• 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!!!

  • Virginity

    In this great land where virginity does command a premium, Richard Branson does a tango with Tata Teleservices to offer Virgin mobile to the ever growing Indian mobile subscriber population. The mechanics of the partnership has been explained quite well here. For the lazybums, Virgin is globally a MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) i.e. it buys spectrum time from operators and then sells it under its own brand name. Thats not allowed in India, so Branson said Tata. Its good for Tata Indicom because even with  (or should i say specially because of) Kajol aunty, the youth haven’t quite taken to Chindicom.

    Virgin has launched with a dhamaka offer of paying 10p/minute to the customer for the incoming call, which can be used to avail of other Virgin services. Many publications here had a frontpage takeover with a red ‘Zara Hatke’. An offer, they say, will make the competition see red. Me thinks maybe those Eveready guys should get into OEM services for Virgin batteries. Gimme red? 😉

    Now that we have the facts out of the way, lets get back to the scope of the blog. The weekend also saw a liberal splashing of the new TVC. Though it reminded me of an old forward, it was done extremely well, and was definitely ‘zara hatke’. It had spunk, a positioning that steered well clear of the regular mobile service provider brand ads and an execution that will easily grab eyeballs. Can’t seem to find the TVC anywhere, so lemme know in case you guys suddenly discover it on you tube or someplace else. They’ve also (in association with Channel V) shot the short movie Andaaz Apna Very Hatke. If you are a Neha Dhupia fan, you can read about her special appearance in it here. Branson and Dhupia almost got themselves a Richard Gere-Shilpa Shetty there.

    While the Indian mobile market is already in a highly developed state in terms of at least number of players, i think there’s still room left for clever positioning and lots of ground to cover on services being offered. Virgin Mobile interests me because of two of its other partnerships in India

    · a minority stake in Fever 104 FM (with HT in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai). At this point only Big has entities in these two hot but diverse entertainment platforms. This is tiny in comparison, but i think, relevant.

    · the venture with Studio 18 and UTV Software in publishing, TV, gaming and film. The potential of the last two items on a mobile platform is phenomenal.

    If they are able to evolve some kind of synergy on multiple platforms, we’d have some really fun Virgin services.

    until next time, lets talk about virgin territories 🙂

  • Mocha

    The Koramangala version, since the Lavelle road version was highly recommended, but a bit too far from the current residence. To get there, just turn left from Forum on Hosur Road (when coming from MG Road) and you’ll find it on the left. Alterantively, turn right on the intermediate ring road (from Indiranagar) at Sony World and then take a left before the Games village. You’ll then find it on the right.

    We got there by around 7.45 and it was a bit crowded. We found a place upstairs (its not covered, so it might be a problem during the rains, but at this time of the year, is absolutely the perfect place to be). We went prepared for a very ‘snacks’ sort of dinner, so the place didnt disappoint. We ordered a Crepes Monte Cristo (I loved the character) which is chicken based, and the Non Veg Club Wrap (its everything thats ‘animal and eatable’ based :)). Aaaand we ordered a Black Forrest shake. Its the stuff fantasies are made off. And it was a difficult choice given the range of stuff they’ve got in that category. The food was quite good, bot don’t have the wrap if you don’t like gherkins.  The quantity is sufficient so long as you have a drink like the one above to fill the extra space 🙂

    Lets not forget the plethora of shishas that you can puff away if you’re the kind who like hookahs. (pun slightly intended) No, there’s nothing such as a free hookah, but hey, its an experience you know. And now, we come to the finale. We were so stuffed that we just couldn’t find it in our stomach (in our hearts, yes) to have dessert. So we did the next best thing, packed a Chocolate Avalanche Sr. Now this, you must understand, was arrived at after some three gruelling rounds of elimination, each one rivalling those reality shows in terms of grief and heartburn caused when a contestant bows out. If you’re on a diet, you really don’t belong here.

    Mocha’s ambience is more of a philosophy than decor. Its soothing, refreshing and very laid back. And I’m not punning on the lounge chairs they have. I heard a couple of people expressing discomfort at those, but i was a happy man. All the furniture has been apparently picked up from flea markets, though i saw something that i thought i ogled at once in Westside. I think i also saw a Sintex tank used as a table, but hell, its a really groovy place. Also, they say if you particularly like a piece, you can buy it.

    All of the above cost us a bit over Rs.700. So, will I be back? Most definitely, because its an experience, and as the Mocha philosophy goes, ‘Life can wait’. But hey, i can’t, not for those chocolates.

    577, 80 Feet Road , Koramangala 8th Block. 9886750549

    http://www.mocha.co.in/

    Menu and photos at Zomato