Addendum is a weekly column that takes a sometimes hard, sometimes casual, sometimes irreverent yet never malicious look at some of the new or recent advertisements and comments on them.

Have you ever heard a name, sniffed a fragrance, tasted a drink and been instantly transported back in time to some distant pleasant memory? There is an inexplicable but deep-rooted link between the senses and the memory banks in our brain. You don’t need to consciously dredge up a memory. If you tried, you probably wouldn’t be able to. These are things that just happen. And you end up feeling the nicer for it.

And that is the deep and unique insight that Karishma (Lintas) has got for Paper Boat. Let me confess. I haven’t tasted a single product of theirs. They have a chilled rasam , a jamun kala khatta , an aamras and an aam panna . And just the name ‘ jamun kala khatta ’ was enough to send me on a long journey to a more innocent time in my life. I have purchased and gifted Paper Boat products because their flavours seemed very innovative and their packaging looked so different and classy. Now I have seen the commercial created by Karishma for the digital medium. The digital film was marked by nostalgia and the mesmerising lyrics of Gulzar.

The film indulges in a luxurious love affair with the child in all our lives. Every scene in the film is something we can all relate to, aided and made memorable by the lyrics. And then you are almost abruptly woken from your reverie as the film cuts to the present and shows a young man sipping a Paper Boat on an aircraft and enjoying the taste and the memories. I saw one of the TVCs, which are product-based. I guess when you have a strong insight and a good base, the rest becomes easy. Though I am not too sure of my response to the TVCs if I hadn’t seen the digital version. I guess I will have to taste a Paper Boat now. More memories…

Mobile money

The e-wallet will soon be something we all use once we get comfortable with the concept of transferring money via mobile phone. Net banking and phone banking is already preparing the stage for this but these are only in metros and for the more tech-savvy users. What about Tier 2-5 towns? Well there’s M-Pesa. First, I like the name. Easy to pronounce, easy to identify. Vodafone has been marketing M-Pesa for the smaller cities and towns and I hear the response is encouraging. A TVC captures the essence of the scheme with a “here-and-there” narrative that explains the process very clearly and interestingly. You have Mr Tiwari in Mumbai sitting down to enjoy his samosa when the phone rings and his wife in UP enquires if he has received his salary. Tiwari then enters her number on the handset in the M-Pesa app and simply “sends” the money. Mr Tiwari shows the message to the local kirana shop that is doubling up as a Vodafone M-Pesa outlet and the shopkeeper gives her the money. No bank account, no withdrawal slip, no nothing. What a marvellous scheme, and such a well-made film to communicate it! I don’t know which I like more, the scheme or the communication.

Favourite songs

Regular reader Madhulika Rawal is first off the block in naming her favourite ad songs. And she has three. Proves my point. People are listening and remembering these songs. Cadbury Dairy Milk’s song, “ Kiss me, close your eyes, miss me ”, 7UP’s ‘ I feel UP ’ and ‘ Yeh Nok Jhok ...’ the 2010 Limca Song featuring Hrishita Bhat and Viraf Patel. 2010. Wow! That is serious impact. Thank you, Madhulika. Keep humming these tunes. I must admit I like the Cadbury song myself.

Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. Mail your comments to cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in

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