Year: 2008

  • Add Sense

    Read a very nice article today on rediff, about Google’s nine innovation rules. Coming from Marissa Mayer, VP of search products and user experience, it underlines why Google’s offering always strike a chord with the audience. While I’m one of those who’re becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Google and its (non) privacy, and its journey away from ” Don’t be evil”, it still manages to get my attention, inspite of all the old enemies (eg. Yahoo with Flickr, del.icio.us, Answers etc)and new upstarts (eg.Facebook) at various boundaries of its kingdom.

    More than random preaching on innovative practices one hears during sermons, she manages to link innovation to simple philosophies that should ideally be practised by all workplaces which consider itself to be ‘innovation practitioners’. The 20% time for pet projects, the sharing network between employees, the treatment of data as apolitical, the idea generation processes all speak of a system which thrives on experimenting and trying out new things, and that, i guess is the reason why Google has reached where it is in such a small timeframe.

    Meanwhile, i was also influenced by the very first principle, ‘innovation, not instant perfection’. Its a difficult lesson to learn, especially for perfectionists (and wannabes 🙂 ), but it just might be a better way in the long run.

    until next time, go ogle

  • For reasons unexplained

    She called first. Then many like her. He hung up rudely. They kept calling, forcing him to ponder. Maybe they called for a reason, maybe they’d data on him, maybe they knew something he didn’t. So, when she called next, he asked earnestly ‘Why do I need a personal loan’. This time she hung up.

    until next time, call waiting

  • Kkyunki Everyone is Doing It

    So if I’m a good brand manager, I should be doing a viral too, that seems to be the rationale behind virals these days. I’d written about it a few days back.

    What provoked this post was the latest viral from (nah, you go see it and come back, then we’ll talk). Ok, lazybones, i know you didnt click, now how is the damn viral supposed to work if you don’t!!!

    Anyway, Bingo and i share a dislike for the same thing, the thing which has joined the elite club that until now only had Bollywood and Cricket – Balaji Productions. I got to know of this viral through a mail from Ekta Kopper with a subject line ‘Kyunki is Bache ka Baap kaun hai”. And before you do my character assassination mentally, I dont like oats, wild or otherwise. But it was still a neat hook 🙂

    And thus it was that i landed up at this c2w creation, which is a spoof on any of the gazillion soaps from Ek Tha Kapoor, complete with a five digit episode number, bahus and a tulsi lookalike. (damn, i let it slip that i watch the soaps :|) . The good part is that the spoof is done well, and the funda of the flavor (achaari masti) has a synergy with that of the TVC – i.e. best way to confirm pregnancy, but…..

    It has a predictable ending albeit a cute one, but more importantly, does it make the viral cut? Only time will tell. I admit its way more VFM than shooting a 30 lakh TVC, but then they’re doing a TVC anyway. Meanwhile, full marks to the Bingo guys for trying. Even their ‘Mad Angles’ TVCs actually broke the clutter, me thinks. Also, they’re genuine in their web efforts (this was an earlier one- http://www.bingeonbingo.com/login/login.asp)

    until next time, what’s the programme now? 😉

  • Coke and Bull

    At the risk of being questioned about what i had for breakfast or about my recent smoking habits, i have decided to post this absurdity.

    Saw the new Coke ad yesterday featuring HR (no, not the unfriendly department kind or the topi kind, but the Roshan kind). According to agencyfaqs, research stated that a lot of youngsters, after their regular nightlife go to street food joints, thats true for most cities, and since coke goes with most food, that right there, was the thought behind the ad. Fair enough. The line now is ‘Jashn mana le’ as opposed to ‘Piyo Sir, Uthake’ (er, something like that).

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    Meanwhile thats not the absurdity i was talking about. Since HR and Ash are both citizens of Cokistan, how much fun would it be to do an MTV style spoof on the song ‘Jashn -e-bahaar’ from Joe Tha Akbar (copy error, ignore), with a video to match, and use it as a brand ad for Coke?

    For those who have concluded that I’ve lost it, wonder what you’d have thought if i shared the other idea that also involved Celina Jaitley, the brand ambassador for Jashn, an ethnic Indian wear brand.

    until next time, I’ve not been on coke!!

  • Twitter

    He: Sigh, we have company

    She: I hope they don’t create problems for us

    He: yeah, we had trouble the last time

    She: I’m telling you, I won’t tolerate any shit

    And they flew off, leaving me and D to wonder if we’ll be looking at pigeon shit in the clothes we left for drying.

    until next time, pigeons!!!