Guideline for media: if you are planning to 'celebrate' Ayushmann Khurrana's mention in TIME magazine's The Most Influential People of 2020 list, remember that you may be tacitly approving 2 other entries that may color you and your media as anti-national. 1/3
2/3 Also note that Ayushmann Khurrana's introduction is by a person who is being investigated and interrogated by the highest institutions of justice in India (a.k.a Times NOW and Navika Kumar) right now and every night for the foreseeable future.
3/3 So, if you think you can get away by writing only about Ayushmann Khurrana and ignore the person who wrote his introductory note, or the other 2 entries, trust people to add what you 'missed' to your news.
The score, so far, from the papers I observed today:
TOI Mumbai mentions Bilkis' entry alone - not Modi or Ayushmann. TOI Delhi mentions Ayushmann alone, not Modi. Basically, for TOI, Modi was not listed at all.
Mumbai Mirror mentions all 3 - Modi, Ayushmann and Bilkis. They also mention *WHY* Modi was listed (meaning: negative influence is also 'influence').
While The Hindu (English) did not have any mention of this news at all, the Tamil Hindu Thisai had a funny mention about Modi's entry where it completely ignores the negative influence note and says this is his 4th time for this honour :)
Dinamalar seems very fair and balanced - they mention the listing, the note that refers to the negative influence and also that TIME had mentioned him as a kind of PM never seen in the last 10 years in India when he won the re-election last year.
The Pioneer mentions all 3, with focus on Ayushmann, but not on why Modi was listed.
Mid Day has the same note as Pioneer. Both must be from this PTI report that does not mention the reason for Modi's listing. bit.ly/3hYV2zm
Mint mentions Bilkis, and makes a rudimentary mention of Modi's and Ayushmann's inclusion in the list but not why Modi has been included (negative influence). Read together, it makes it seem like Modi and Ayushmann have both been listed for positive influence.
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While we (in India) continue to treat poop (and the related activities that fall under gut health) as something of a joke in pop culture and advertising (the Kayam Churan, antacid variety), it is heartening to see ads that celebrate the entire poo-related activity as a very crucial part of our everyday lives (which it most definitely is!). Of course, in marketing, such celebration is done in service of selling a related product, like toilet paper rolls (we Indians have a far superior alternative in the 'health faucet' or, simply, the bum shower, but that's a different topic altogether) or probiotics (which, in India, isn't direct linked to gut health in advertising).
Take a look at the three ads below! 1/5
2/5 1. Garden of Life probiotics (agency: Humanaut). The ad normalizes phrases that are otherwise used as juvenile fun ('I just pooped', 'I went No.2 and it was great', etc.) and never in mainstream advertising anyway.
3/5 2. Cushelle toilet paper rolls (agency: Publicis London). The ad frames pooping as 'selfishly you time'. This is intimately accurate given the number of people who pick up their phone or a favorite book into the loo. The ad features Cushelle's brand mascot, Kenny. This new ad is the first time he's given a speaking part in 14 years.
1. "Our FM says that it shouldn’t be assumed that those visited by the ED bought bonds to save themselves. Isn't that valid?"
A: Indeed. But there are enough examples of raids and subsequent bond purchases, sometimes within days of the raids. Clearly, those should count for something, right?
2: "Yes, but the correlation is only an assumption, no?"
A: Yes. But remember that the assumption is not merely about protection from raids. It is also about quid pro quo, that is, bond purchasers getting plum Government contracts. In those cases, there is no ED/CBI/I-T role - it's just money deposited, and lucrative Govt. tenders won.
"A significantly large number of donors are from sectors that are more tightly controlled, more regulated by the government... where clearances and licences are required, and where contracts are awarded by governments".
3: "Oh, c'mon! At least BJP is investing big in infrastructure that way, no? Sure, they may be making some money for the party in the process but we Indians are getting so much new infrastructure".
A: So, there is a possibility that BJP is corrupt and did make money?
Apple's new ad for the iPhone 14 Pro—shot in Istanbul's (Türkiye) historic Grand Bazaar—is interesting for 5 reasons!
Reason 1: Terrific watch, with a frenetic pace perfectly suited to showcase the phone's video capabilities. 1/8
2/8 Reason 2: This is one of the few region-centric advertising from Apple. Beyond USA, Apple regularly does this for China, and has done something around the Brazilian Carnival. This is Apple's first ad set in and meant for Türkiye.
3/8 Reason 3: The choice of Türkiye! Because Türkiye is where the iPhone 14 Pro is the costliest to purchase, followed by, or tied with Brazil, as per the price-comparison website Nukeni ().bit.ly/applenukeni
Google Pixel's new 5-ads series 'Best Phones Forever' is perhaps the most enjoyable ad campaign I have seen this year (so far) 😁 It has almost everything in the right dose - humble brag, Pixel praising iPhone, iPhone praising itself, sarcasm, and a friendly competitive tone. 1/8
2/8 The whole thing is very reminiscent of Apple's 'I am a Mac. I am a PC' campaign by TBWA\Media Arts Lab that ran from 2006 to 2009, starring Justin Long as a Mac user and author John Hodgman as a PC user.
3/8 Of course, these are Pixel ads, so the Pixel wins in the end. But it is clear that the makers (looking for the agency that made these ads) had a lot of fun infusing all the tiny nuances and references in the script 🙂
Zomato's Father's Day '23 video makes for an entertaining watch given it is based on a fairly universal belief: fathers find it difficult to show their 'emotions'.
I LOL'd at 'Kitne ka?' and 'I love...' 🤣
But, I believe Zomato got the basic framing wrong in this film. 1/5
2/5 What they intended to communicate is that fathers, generally, struggle to *express love*. Fathers don't struggle to show 'emotion', because emotion is not just love. Emotions also include,
- laughter: fathers do crack jokes (dad jokes, anyone?) and laugh heartily.
3/5
- anger: no introduction needed for this emotion :)
- sadness: imagine any Indian movie that shows a wedding scene and just look at the father of the bride!
- excitement: imagine how fathers enjoy good food, their kind of music, etc.
... among others.
Bajaj Finserv MD's quip that they'd make a provision on their website to not be disturbedis actually followed by, "but then make sure you never come back to us for our products and services".
Seriously?
Bajaj Finserv is not doing a favor to people by spam-calling them. 1/5
2/5 It's called an "UNSOLICITED" call for a reason.
Meaning: a call that was not initiated by the user. Or, a call by the vendor in the desperate hope that someone, out of the many random calls they place, would listen to them and buy their services.
3/5 If Bajaj Finserv's services were really attractive or impressive, people would be calling them on their own - this is 'pull marketing'.
But the market is full of products that are as good as, if not better than what Bajaj offers - so, Bajaj 'pushes' its spam calls on people.