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Sunday Schmooze // When going for gold has no silver lining

Sun 18 Oct 2020    
EcoBalance
| 3 min read

In the 1990s, when I graduated and was contemplating career choices, I had two options I could explore armed with an English Honours degree: advertising and journalism.

Both were (allegedly) meant for those with a flair for writing, and I was made to believe I was in possession of that trait. Family members kept repeating: “Hopefully you’ll be able to string together a couple of comprehensible sentences in English.”

Advertising was struck out by my father; he felt those employed in the sector — the “creative” writers and visualisers — led lives that were unconventional. Late nights. Drinking. Smoking. Partying. Swearing. Complicated love lives.

I mean, look at them, they’re out-of-control!

“Too bohemian for you,” he said sternly, before handing me a newspaper cutting of an advertisement for trainee copy-editors in an English magazine. I went on to apply for that job — and snagged it.

The rest may be history, but advertising remained with me like a holy grail whose golden fleece I had to shrug off.

Soon, I acquired friends from within the advertising fraternity. They were the smartest, coolest people I had ever come across.

Little wonder their ilk came up with lines like “Taste the thunder”, “Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride”, “Whenever you think of colour, think of us” and “We also make steel” right up to the ‘Hinglish’ offerings of “Yehi hain right choice, baby” and “Thanda matlab Coca-Cola”.

Indian electronics brand — Onida — changes its line over the decades. [Image: NicheIIMA]

Yes, there were “controversies.” Like the one stoked by a Tuff (shoes) campaign, where the luscious pair of in-the-raw Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre made moral gatekeepers scramble for cover and call for a ban.

In my mind, the best days of Indian advertising were rounded up around the turn of the millennium — and it’ll probably remain that way unless a renaissance of sorts is ushered in.

These days, I’ve stopped watching ads altogether, and press the ‘skip ad’ button whenever I can. But a few days ago, I read on Twitter that a new Tanishq (a gold jewellery brand owned by Tata) TVC has been airbrushed into a huge controversy, leading to its retraction and a statement (read: an apology) brought out by Tata.

So I watched the “retracted” ad on YouTube to get a fix on the matter. Turns out a pregnant woman being accorded an Hindu-ised version of a baby shower by her Muslim mother-in-law has everyone’s polarised knickers in a twist — and, of course, by “everyone”, I mean social media vanguards.

Indian jewellery brand, Tanishq, promotes ‘oneness’ between communities — gets shunned

I asked a friend who used to be an advertising dude in the 90s (and is now semi-retired) for his opinion. “I only saw a very tedious and badly-made advert,” he said. “Have really no idea why a communal angle is being sniffed out… I mean, what is communal about being secular?”

My thoughts precisely. A simpering daughter-in-law, a gratuitous mother-in-law, and then the bottom line: gold jewellery (very nice sets, Tanishq actually comes out with stunning designs) being gifted in an eminently expendable ceremony at a time when many people are starving, having been rendered jobless due to the pandemic.

Bad advertising. That’s all.


Disclaimer: All views and opinions expressed in The Brew View – our opinion section – are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TheBrew.ae, the company, or any of its members.


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