Invisible Much?

Where has Pepsi gone? They’ve just disappeared. Post the ‘Change The Game’ campaign they undertook in April for the Cricket World Cup, I haven’t seen anything new. And they haven’t reacted to what Coke has done- it’s dropped its prices by 2 rupees just ahead of the scorching summer. And Pepsi still remains quiet which leaves me wondering if this is just the lull before the storm…

Brand Equity came out with its list of ‘India’s Most Exciting Youth Brands’ and surprise surprise Coco Cola trumps Pepsi. Now a company that once used the line ‘Yeh hai youngistaan, meri jaan’ and played only to the youth, seriously needs to do some reworking and rethinking, if it’s biggest competitor is upping it in youth popularity polls.

Ironically enough, Pepsi was the first brand ever, to associate itself with its consumers, saying 'Live in the Pepsi Generation' in the 70s. In India, Ranbir Kapoor was the celebrity endorser for the brand and given that Rockstar has been declared a hit with critics and masses, it is strange that there is no campaign featuring him. Pepsi’s last campaign, ‘Change the Game’ was largely targeted at the youth again because it used cricketers like Dhoni, Raina, Kohli and the others. Contrastingly Coke has used Imran Khan, who some might say doesn’t rank as high in youth popularity polls as RK. The new Coke ad, for the new year only features the spirit of happiness, a sentimental concept and a catchy hopeful song.

Given all of that, it is surprising that Pepsi is still keeping a low front.
I know ‘Hindu-TOI’ are the new Pepsi-Coke, but I really miss the days of the cola wars! ('Nothing Official About It' is one of the most epic lines ever!)

On a happier note, the big guys in Telecom are simply making my week.
Love Vodafone’s newest ad featuring the pug again, despite the fact that I hate the pug. Its simplicity of thought is what I like best and of course being the sappy romantic I am, I love the line – “Just you, just me. I think that’s all we need” And Airtel- with your new promotional campaign, “talk to us one-to-one” you leave me grinning, because that is just such a smart idea!

Two Much

A big thank you to my lovely Zoya, who has to put up with me and my stupid opinions, and to the infuriating Karan, who after so many debates, finally has a surname. TUCS would be nothing without your delightful chemistry, and you two make me want to write your story. And you make not really having a life somehow worth it.

To K3G (and the amazing SRK entrance scene) for being on TV every Sunday afternoon- it's just what I need to get into my writing mood.

To Alan Bennett because Chronology really is a deterrent. (And such a bitch!)

And to everyone out there who still remembers what TUCS is, you guys are the best! Thank you for putting up with me =)

It's been two years and I know I need to forget the world and just sit down and get it all out of me. And I will.
Soon. 

If I get to Goa that is.

Waking Up!

Talk about being original! :)

The DNA ad came out in August 2011.
And The Hindu ad - January 2012

And all I have to say for The Hindu-

If TOI is below your class, stop chasing its readers. Hey, maybe we want to know what Hrithik's petname is and whether Abhi-Ash had a baby boy or girl. I for one do.
Because maybe sometimes you're fed up of the miserable reality the world has to offer with corruption, rape, wars and a never ending economic crisis being daily items on the menu. So maybe we want to read something fun and inane. And yes, I LOVE the advertisements, especially seeing the first entire page ones.
And dear Hindu, if you do decide to indulge in an ad war with the newspaper that happens to be the largest circulated English language newspaper across all formats in the world (the TOI), at least find an original concept. And better actors. Really.
Also, for a newspaper that claims to be 'above the rest' because 'oh my god we are SO goddamn intellectual' how are you selling your soul? The Hindu's front page today (as I was informed by a Hindu reader who coincidentally had a very difficult time staying awake today) had a full page Vodafone ad- the same as on the TOI.
Perhaps the end of the world really is near, because copying the DNA ad wasn't enough, The Hindu is now adopting TOI policies too? My, my I never thought I'd live to see this day!
Must be a result of "waking up" and a restructuring of their top level management.

Make it Work

"You think yours is the one that's going to make it" 

                  - Grey's Anatomy

Well obviously you do. You always want it to work out, you want that happily-ever-after. You always do.

But how on earth do you make it work?

Communication.

That’s all it really comes down to, doesn’t it?

For it to work, you have to say things out loud. Because no matter how similar or dissimilar two people are, or how long they’ve known each other, no one can read minds. So irrespective of how harsh, hurtful or selfish it sounds in your mind, you have to find the courage from somewhere inside you, and say what you want as simply as you possibly can to the one that matters. It’s the only way.

But sometimes saying things out loud can hurt you, it can end relationships because words once spoken can’t be taken back. So a statement said to spite someone, something hurriedly uttered in anger or a sarcastic jibe can just spell doom.

So what then?

How do we know when to say and when not to? How do we know what the right thing to say is? How can we possibly know?

So at the end of the day, life comes down to this gamble? This matter of chance and luck, that what you say won’t hurt the other person? That the two of you won’t be selfish and mad on the same day? That one of you will have the good sense to step back and stay silent?

How does it work?

Perceptual Blocking

In Marketing, its defined as the everyday noise that our mind automatically shuts out, because if we processed every single thing that was happening around us, we'd lose it. (And that's really an understatement)

You don't notice every single advertisement in the newspaper, you miss a few signboards and some people while you're driving, you don't register what every single person is wearing or doing in a shopping mall, simply because its too much.

And so, your mind knows when to filter and what to block. And it does this without you having to point it out, or remind it to do so.

If only we could do that consciously too.

(Now in Marketing, when you do that, you're protecting yourself from things you don't want to hear or see and its Perceptual Defence. Like for instance, a smoker ignoring the anti-smoking commercials. But I'm not talking about that.)

If only we could make our wicked brain shut up for a while, and consciously choose to ignore the small things about all the people we care about - life would be so much easier. And happier.

Who cares about whether or not he opens the door for you, or if she's texted you before she's tweeted good morning to the rest of the world? Why would you keep a count of which of your friends called you at midnight on your birthday? Why does it matter if someone never makes the first move, takes the first step? Why do we have to remember the small flaws we all have? Why do we have to be so petty?

Why can't we block all of that crap out and just remember that these people matter, irrespective of their flaws and habits. Because no one can makes us happy, the way they do. 

Escape It All

"The roar of the sea, that thunderous sound the waves make~ for some reason I find that calming. Their strife, the way they crash, the power they possess to swoop over everything, destroy everything that lies in their path- I find absurdly peaceful. I could sit on the beach all day, doing absolutely nothing, because I cannot stop looking. Listening to the waves- it’s probably the best way to put me to sleep. 

Goa is picturesque in a way that’s hard to explain. Every step, every turn we take, every corner leads us to a house that simply tells a tale, that narrates the most beautiful story so vivid, so surreal so dramatic and yet so subtly simple, so simply subtle. 
There’s so much history, so much to learn and so much to feel. Goa is vibrant, colorful, and just all over the place. It’s simply festive. You can’t be here and NOT want to jump around. And then you go to the beach and serenity just takes over.

It’s like you’ve found contentment, or actually achieved self-actualization. And in a way I suppose it’s like being high. Because your mind starts to numb, your thoughts turn hazy, and you stop worrying about every single thing that happens to be wrong with the world and just sit around like an idiot smiling to yourself. Goa makes you forget your worries.
(Don't even get me started on the food, I won't stop. Sigh.)

It smells different, not the salt-sweat-sea-fish smell that I’m so used to. It’s nothing like Bombay. Nothing.
The humidity here even feels different from the humidity I know. It for some reason reminds me of Kerela. I don’t quite know why. There’s a part of me that’s scared, terrified even that I won’t like Bombay now. Because Bombay has no space for laziness, slowness, tranquility and stopping to think. Bombay is always in this mad rush, this hurry to get to the next step, the next place even though no one in the world has a clue of what the next step is, or where we’re supposed to go the next second.
But Goa, Goa is where you can take your time, pause to not smell the roses but rather to sniff the air and decide if you want to call this feeling contentment or tranquility.
As for what I’m calling it~ I don’t know, I haven’t quite decided yet. 

So excuse me for a bit, I must go continue sniffing the air :)"


~ And THIS is why I wish I could be back there. Now. 

Another Dream To Chase

For a while now I have been trying to sum up what I have on my mind and I haven't been able to and that is only mildly annoying.
Life is strange and I know I have said that SO many times and it's stupid that it still surprises me this much, but you can't quite sit down and accept the fact that life will be strange right?
Cause even when you do, it just finds this whole new level of being strange. And so you're back to square one, and surprised.
I had this perpetual  trademark patented statement that I'd make, literally every single day, and on several occasions more than once a day, and now, now that I don't have to say it anymore, I'm not grateful. Now, I wish I could say it.
And that's just the thing right? The grass will always seem to be greener on the other side? We will always want to get back what we lost or gave up on, and contentment, how long can contentment last before you just give up and get fed up?
On another note, the problem with Plan A working out is that you have to give up Plan B, and I do not like that. Not one bit. I want it all to work out, and I want it to work exactly the way I want it.
And that never really happens, does it?