interacting, even made to use separate staircases), in the moral policing that happens on the beach and in the double standards that allows men to bare their penises and pee in public.

Sigh.

The moral of the story? Forget Bangalore. Stop trying to prove Chennai’s credentials with comparisons. Stop acknowledging Bangalore as competition. As the harder you try, the harder it’s going to get to compete.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Learnt English in 30 days?



Zoom in and read what goes for body copy in this ad that otherwise offers you a great deal.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Enna da day?

There's a children's day.

A mother's day.

A father's day.

Even an all fools' day.

But men's day?
(Wiki tells me India celebrates it on Nov 19, but has no reports of anyone being caught in the act.)


Enna da day?

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Monday, March 17, 2008

The vicious cycle


You realize you need exercise.

You buy a cycle.

You don’t cycle.

You sell the cycle.

You realize you need exercise.

Exciting Exchange Offer



The ad caught the attention of all members of the association.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

The auto meter as a revenue generation model



The auto meter seems to have finally found its calling. It's usefulness as a measure of travel fare is a chapter and a half in the history books, but it now has a purpose far beyond reminding passengers of their helplessness. Brand building. Wah...wah...wah...

Thursday, March 13, 2008

One of our best




Advertising Agency: Publicis Ambience Advertising, Chennai, India
Credits: Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan, Gous Basha, Manoj Jacob

Read feedback to this ad HERE.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Posters for Radiant Gym






Click to enlarge.

Copy: Me
Art: Manoj K Ouseph
Agency: Publicis Ambience, Chennai

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Titular titillation

Gyaani Sale Sing.

Sums up an adman, doesn't it?

A know-it-all salesman who never stops crooning his own praises.

Monday, March 10, 2008

From down south to up north

Up north, 'tutti' is a commonly used word for what emerges from down south of the human body.

Which makes me wonder about a very popular mix of ice cream consumed in the afore mentioned part of the country.

Tutti-frutti.

Jaane kahan mera figure gaya ji, Abhi abhi yahin tha kidhar gaya ji?


When I'd last heard, he'd lost a 100 odd kilos. Take a bow Adnan. Now you can.