An Ad Mad World

I’ve always found advertisements fascinating. My earliest memory of an ad goes back to the "Nirma" days, when young housewives in starched saris provided answers to household problems. If it wasn’t the perfect detergent, it was the ideal cooking oil. Occasionally, you saw the man worrying over insurance. But over a period of years, there came changes. Women weren’t only confined to fancy kitchens. Men found their way in just as easily as women had found their way into company board meetings. Youngsters jumped, played and had a good time, but then the old weren’t far behind. Cadburys brought together old men who were engaged in an exciting game of football, while a rather smart and fun-loving Dadi spoke to millions about the benefits of "Ayurvedic Concepts." From watching ads on insurance, cooking oil and washing powder, we were introduced to a whole New World that consisted of soft drinks, chocolates, condoms, coffee/tea, mattresses, televisions and masala powder. What would we do without advertising?

Advertising helped in the process of buying and selling of goods, services and ideas. Information was packaged with a catchy jingle, an interesting and sometimes credible plot, and familiar faces. But then some brands also looked upon ads to ruin the reputation of other brands. And this brings us to one of my favorite ads, the Pepsi ad that starred MTV prodigy Cyrus Broacha is a double role.

Cyrus is his mother’s (also Cyrus) pet. Wearing odd clothes and a funny hairdo, he runs to his proud mother for another spoon of "Grow Up" tonic. The effects of this tonic: he politely refers to all women as "sister" and appears mentally retarded. Mother Cyrus is of course pleased, till little Cyrus comes across a bottle of Pepsi. A sip later, he is transformed into a cool youngster who zooms away in a trendy car full of happening people. Mother Cyrus is left behind, her screams drowned by the surprise entry of Amrish Puri. Wearing a T-shirt that reads "18 till I die," he leaves after calling Mother Cyrus "Auntie." This silly ad is a favorite as it came in reply to the Thums Up ad.

Though Thums Up enjoys much loyalty in many places, it had resorted to belittling Pepsi (though not directly) in its ads. Macho man Salman Khan performed the task of telling people to grow up if they were drinking Pepsi. Jokes were made about how children would like the other drink (obviously Pepsi) as it was sweet. Thums Up was apparently strong and ideal for the mature.

I of course was oblivious to both "Yeh dil maange more" and "The Taste of Thunder." The drink for me was "Coca Cola enjoy."

Humour plays and important role in many ads, though most ads continue to make use of the viewer’s emotion. No one tires of using the same old story of a father bidding farewell to his just married daughter. Also, for lack of creativity perhaps, ads continued to make use of clichés. The woman in today’s world was working, but then she was also responsible for the kids and her husband. Holding on to a rather impressive file, she’d speak about how she makes no compromises when it comes to her family’s health (hence the cooking oil that the ad is about). Most men however continue to enjoy the privilege of staring into newspapers, while a few make coffee and tea to pamper irritated wives. Of course the Ariel man also washes his son’s dirty clothes. (I won’t waste time on those cigarette smoking dudes who jump from hill tops to rescue their damsels in distress.)

Then there are those ads that promise different kinds of white: Rin safedi, Tide, Henko, blah blah. Of course washing powder can’t be sold if its power isn’t highlighted. But who are these people trying to fool when they show dark theatres full of people, where only one is visible, because of his fluorescent white shirt? But then we aren’t looking for logic always. And the popularity of the Fevicol ads prove this. A man dances across and when he reaches a Fevicol ad, his shadow gets stuck, "Aakhir yeh Fevicol ka mazbooth jod hai, tootega nahin!"

Our lives are practically incomplete without these ads. My little cousin loves saying "I don’t care" (courtesy a soap ad) and she sings "Hamara Bajaj" everytime she sees a scooter. Some of these ads we love and some we detest. But we can’t deny the fact that these ads have become part of our lives. And this to the extent that someone actually got away with an ad that showed "white" faces that was supposedly an aftereffect of using a beauty cream! Anyway, I am off to watch TV - wonder which ad is playing now!