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.

Do you believe in rebirth? Whether you do or not, here’s your chance to witness something that proclaims itself as being reborn. It could have been something else but made a huge sacrifice to be reborn in this particular avatar. The announcement is so profound you have a free-falling lady (who has jumped off an aeroplane) and a rock climber (hanging on to a boulder at some crazy height) enquiring in anguished tones why this supreme sacrifice was being made. Then you are informed that there was the need to have a messiah. You have this white glow and see people bowing to it. By now you realise you are in the presence of something with exceptional gravitas. Is it the discovery of the reincarnation of some Tibetan lama? Is it the coming of the Kalki avatar? No, but if it is not, what warrants such an introduction? It is Cinthol’s new Deo Stick which could have been a spray but chose to be reborn as a cream-based stick, with three times the fragrance power (you have a shot of a man literally being blown away). And, it’s priced aggressively. So now all you bowing followers, if you rise and say this Godrej and Creativeland Asia offering borders on the ludicrous, what can I say? “I told you so”?

Nuts and guts

No, I don’t work for Creativeland Asia. It’s a coincidence I saw two of its TVCs and wanted to write about them this week. This one’s for Micromax mobile phones. I’ve been a silent admirer of Micromax. I’m glad an Indian company is making waves in a market dominated by foreign companies. Even though my driver and my maid’s son are sulking with Micromax phones they bought for around ₹7,000 and have nothing but problems to talk about. But this is about advertising. So you have this TVC with an all-American (they sound and act American) cast that give you the lowdown on the new Micromax logo, some factoids (they are one of the top 10 mobile phone companies in the world), some irreverent positioning (they don’t have a logo that is a fruit and they are not made in California), they have made phones with batteries that you use for a month without re-charging (that is one phone I would like to own) and they are just getting started. They are nuts, they have guts, now they are going for glory. I like the new logo, the attitude. I haven’t understood why the film needed an all-American look. Hey, I am a fan of the desi company. But I guess I am not the audience. Oh, then who is? My driver and maid’s son will be disappointed that they have been forsaken for higher SECs. But if you are going for glory, reach for the skies. With the black, sorry, white, panther clenched-fist salute. On the whole, I like the look and feel of the film, and the re-positioning.

TV and Biwi

Sometimes TV and biwi create conflict in a man’s life. There’s this IPL match to watch and one almost forgets there is someone sitting next to you on the bed. Or, there’s an anniversary coming up and what better way to show you love her than by ordering the film you saw on your first date? Or, what if you learnt English and in an adorably halting way told him he was your knight in shining armour? These are the aspects of love Tata Sky explores in short TVs for its daily recharge plan, Active English Plan and the Video on Demand plan. The common thread through these lovely TVCs is love. And the art of subtlety. This way, TV and biwi , pyaar jingalala !

Last word

Manish Bhatt’s Scarecrow Communication has a film for Yatra.com that’s gone viral and has apparently touched five million viewers. It has a Kanhaiya (the celebrity student leader who could be our next leader) look-alike demanding azaadi from queues and a lack of window seats. Finally I can smile at a call for azaadi !

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