Why are B-Grade and C-Grade toilet soaps being promoted by Shah Rukh Khan and India's leading actresses? I'm referring to Lux and Lifebuoy.

Find that hard to believe? Just take a look at the soap packs. They themselves call it 'Grade 3' and 'Grade 2', as per the TFM content (Total Fatty Matter) as defined by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Ministry of Consumer Affairs. 1/5


2/5 As per BIS, Grade 1 soaps should have TFM 76% or above. Higher the TFM quantity in the soap, better is its quality

Lux's TFM content is 65-70% making it 'Grade 3' (at 65%) and 'Grade 2' (at 70%)! And this is being peddled by Shah Rukh Khan himself, along with top Indian film actresses!

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.

A BJP devotee's Electoral Bonds counter Q&A:

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".

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.

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.

See: https://t.co/d7ABB4ZILpbit.ly/thenmac-nowpc

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.

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.

During my last full-time employment that involved driving 1.5-2 hours, one-way, in Bengaluru's bumper-to-bumper traffic, on many days, I considered stopping my car in the middle of the road and just running away somewhere.

To see this dude do just that feels cathartic :) 1/4 2/4 But the ad's makers (agency: Broken Heart Love Affair) have more than just that 'running away' story.

At 1:05, there's a mystery - the dude finds that there's someone else near that bonfire! So he chases the other person.

The new ad for Volkswagen Touareg's Park Assist Pro feature is a fantastic demonstration of how advertising really works :)

What we see, as viewers, is a charming story (agency: DDB Voltage) told from the perspective of a dry-cleaning store that has nothing to do with 1/5 2/5 VW or its parking-related feature. What we end up seeing is how the dry cleaners get business due to the tight parking spot opposite their store. It's typically European whimsical sensibility, and the improbable scenario plays out wonderfully, to amuse and entertain us.

Usually, I'm a big fan of Zomato's marketing, mostly done in-house. But their new ad film, made for World Environment Day, made for an uncomfortable watch, at least for me - your mileage may vary.
I understand the intent: to use the 'Kachra' character from Lagaan for his name 1/5 2/5 and signify that as 'waste—denoted by kachra, in meaning, and by Kachra, the character—being recycled'.
But there's a context to Kachra's character in Lagaan, and within the larger spectrum of commercial entertainment in India.

Oh wow, this is an outstanding pitch by Stella, the Australian insurance company that bills itself as, "unapologetically for women". The ad agency, Cocogun, totally gets the brand's need to position itself as 'female-focused' and the narrative perfectly frames that thought 1/5 2/5 with top-notch writing.

Stella's website says, "Stella wants to reimagine insurance processes, products and purpose that reflect women’s perspectives and needs".

The FAQs, however, helpfully include this:

"Is Stella for women only?
We are a female-focused brand with

2 recent ads that use the same theme of role reversal between a child and a parent (grandparent, in one case) - Fenesta and McDonald's.

Fenesta's ad was written and directed by Titus Upputuru and uses the window as the connecting thread to showcase the evolving relationship 1/6 2/6 between a father and his daughter. Usually, waiting for a loved one is also associated with doors, but the writing cleverly focuses on windows, given this film is to mark the 20 years of Fenesta in India. The role reversal, in the end, is on predictably heartwarming lines.

Good that he brought the VM angle, but the snake-tongued politician in him obfuscates other things shamefully in support of BJP:
1. Delhi Police DID NOT file FIR. It was SC's questioning that forced them to.
2. This case involves POCSO that mandates arrest.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1663110057352114177

It's a stupendous irony that the party that invokes Hinduism, dharma, and righteousness, is the one that goes all the way to protect a alleged sexual predator and it is disgusting to see the all-round support he gets across the party, across the country.

This new ad (agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin) almost feels like a crunched 2-minute version of a 4-episode Netflix thriller, but let me now spoil it for you by revealing the client's name (dead giveaway). The twist, in the end, is perfectly in service of the client's message 1/3 2/3 and is something that I rigorously adhere to, personally, even though I find it dismaying that many people find ways to sidestep/overlook this crucial point and do what they want. All I can say is that it's just not worth it.

A brutal satire using actual remarks made during a globally renowned fast food giant’s 2022 annual general meeting forms the basis of the new ad for Fennel, a mobile investing app. The statements are highly exaggerated (agency: 10 days) in terms of how they are uttered, 1/5 2/5 almost to the point of being a caricature, but in the context of what is being said, it produces the necessary reaction!

The ad was also timed to release a week before the unspecified fast food company held its next annual general meeting... on May 25, 2023. That's a dead

We ordered iD dosa batter on BBNow yesterday evening (to have dosa for dinner). BigBasket sometimes adds a free sample of a product and yesterday they had given a free sample of something called 'Chutnefy' instant sambar! If BigBasket used the context of our ordering dosa 1/6 2/6 batter to offer this relevant free sample, full marks to them for the way they used data. The product itself was fantastic! I'm generally very skeptical about ready-to-make products that promise authentic 'Tamil Nadu' style considering I have grown up with the real deal

Pretty bold, taking on the dairy industry head-on!! Works quite well for the target audiences in US for whom climate responsibility could be an important criterion.
There are counterpoints to Oatly too, cataloged on the evocatively titled, 'F*ck Oatly' bit.ly/fckoatly 1/4 2/4 I cannot imagine a campaign like this by any non-dairy "milk" brand in India because that means it would be targeting BIG rivals like Amul, Aavin, Nandini, Milma, Mother Dairy, and the like. Not only would it require really big bucks (both for advertising and for legal

I stumbled on this interesting product in Coimbatore last week and I was equally amused and impressed with the idea.
Why amused? Because Vibuthi/Bhasmam is supposed to represent letting go of material things and remembering that the body will turn to ashes too one day. 1/7 2/7 And here we have the simplest form of penance to Lord Shiva represented in a paste form, presented in a tube! :)
Why impressed? Because the makers have clearly found that there is a need for such an invention too and delivered on that! (and demand from buyers, even if they

Most fresh chips stores in Bengaluru (called '<Some God's name> Hot Chips') sell 3 kinds of potato chips - salted, spicy, and the 3rd is ridged. But instead of calling it ridged, almost all the chips shop owners call them 'Lays'! 1/4 2/4 I found this 'ridged' potato chips variant in Shree Anandhaas and was pleasantly surprised at how they have named the variant :) Perhaps knowing that calling it 'Lays' on the pack would attract the wrong kind of attention from PepsiCo India, they have called it 'Laze' 🤭

Two once-celebrated brands aiming for a revival!

Air India gets a brand revival as the result of the decision to drop the newer Vistara brand, while Nokia is aiming for a revival on its own, away from its B2C heydays to a new one in the B2B space. 1/6 2/6 Air India's case is interesting. The brand, currently, has a relatively poorer perception and image, while Vistara enjoys a far superior perception - that of a classy, 'better' service brand. And yet, Air India is the chosen brand because of its global potential - it has the

I have always been using the Google Clock app on all my smartphones. Even if I get a new phone (like the OnePlus 10 Pro I am using now, which I bought in September 2022), I usually ignore the default Clock app, and install the Google Clock app. I had assumed all clock apps 1/8 2/8 to be quite similar and simply preferred the Google Clock app for no specific reason.
Yesterday, I consciously, and gladly, set the OnePlus Clock app as my default :)
Here's what happened.
I wake up at 5:30 am on weekday mornings, and my wife wakes up next so that we can