Addendum is a fortnightly 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.

Camel for sale

The House of Tatas is now selling camels. Don’t take my word for it. Watch their TVC for Tata CLiQ, and listen to them tell you yourself. It’s a clever little film made by Cartwheel that shows a young lady taking delivery of the camel she ordered. So you have her leading this big real camel into her big drawing room. And the little ditty in the background goes all Rajasthani and exhorts you to get the “ oonth ” (camel in Hindi) for anything from socks and apparel to white goods and electronics. And the visuals have a couple of real-life camels sitting patiently as the people try out all these products around them. Finally you learn that Tata CliQ, the new online store from the Tatas, offers only “Certified Authentic Merchandise Everybody Loves”. So you know all about the camel now. What are you waiting for? Doesn’t everyone love such a CAMEL? I guess quality and authenticity must be a problem online these days. And please tell me why I didn’t see the declaration that no animal was hurt while making this film? Believe me, it’s important for a lot of people!

What’s your Mojo?

I grew up in an era where Hollywood was the only place I could see those big, beefy, low-slung roadsters. Easy Rider, Harley Davidson, biker movies all gave me exciting glimpses into the world of the great two-wheel tourers. Yet in India we had to make do with the Royal Enfield 350 cc bike for ages, with the Java and the other 250 cc efforts bringing up the rear. Finally after decades, one is thrilled to see that these kind of bikes have arrived on the Indian roads, and that too, made in India. This review is about the digital offering for the Mahindra Mojo. It’s a long, meandering ride typical of what anyone would envision for a big, strong bike. And so you have the usual and predictable long drives over hills and dales and rough terrain and water. Nothing very different and nothing about what the bike is all about. You could have this film and transpose the close-ups for the Enfield Himalayan and you couldn’t really tell the difference. Frankly, if I was not an auto (which includes bike) buff, I really wouldn’t know that the Mojo is one of the most powerful tourers in the country with amazing hardware and superlative performance parameters even when compared to its more beefy competitor. And that’s why the three minute-plus film is sadly wasted on a great product.

Home furniture

Pepperfry has been one of the more active advertisers in the last 12 months or so with some interesting ad films such as the Diwali one that I remember. Now it is aiming squarely at the largest segment of the market. The one that gets furniture made at home. In India, that is really the norm. We’ve all lived through the days filled with carpenters sprawling all over the hose, making a racket, filling the house with fine wood dust and strips of upholstery from all the sawing and cutting. And how can I forget the incessant noise of sundry carpentry tools? And we’ve all lived with time overruns and sometimes the cost overruns as well. We’ve taken these things for granted. It was the only way to get furniture. Well, Saatchi & Saatchi and Pepperfry use all these insights in their films and present a handy, hassle-free alternative in ready-made furniture. Actually the films are very effective and made me seriously think that this certainly looks like the better option for furniture. Now if only I was better at taking measurements before ordering … Any ideas, Pepperfry?

ASCI action

Patanjali is in the news for the wrong reasons. ASCI has upheld complaints against its advertising for hair oil and noodles. Sadly, some big guns against whom various complaints were upheld include Aashirvaad from ITC, Clinic from HUL, Amrutanjan and Bajaj Almond Drops. Tsk tsk! Now guys, come on, surely you’ll know the ASCI code?

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

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