May their tribe grow

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.

May their tribe grow

The Parsis are a unique community. Everyone knows how they reached the shores of Gujarat fleeing religious persecution, charmed the Jadhav Rana by promising to blend in like sugar dissolves in milk, not altering its colour or consistency in any way, just sweetening it forever. Much has been written about their immense contribution to the economic status of India, the social fabric of Mumbai, their charming little eccentricities, their orientation towards philanthropy and their general goodness. I have witnessed many of the attributes of Parsis in the shape of a very dear friend whom I have known closely for over four decades. And yet, as a community, their numbers have been dwindling alarmingly. This is obviously because of an amalgam of many reasons but the thought that this community is hurtling toward possible extinction in the pure form we know is alarming. And any effort to improve their numbers is very welcome. One such effort is by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Parzon (Unesco) in the shape of a print advertising campaign aimed at this little community that is scattered across the country and concentrated in Mumbai.

Created by Madison BNB the campaign uses a combination of the self-deprecatory humour that Parsis are so known for, to urge them to get married and have more children. In fact, the ad mentions that if a married Parsi couple is childless, it could be entitled to financial assistance to explore the possibility of an IVF procedure. The headline of one of the ads reads “Panni ja isn’t a spell from Harry Potter. It means get married”. The tone of the advertising is casual and to-the-point. Apart from the advertising being something that could be effective we are pleasantly surprised to see this noteworthy effort from the Ministry of Minority Affairs. And happily, though the creatives are the work of Raj Nair, the owner of Madison BNB is a good Parsi, Sam Balsara. May their tribe grow! I hope Parsis all over the world read this interesting advertising, or are told of it by their friends.

As for me, I am happy to report that my own dear Parsi friend has done his bit for the community as evidenced by his two lovely daughters.

Let’s unfake it

As you are aware, everyone is trying to use bad English to create “cool” words. So now you have Diageo telling you to “unfake” it. The TV commercial (TVC) is made by McCann Erickson and begins with two girls taking a selfie and saying something about being ready to rock the party in a completely fake accent. Let’s skip to the part where a Smirnoff logo catches your eye on a record the DJ is spinning and you wonder what the current definition of surrogate advertising is all about. So cocktail stirrers are out and party experiences are in. Doesn’t really make a difference. Someone is still making a mockery of the law of the land giving their own spin to the ostensible reason for the advertising. My take: Let’s unfake the advertising. And move on with what’s correct in life. Oh by the way, ASCI, are you listening?

Bag and the Bhat

It’s funny. In Taipei the other day we were talking about the good old days when companies like VIP Industries were really big advertisers and I come back and see a new advertisement from the group. This time, not for luggage but for designer handbags. The entire film is lovingly shot on location somewhere in Europe and just shows the new sensation Alia Bhat walking around in different dresses, carrying different handbags from the Caprese collection. Made by Company, the film has a very pleasing look about it and the use of the celebrity serves its purpose to increase awareness in the right way about the brand. At the end of the film, Alia says “I’m a Caprese girl”, and that’s about the entire “dialogue” in the film. The problem is in deciding whether you can take your eyes off the fetching Alia to take in the details of the handbags.

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