On making movies out of books

November 30th, 2005 • 2 comments To be filed

C.S Lewis’s, The Narnia Chronicles- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,  releases next week. This film holds mass expectations. Although the Narnia Chronicles were not as famous as The Lord of the Rings, the series has its own share of devotees.
The Chronicles were on my "to read" list for so long that I was compelled to buy the book today so I could read it before watching the movie.

I visited the local Barnes and Noble today and saw the Narnia displays. The hard-cover, the soft-cover, the paperbacks, the little versions, the audio versions, the big, fat, golden paged versions, books with pictures of movie stills – every single kind. (Publishers and bookstores did this at the launch of Lord of the Rings and Harry potter too)

The sales of the Narnia books have actually shot up because of the upcoming movie. The President and Publisher of Harper Collins Children’s books, Susan Katz, said that they’ve lined up 25 movie tie-in editions. The box set that includes all the 7 books, was number 2 on NYtimes Children’s best-selling books.

I love it that such fantasy classics are made into movies. It encourages more people to read the books. However, there are those who prefer to watch just the movie – missing out on the worlds their imaginations may have created for them as they read the books.

When I watch movie adaptations, what I enjoy most is comparing notes – checking if the grandeur, the sets, the characters, the outdoors of the movie are anywhere close to my imagination. With Harry Potter – it met dead on. I hope it’s the case with Narnia as well.

Holiday Gift Guides

November 29th, 2005 • To be filed

With Christmas just a few weeks away, a bunch of holiday-gift guides have popped up making it the gift-giving process simpler and fun. Coolhunting’s Gift Guide is a snazzy -easy to navigate site featuring items starting at $10 to well above $500. The collection is eclectic and unique. My favorite piece here is the House of Cards set for $20 that features full-bleed photograhs on every single card of the deck. Each photograph is unique and beautiful!

Josh Spear has launched Soupe Du Jour at Charles & Marie – an innovative shopping site where a new product is featured every day and is available for shopping only for 24 hours. Today’s feature is the Osho ToothBrush. It sounds like a fun idea, but I don’t know how well it will work. We are so used to dealing with too many choices that no choices at all might confound us!

I’d rather buy gifts from these guides than the usual choices for two reasons:

1) the products featured here are simply outstanding and I’d want to be remembered as the great girl who gives great holiday gifts! (only I can’t afford anything right now. shhhh)

2) These sites act as editors, in a way, producing a refined list of gifts for everyone’s individual sensibilities.

Holiday Gift Guides like these are going to pop up more frequently in the future. Like me, if you can’t afford much right now– these sites also offer the added pleasure of just browsing through the choices!

Sushi Drives

November 29th, 2005 • 4 comments To be filed

These strange little sushi-like USB drives hold upto 1 GB of data. I’m not sure I find the idea of a piece of fish sticking out of my laptop appealing enough to try it on. But I guess there are more adventurous kinds out there!

Cereal Wars

November 29th, 2005 • To be filed

Cereality, the cereal bar and restaurant first served mixed cereals
in a tiny kiosk at the University of Arkanasas. The idea was a hit and
by 2004, they had bigger, better cereal bars in Chicago and in
Philadelphia.
Independant entrepreneurs are fast on catching on the
idea – Bowls, a cereal joint in Gainsville, Florida and The Cereal Bowl
in Miami are the newest to cash in on the cereal craze. Ahmad Choudhry’s The Cereal Cabinet is due out soon. 

Cereality is trying to patent it’s process of mixing cereals and has slapped the above-mentioned companies with legal notices – but
students at freeculture.org are not happy with Cereality’s idea of
patenting mixing cereals!

If you take the fancy terms apart, (read nomenclature involving the use of word "cereal" and the terms, bar, restaurant etc)  it is just a place that serves cereal and milk! An extension of your kitchen, how could someone patent a normal, routine process of mixing cereals?

As long as the patent is still pending, I expect more cereal bars to pop up. I don’t see anything wrong in people cashing on the idea – the best of them will still retain their orginality and reputation. The other’s will fizzle out or hang in there choosing to shut shop eventually.

The revival of Kate Moss

November 28th, 2005 • To be filed

Scandals change people’s life overnight. While an editor at a magazine got a book deal over being fired for having a blog, Kate Moss secured a contract with Virgin Mobile for getting caught sniffing cocaine.

If the teen-magazines hold any credibility, the youth are not particularly happy with Kate Moss’s fiasco. Chanel and H&M dropped her after her pictures were splashed all over mainstream media, blogs and the works. But Branson of Virgin Mobile thinks that the scandal has only enhanced her appeal.

Moss underwent an intense 30-day rehab program. Vrigin Mobile wants to give her a second chance and Burberry has also welcomed Kate Moss back.

At the risk of making generalizations- it is not uncommon or surprising to learn that Kate Moss was a drug addict. The fashion industry lifestyle often induces an affinity towards drugs.

What was great about the entire scandal that young teenagers learnt and saw the impact of using drugs straight up. Kate Moss’s immediate dismissal from the her clients, the media scorn and what it probably cost her professionally and personally is out there for everyone to see. She went into re-hab and has now regained the faith and support of new and old clients tells a lot about people- and how people who work for a second chance, are given one.

The youth have an excellent example here to absorb and learn from.

The Ipod generation- mobility, multiplicity and money

November 28th, 2005 • 2 comments To be filed

Today at lunch with three of my close friends we discussed out future plans. Surprisingly we had similar goals-

1) to live in a couple different cities. none of were buying the idea of one home, one career, one life. We wanted to live in multiple cities and have multiple homes. (Tokyo, San Fransisco, Sydney, London, New York, Bombay, Bangalore- were some of the recurring names)

2) to have multiple careers. we weren’t buying the idea of being an accountant or a physician or an editor or a software developer for the rest of our lives. We wanted more. we wanted to do several things – all at once or at intervals. open restuarants, start companies, write books, work for the United Nations…

3) to make $5M before we hit 40. we were allowed to retire and "live" our lives then.

These are not just the aspirations of four young people lunching at a Greek restauranton a lazy Sunday afternoon. These collectively represent the goals and dreams of our generation, or as I call it, the iPod generation. (20-40) We are all about mobilty, multiplicity and money. The 3M’s. We want mobile homes, mobile lives, multiple careers, and money. Enough of it to live a comfortable lifestyle.

Dogs shine in their new role as listeners

November 28th, 2005 • To be filed

For years, besides being companions, dogs have been trained to help the
blind, sniff for explosives and provide a soothing calm for hospital
patients. Now they’ve found a niche as listeners….

READ teams, (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) are helping little children develop better reading skills throughout the country. Participating schools allow kids who have difficult with reading and pronounciations to spend 30 mintues with one of the READ dogs.

Why dogs? Because they do not judge, do not laugh at mistakes and do not snigger or make stupid comments. Kids assume that the dogs are really listening and take an active interest in reading.

The article provides anecdotes of kids actually improving their reading skills after practicing with one of the trained dogs. I guess it helps to have a non-judgemental audience. (And an audience you get to play with after the session!) 

Customer Service, where it counts

November 28th, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

I was late by a day for one of my credit card payments this month. I never miss a payment. (Alteast not after I learnt the intricacies of credit history and it’s importance for my survival in this country) I was pissed off at myself for missing the payment, pissed off at my internet service provider for not functioning properly and pissed off for simply forgetting about the payment because of the holiday.

I called the company to explain my situation and see if they would take off the late-fee charge. And I guess it was my lucky day! After I explained that I had never missed a payment before and that I was a recent graduate trying to make ends meet– the company waived off my late-fee as a courtesy.

I was surprised. And happy! I later realized that I was happy not because of the few dollars I saved but for the service they gave me and because they really listened to me. It wasn’t exactly their problem or their fault that I missed my payment. But the fact that they listened, gaurantees them my business for many, many years.

There’s something I’ve learnt in my experiences with customer service on 1800 numbers- it’s all about luck. It all depends on the person on the other end who’s listening (or not) to my problem. There have been numerous episodes when I’ve called my phone company with a problem and I was shut out, spoken rudely to or was simply transferred from one center to another. And there have been equal number of times when I’ve met (thank god for those!) absolutly wonderful customer service people who have literally been on the phone with me for over an hour solving my questions.

And I wonder, why can’t a company just hire these type of people? But then again, what is this type of people. Is there even a particular "type" that fits this description?

People behind the 1800 lines represent the company- to me, they are just an extension of their brand. I am considering a new cell-phone carrier. And Cingular has already been eliminated as an option. The Atnt and Cingular merger is still so wrinkled that often the customer-service people don’t know what they are talking about and they transfer calls to the "orange" side and the "blue" side!  Says a lot about the new brand! I would never give my business to Cingular, atleast not untill they had these internal issues sorted.

Well, I’m happy today. Either the lady at my credit-card company had a really nice hari day or luck was just on my side!

A letter from Italy- Welcome Serena!

November 25th, 2005 • 2 comments Culture Briefings

Have you wondered if Italian teenagers wear Prada and Gucci? Have you wondered if most of them aspire to grow up to be world-class fashion designers? Well, I have. And now, I’ve got the answers!

Serena M., lives in Naples, Italy. She will soon turn 18 and this is her last year in high-school. An incredibly smart student, a brillaint athelte and a polygot (she speaks Italian, French and English- jealous?!) she claims to be an exception among the regular Italian teenagers and warns us to not attribute her own experiences and thoughts to the all Italian teenagers.

Serena will be joining StyleStation to share her experiences as a teenager in Italy. Although she is very busy attending her friend’s birthday parties (Like American’s celebrate their Sweet 16, Italians await their 18th) she promises to write her first letter soon.

Welcome to StyleStation, Serena!

By the way…

November 25th, 2005 • To be filed

The public will neither have time nor interest tp consider all of the options available to them- so the role of editor, both human and electronic, will increase in importance. Readers will expect more information to come at little or no cost.

- John Griffin, President of National Gepgraphic Society’s magazine group.

I guess that ties in well with the Information Overload dilemna?

FC’s Open Debate

November 25th, 2005 • To be filed

December’s Fast Company features buzzmachine.com blogger Jeff Jarvis (former editor) and John Griffin (President of Natl.Geographic Society’s magazine group) debating the future of print media.

Jarvis said, "Too many of the ideas trapped on paes end up, at best, in unused archives or, at worst in recyclers pulp, when they should be online- searchable, linkable, part of the conversation. ..Paper is too one-way for this two-way world."

Griffin made valid points as well, "The words and pictures in print or on a magazine’s Website become the basis of searching, linking, talking and randing for those with the time or inclination to do so.

Each has a valid point and is rightfully justified in their position. While I love the smell of paper, hot off the press and the feeling of holding a soft-cover book and the idyllic nature of flipping through a magazine – I prefer a mobile world where information is available to me when I want it and the way I want it. My preferences function to match my lifestyle. (Besides, a book, a magazine, a paper– is done when you are done with it. You are never done with the Web!)

Where do you stand on this debate? (Read the full text here.)

Black Friday is overrated

November 25th, 2005 • On my mind...

I am one of those who woke up at 7am in time for the grand sales. So Sue me. But heed my advice, it wasn’t worth it!

I’ve seen better sales AFTER Christmas than on the much hyped Black Friday. I can blame it on Media. But there are times when you have to step back and accept responsibility. And the truth is- Black Friday has become such a cultural icon that we consumers are willing to forgive the advertisers and the stores for not *really* giving us *the* deal!

I’m ofcourse tired, but inspite of my bickering and complaining, it was an enjoyable day. And I got to try the new Starbuck’s Christmas drinks (wink!)

Goth inspirations

November 25th, 2005 • To be filed

How well do you transform a piece of history into a commerical money-making mecca? You use lights, ofcourse!

This 15th century gothic church and monastery in Maastricht, Netherlands, which first served as an agricultural research station was more recently adapted into a rich-designer hotel to retain the buildings history and retain it’s aura.

The 50-rooms in this five star hotel have been designed by acclaimed architects. What’s most interesting about the hotel, is it’s strategic lighting. To both respect and preserve the history of the cathedral, lights have been used creatively and intelligently throughout the building.

The result is challenging, but at the same time it is a tribute to contemporary architecture and age-old architecture and construction: a complementary contrast between past and present. ( website)

An interesting intersection of design and history to create a beauty!

Ipod acessories

November 23rd, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

An add-on for Ipod shuffle turns it into a stylish accessory or a divinition symbol- your pick!

Promoting razors

November 23rd, 2005 • 2 comments Marketing/ Advertising

To promote its new battery powered razor, Gillete cut a deal with Singapore’s Today newspaper and had a strip of the front-page news "shaved off!"

Unique!

Information Overload

November 22nd, 2005 • 5 comments To be filed

Communication is transparent now. There is information spilling over from everywhere. Leaking, dripping and sometimes, just flooding our brains. Over at joshspear.com, they’ve launched four new fantastic blogs about food, fashion,design and lifestyle . It’s great work and I’m pleased. But I’m also tired. And exhausted. Because in my mind, instead of being thrilled at the prospect of browsing through these blogs, I’m actually sighing and saying to myself, "four more to look at? Oh no." I probably browse through close to 20 blogs/sites a day that cover the same topics. I am not questioning the authority or the originality of these sites– I’m questioning the time consumed looking for information everyday!

Every other day a new website, a new magazine or a new blog is launched claiming to be THE source for refined, edited information. How do you edit these? Why has information become available so freely? Is this a trend a fad or is this the future?

Eventually we return to the trusted few who we like and who we are comfortable with but that in itself is a problem as we are shunning out other point of views, other ideas and other tidbits of information scattered through the websites we choose to ignore. Either way, no one gains. The blogs/sites suffer because they cannot hold their viewer’s attention and we suffer because we end up concentrating on those sites we are most familiar and comfortable with.

Just a thought.

Blogs- the new recruitment tool.

November 21st, 2005 • 2 comments To be filed

I am a fresh graduate. And searching for a job takes up most of my time. On a job-hunt forum I came across a comment by Mack Collier of Beyond Madison Avenue. He advised a young job-seeker to start a blog and use his blog as a tool to hunt for jobs. Mack believes that blogs will soon be used as a tool by recrutiers and employers to screen potential employees. (I already know of a Literary agent who browses blogs as she searches for the next "it" writer! – Anastasia of Ypulse was spotted under the agent’s blog radar)

I immediately sent him an email thanking him for understanding how obsolete resumes are and for believing that blogs, are more powerful than credited. My blog hasn’t landed me any job offers yet- but it has introduced me to some amazing people who have helped and are helping me as I hunt for the perfect job.

While it’s not my resume, my blog is a facet of my pesonality that does not come across on a resume. (Needless to mention, it is also more entertaining and fun to look at than my resume!) Yes, I did start my blog with the hopes that it will land me a job- but at this point, I don’t really care. I’ve come to love what I do so much that even if it doesn’t fulfil the purpose it was created for, it is not going to make any difference.

In a world where blogs have been reputed to cause employees to lose their jobs, the circle will soon be complete as blogs lead to jobs.

Dyin’ in style!

November 21st, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

In Desperate Housewives, Gabriel is enraged when her husband Carlos, spends a fortune on building a shrine for his mother’s grave.Now only if she knew about these affordable designer coffins…..

Life Art, an Australian company, creates these fantastic art-inspiring coffins of bio-degradable material. The company sells them only through funeral homes right now, but these designer coffins have already caused quite a strin in the umm.. market?!

Somehow, these coffins manage to glamorize the idea of death. As Acland Brierty’s exclaims.. Now I an go out in style!

(Via Seth Godin)

Welcome to the Hipster Club

November 21st, 2005 • Culture Briefings

Will a club, specifically fabricated to attract the rebels and trendsetters of Tokyo, end up avoiding them?

Tokyo Hipster’s Club, a gigantic "antitecture" that includes three floors, a rooftop cafe and a bookstore is desgined to please the non-conforming senses of the Harajuku trendsetters of Tokyo.
It is the dream of every marketer/ fashion label/ new product innovator to please the Harajuku girls.

THC is being designed to work as "THE" place for these hipsters. With wall-high posters of Che Guevera, rock-themed coffee-table books and selection of cult fashion labels like Mai 68 (named after the student-uprising in May 1968 in France) — to me, it looks like a synthetic fabrication of a culture that exists only in the minds of the Harajuku teenagers.

I don’t really know how successful this endeavor will be, but if my gut feeling is right and if the Harajuku hipsters are as smart as I think they are, the THC will not be met with the welcoming anticipation they are probably expecting.

Meal Kitchens…

November 18th, 2005 • 3 comments To be filed

The word is that meal-ktichens are the new trend-in-town, mushrooming all over Chicago. Meant for busy house-wives, these kitchens enable women to cook a month’s worth of dinner in a two-hour session.

Priced anywhere between $80 to $312 for a dozen meals – magazines like Real Simple are resorting to meal-kitches to host their parties and dinners.

Reminds of of a better business-idea…that has been successfully accomplished in major cities in India. The dabbahwallas — literally translated as the tiffinboxmen. For a nominal monthly fee, office-workers can register with a local tiffin-box service and have lunch (sometimes even dinner) delivered to their cublicles at a set time! And the tiffin’s include a full traditional 3 to 4 course lunch! With a a tiny tub of desert, buttermilk and pickle!

USA -No 1 fashion producer

November 16th, 2005 • Culture Briefings

In October, Label Networks, a research and marketing company, released surprising results from  their annual European Youth Culture study.

3500 young adults (15-25) across UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain ranked USA as number one producer of fresh fashion trends.

Spain, France and Itlay had a unamious opinion about best fashion emerging from America. 54.8% of UK youth stongly asserted that the best fashion trends came from UK. However, the higher age groups believed that UK produced best trends and the younger age groups believed that USA produced best fashion trends.

mCheq- changing the way people shop

November 16th, 2005 • Culture Briefings

Airtel, a mobile phone service provider in India, announced the arrival of mCheq, that enables Airtel users to use their cell-phones as credit-cards.
Airtel plans to issue mCheq smart cards that will replace the currently used SIM cards for free. This service is offered in a tie-up with ICICI Bank and Visa.

Initially the mCheq service will only be used in upscale book-stores, malls and shops. With the mobile phone usage on a 80% increase every year, chances are this service will be successful.

Techno-Kids, the new “juvenlization of electronics.”

November 16th, 2005 • To be filed

I joke with my cousin and say that her daughter is a techo-baby. Why? Because this 9- month old  finds joy in messing with the TV remote, holding her dad’s cell phone and typing on her mom’s laptop.

Jim Silver, edtior of a toy trade publication would agree with me. "There’s a shift in need in terms of what a child finds fun and entertaiing." He believes it has a lot to do witht he computer age.

When I was born, my parents were satisifed documenting my growth on a simple point-and-shoot Konica camera. They bought a digital camera, only recently, for my graduation. When my neice was born, she saw a cam-corder zooming on her little face urging her to open her eyes. She poses everyday for her growing-up album – on a digital camera. She gurgles and cooes on a PDA/Cell-phone/camera so that her grandparents in India can hear her and look at her!

My mother would rock me with her hands and people in my family took turns to rock my cradle. There’s something about the movement that’s so peaceful. My cousin only has to press a switch and the cradle rocks on its own!

My neice, is growing up in a different age and time!

… so I’m not really surprised that sales of toys in America is actually 5% down from last year. Kids are done with Lego sets, Barbie dolls and minature GiJo figures. They want tiny portable laptops, fun cam-corders, X-boxes and real but fun cell-phones.

This year’s top 10 toys for hoilday season by Toy Wishes magazine include electronic karate sets, talking kitchens and alien music players.

Whether this should be a concern for parents, is a matter of choice. My cousin insists that she is going to give her daughter a traditional child-hood, the toys she grew up with– that taught her how to be creative with her time… and my cousin’s husband believes since electronics anyways is the future of mankind, – her daughter will not grow up in ignorance. I guess, a balance of both would be essential to a child’s upbringing. What do you think?

(Link via DK)

Speaking of Spanglish…

November 16th, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

To be a copywriter in the Indian advertising industry, the knowledge of Hinglish – (a delicious mix of Hindi and English) is essential. Hinglish was first introduced by urban college students who started mixing vernacular words and phrases to create new "cool" sounding words.  Bollywood movies quickly responded and started using "Hinglish" in their scripts. And the Indian ad-industry wasn’t too far behind– today 90% of TV and Radio commericals (even the way RJs, DJs, and VJ’s communicate) is in Hingilsih.

This phenomena, until now, remained undiscovered in America– where a growing number of the young second and third generation Latino’s converse in what has been dubbed, Spanglish.
-A smattering of Spanish words mixed with English.

Only, a handful of companies were quick to spot and act on this trend. One of them is Reebok.
Reebok’s new site, barriorbk.com, targets the Hispanic market. Not only does the site use catchy Spanglish but to appeal to the Hispanic youth, it also  has a "reggaetion dance game and contenst" and includes music from top 10 Latino artists. (simply because reggae music is HUGE among Latinos)

A taste of Spanglish:  Description of the Barrio RBK Pump Wrapshear running shoe,

“Create a custom fitting shoe every time with a
twist of the dial. No lo crees? Es simple. Turn the valve on and start
caminando.”

A word of advice to other companies entering the Hispanic market– Spanglish is the way to go!

A jello-ous delight!

November 15th, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

I have never been happier to see such a sparkling array of jello. it makes my mouth water as I write this post. I’m so excited about this find that I cannot tpye proprely.

Modled by Artist Elizabeth Hickok, these jello-creations reflect San Fransisco landscapes! The project consists of photographs and videos of the jello creations. "Similar to making a movie set, I add backdrops, which I often paint and elements such as mountains and trees and then I dramatically light the scenes from the back of underneath."

San Fran has yet to be represented more creatively than this!  She is one artist to watch out.

Jell-O is one my favorite foods – can you think of anyone else who’s used jell-o to create a work of art?

Today I wear, Eau De Celeb

November 15th, 2005 • To be filed

In 2004, American’s spent $94.4 million dollars on celebrity-inspired perfumes. JLo, Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, the Olsen Twins, Sarah Jessica Parker, Donald Trump, Maria Sharpova….and now Beyonce unveils a second one.

Of them all, poor Antonio Banderas is the chepeast – $20 and available in drug-stores. Sheesh. What was his publicist thinking?

I wonder who else will join the scentebrity hall of fame.

Whiffs of chocolate this Christmas

November 14th, 2005 • To be filed

During summers, I enjoy smelling of mango and melons. Winter-time, I switch to light flowery scents. Sometimes I like to soak in a minty bubble bath. But I draw my limits to fruits and flowers.
My young cousins still enjoy wearing bubble-gum and watermelon ice-cream scents. They are teenagers. But now, even their mothers are vying to smell of chocolate and raspberries- thanks to the widespread availability of (previously available only in spas)  delicious-smelling body butters and lip glosses.

Apparently, I’m an anomaly. Because six out of ten women love smelling like a freshly baked cookie. Or buttered pecan creme.

Food-inspired beauty products seem to be on a rising trend. Bath and Body Work’s hottest selling products during  holiday season are the two ultimate brands that have made smelling like a creme brule and cocoa, the "it" thing. Americans spent $663 million this year on perfume and cologne and $90.6
million on lotions, creams, bath and shower gels and soaps. I wonder how much of this stash is spent on smelling like a candy.

Bath and Body Works was already cross-selling Tutti Dolci, an Italian brand (hit "flavors" include mango sorbet, sugar waffle, tiramisu and apple torte) when it acquired French brand, Jacqua, (this winter)  known for its innovative packaging and delicious-smelling beauty concoctions in flavors like Pink Buttercream and Peach parfait.

Jessica Simpson’s Dessert Beauty line features beauty products that smell of her favorite foods: strawberyy, vanilla caramel and milk chocolate. JLo’s new perfume smells of coconut and bananas. Body Shop has its own versions of Vanilla Spice and Candied Citrus. Missha offers Kiwi Mists and Melon Soaps. LUSH, also has some innovative products in butterball bath bombs and honey bee bath bombs. The list continues…
According to Alison Slate, VP of  Retail Marketing, Sephora,

"Food-inspired ingredients continue to be a
growing trend in beauty products. A large majority of brands at Sephora
feature products with fruit or food ingredients."

It is going to be one scary Christmas– with everyone smelling as though they’ve just stepped out of a dessert bar. heh

Thermal Bra- an addition to the holiday gift list?

November 14th, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

At the noble risk of saving the world from global warming with an added bonus for women – this furry creation is supposedly slated to provide a chic solution for women to keep their bosoms warm. (!)

Triumph, a lingere company, released the bra on the urging of the Japanese government to conserve energy and reduce feul consumption.

This bra comes with "special pads filled with eco-friendly gel" that can be micro-waved or heated with a hot water bottle.

My hunch is, if this bra is a hit with the Shibuya girls, it will achieve the "chic, trendy-status" it aspires.

Asian Women Revolution

November 13th, 2005 • 2 comments Marketing/ Advertising

A study conducted by Research International interviewed 80 "regular" Asian women and 15 experts about their thoughts on the portrayal of women in advertisements. The survey was conducted in Bombay, Shanghai, Bangkok and Singapore — all major cities.
The results indicated that the interviewed women expressed disappointment over the continued portrayal of women in traditional, cliched roles in advertisments. The research was undertaken to find better means to communicate with women.

There is a basic flaw in this research and the argument it presents. Ethically, I do not appreciate ads showing a 40-something tired and frustrated mom,  — getting a new life on using some beauty product. Or a busy mom finds relief in a new washing detergent.

But on a more rational level, the women interviewed for the survey are city-women. In America, there is a subtle difference in being a New Yorker and being an American. When I engage in conversations about India- I make it very clear that I am from Bombay, that Bombay is like the New York of India and I do not represent India on the whole.
Living in big-cities is like living in a bubble or what some call the big-city-syndrome. Big city lives are universal and globalized to a certain extent.

The number of Asian women breaking free of the traditional roles has increased, no doubt. But overall, the mental make-up of this class of an Asian women cannot be applied towards the entire population.

I think it is unfair to judge the feelings of an entire Asian women population based on opinions expressed by a very minuscule sample that present only one facet of the Asian women.

I’d like to think and believe that women all over should revolt against such ads and demand for a stronger, modern prtrayal. But face it – a majority of women in Asian countries (definitely India) are still sheltered under those very same tradtional, cliched portrayals.

Advertising, while is meant to represent the consumer’s voice, is also meant to create trends and inspire strong emotional sentiments. Slowly, gradually, maybe through advertising- who knows, will those other Asian women recognize their individuality and celebrate it?

It’s a debate embedded in social and cultural issues. And those, are hardly debatable.

(Link via Phatgnat)

Did you know…

November 13th, 2005 • To be filed

…an Indian food-cart opposite 30th Street Station in Philadelphia has a vegetable sandwich on his menu called, "Amitabh Bacchan." It is his best-selling sandwich.

(For those unfamilar with the name- Mr. Bacchan is a legend in India, A revered and honored Bollywood star who has a shrine and a temple dedicated to him in India, also has his wax statue at Madame Tussad’s Wax Museum in London. Recently, he has been on a product-endorsement binge in India selling banks and colas ans everything in between.)

..Another smart-ass just cashed in on Amitabh’s name!

The ketchup in question

November 11th, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

When it comes to Ketchup, America knows one kind- Heinz. Smaller and speciality food markets carry ketchups from several smaller known brands and farms but the collective consciousness of America knows only one tomato ketchup, Heinz. Currently, Heinz owns 62% of the ketchup market share in America.

A dollop of ketchup adds the "umami" to any snack. We use it on hot-dogs, hamburgers, with french fries! Some of us have even devised more unsual and creative uses of the ketchup.

Malcom Gladwell in the his September 2004 eassy, The Ketchup Conundrum," in the New Yorker spinned the story on Howard Moskowitz’s theory that every consumer has a different idea for the perfect ketchup. Indian marketers recognized this concept early on — In India, consumers don’t just have the option of buying tomato ketchup — they can choose if they want it garlicky, sweet and sour-ly, spicy, extra spicy, a little tangy with a dash of tamarind and the list goes on.

The ketchup market in India is estimated to be around Rs 180 crore, largely dominated by Nestle’s Maggi that owns 43% of the market and the Kisan that owns 29%. Globally, it’s only a blip- but India consumes about 13,000 tons of ketchup a year. In 2000, Heinz launched it’s brand of ketchup, slightly modifed to suit the Indian taste. However, it’s market share has only risen upto 6%. Why?

Is it because Indians are loyal to their brands? Is it the price?  Or is it because the other brands not only offer more options but have perfectly nailed the "every consumer has a different idea for the perfect ketchup" theory.

What astounds me is how could American companies or Heinz for example not have thought that Americans here might just enjoy a try more variety in their ketchup. About 13.5% of the American population are Hispanics– their projected growth by 2020 is 55.2 million. In 2002, their spending power was $580.5 billion!!

Although a large number of second generation Hispanics are adhering to American culinary tastes and are "Americanized," I’m confident a large percent still enjoys a bit of tang and spice.

In Canada, South Asians are the second-largest minority group with the Toronto market being worth $12.6 millionView this photo alone! In America, although there areonly 2.5 million South Asians (insignificant to the $38 million hispanics!) but an average Indian family’s median income is $60,000/yr– 50% higher than the national average. Needless to say– South Asians given the choice of having their ketchup with a little more spice is bound to be recieved well.

And the Asians in America, would they enjoy a wasabi-ish ketchup? or a sweeter version of the ketchup?

Forget the minorities,
even an average American is open to new tastes and more choices.

My question is, would it be a smart move for Heinz  to make more avatars of the plain, old-jane ketchup that we have been consuming without considering the possibility of having it spicier? or garlicky? or...mayonaisy? (Oh I know I’M NOT the only one who enjoys her fries with ketchup and mayonaise!)  or mustardy?  or more….

the possibilities and choices are endless! Heck, even the Italians have a 100 varities of olive oil, why should then we be satisfied with one variety of ketchup!

Utterly, deliciously, fabulous

November 9th, 2005 • Marketing/ Advertising

(This is not about Amul as a brand. It is only about Amul Butter’s rich advertising heritage that has become a part of India’s consumer nostalgia)

When I entered 8th grade, I took to walking to school early in the morning. Mostly because the boy I had a huge crush on walked to school as well. It gave me a chance to see him once during the day. But the strongest memory I have of those days are the large hoardings of Amul butter– always a parody on old news or recent events. I took to jotting them down on the back of my hand and I’d later transfer the same in a book I made specially for Amul butter advertisements.

<– A 1987 ad, when Ramayan, the popular Indian epic was made into a television series and had become very popular

Amul Butter advertisements form a large chunk of the collective memory of us Indians. We grew with them as the ads grew with us. They are quirky, poke fun at no one in particular and are pure eye-candy! I almost admire the speed with which the ad-people come up with copy and illustration for the ads, that change every few days!! This 38-year old ad campaign has been handled by daCunha associates – who credit the birlliance of the campaign to Dr Kurien, Amul’s founder. Amul Butter is probably one of the only few companies that has given its agency carte blanche to say what it wants in the ads, a very unlikey client-agency relationship. But it has worked for 38 years! 

<– 1996, When Miss India, Sushmita Sen became Miss Universe in Phillipines.

Amul’s ad-strategy is also very unique. While I don’t recall watching any Amul Butter commericals on TV, I have a strong impression of large Amul Butter hoardings and sometimes, one-paged ads in Tinkle, a popular kids magazine I grew up with. The billboards are posed at strategic points: highways, bus-stops, railway stations, accquring maximum visibility and assuring maximum entertainment to the viewers.

<– 2005, a fairly recent ad, poking fun at the present price wars  between competing airlines in India.

Amul Butter’s brand ambassador, is the Amul Girl– a cherubic little girl, probably 4-6 years old dressed in a polka-dotted frock, sharp-witted and who fortunately, never ages Sylvester DaCunha and Eustace Fernandes (art) created the Amul Girl  to compete with Polson Butter’s girl. I don’t even remember Polson Butter! 
The Amul Girl has taken Indians on a wild ride of India’s rich political and cultural history.

Bharat Dabholkar, who worked his Hinglish zingers on the campaign for more than a decade, recalls how during the Wimbledon finals, he used to design two campaigns with each of the finalists."On Sunday night, after the match, I’d tell them which ad to use, so Monday morning commuters could share a laugh almost immediately."

What’s sriking about Amul ads, is its astoundig turnover – almost overnight if I can take the liberty to say that. They are amazingly politically incorrect, have offended some women’s rights groups and court cases, but that hasn’t changed the iconic advertising Indian consumers have made embraced and celebrated.

The beauty of Amul ads is its language, a mixture of Hindi and English- Hinglish. I’ve put the most understand-able but definitely not the best ad pictures here, in an effort that even my non-Indian readers understand the essence of Amul ads. But for the rest, go to the site and have your fill.

Pimpin up the rides

November 8th, 2005 • Culture Briefings

Karma Kars – Pscyhadelic beauties traversing London roads. 

Tobais Moss, an avid traveler and lifestyle guru spent considerable time in India during the 60’s hippie craze. Taking his inspiration a step further, he devised a fleet of Karma Kabs, essentially a taxi service with a little more difference, a lot more personality and oodles of fun!

<– Monsoon Wedding

Each of his four cars are designed and created to provide the travelers a relaxing, and almost therapeutic drive through the traffic-jams of London. However, you won’t be able to hail these cabs at the corner of Oxford Street- or anywhere! These cars are available for special events, launches, retail therapy!!, and London Karma tours only. Kinda sorta. I guess if you are willing to spend the money, you could use it to go from point J to point K. (A and B are fully parked )

Ab Fab Kar
The service gives me a strange nostalgic feeling of starring as an Indian princess in one of the old technicolor films, where the princess roamed the cities atop beautifully decorated camels and elephants.

Only now, instead of elephants, it’s old souped up cars!

Check out the other two themes..

SheeshMahal Kar

Bollywood Kar
(Via Shrine)

Shoe Laundry in Bombay

November 8th, 2005 • 35 comments To be filed

A friend of a friend has started a unique service in Bombay…

Sandeep Gajakas, 28 a fire-engineer by profession, started a shoe cleaning clinic late 2004 aptly called, The Shoe Laundry. For Rs 100, ($2!) Sandeep cleans your sneakers/trainers, makes minor repairs (replacing shoe-laces, etc) and has them shiny and new, just like they were when you bought them!  The fee also includes pick ups and door-to-door deliveries!

In less than a year, The Shoe Laundry has picked up incredibly well- all via word-of-mouth. His clients include Bollywood stars and major film directors (why should this matter?! I guess it builds cred, right?) The Shoe Laundry has supposedly signed up deals with a few five-star hotels and two hospitals in Bombay.

He is in the process of setting up his website.

Related Articles:
Rediff.com
Entrance to a Shrine Blog

Why has Sandeep’s service clicked so well in a city that’s known to eat up businesses? For two reasons,

1) It includes pick-up and deliveries. – I think Bombayites who can afford to pay Rs. 100 to clean one pair of shoes, are not flocking to the Shoe Laundry for its low prices. Sandeep has targetted a certain class of consumers who are probably time-constrained or plain, cannot be bothered to drop off and pick up shoes that need cleaning. Besides, it adds that extra special personalized touch!

2) It’s a much needed service in Bombay! – For the 18 years that I lived in Bombay, everytime I got my Nikes or Reebok’s mud-dirty, our washer-woman scrubbed the shoes so hard with coarse detergent that when they finally were dry and ready for use, they looked a year older! They shoe-laces frayed and the sole’s lost their grip. Besides, even if local laundromats DID offer shoe-laundry services, they were fools to not advertise it or stress on it.

You don’t need to have an MBA degree or an above-average intelligence to come up with such a brilliant business-idea– all you need is the ability to rrecognize and understand the obvious. And that comes only with great observation skills and sometimes, the ability to just listen. I bet that’s what Sandeep did, unless ofcourse he has held a passion for cleaning shoes since he was a child. (possible??)

Intrestingly, Sandeep’s business model and rising success has become a case-study for MBA students in Bombay. I’m gonna try to hook up StyleStation with an interview with Sandeep.

A hotel room, that’s quite a view

November 8th, 2005 • Culture Briefings

Carlton Arms, New York – rusty, old and tired, yet breathes color and joy

I’ve wondered what it would be like to stay at a hotel where they didn’t have  the almost mandatory white towels, white robes, a perfunctory tablet of soap and some repackaged shampoo in little satchets and bottles.
I’ve wondered what it would be like to stay at a hotel that didn’t have the safe grey, brown or white carpets and stock furniture.
I’m not sure about the towels and shampoo, but Carlton Arms Hotel in New York promises a, if not cool– definitely weird stay at one of it’s 54 rooms.

I’ve read reviews of the hotel-  and to most elite travelers, rattling pipes, a creaky staircase and whimsy electricity are a red-signal. But are travelers bound to change their mind once they learn that each of the 54-room has it’s own individual identity?

Each of these rooms is home to an artist’s fantasitical parades through his intellect and imagination. There is no one period or one theme that defines the art in these rooms. There are Hindu Gods, futurisitic space art, Egyptian princes and random squiggles and squires painted on these deceript rooms, some of which aren’t even equipped with a bathroom.

I’m just inspired by this hotel, the idea of this hotel– the experience it embodies. There is nothing like immersing yourself in another’s imagination and experiencing it first-hand. The rates, I’ve heard, are cheap as well, compared to the going-New York hotel room rates.

While other’s hotels may promise their customers a comfortable stay with the requisite luxuries, I appreciate the idea of a hotel that promises to inspire it’s customer’s imaginations and passions.

More on customized credit cards

November 7th, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

Ozgur Alaz of Marketlallica sent me this link to the Dutch Bank, PostBank that offers customized credit cards which I talked about a few posts back.

I don’t understand Dutch but incidentally CoolHunting posted about Postbank as well and here’s what I gleaned from their post.

Called, "de paskamer," customers only have to upload a photo via the de paskamer site to create their own credit card backgrounds. They will recieve the card within a week or so.

And here’s the Capital One Card Picture I promised,

Like Post Bank, Capital One enables it’s users to upload a picture of their choice, enter the credit card number and viola! recieve their own unique card in mail..! Currently, this service is offered only via mail (I think)

Check out the official site for Capital One Image Card.

What American teens want

November 4th, 2005 • 2 comments To be filed

A lot of bloggers covered the What Teens Want conference. Here are some interesting vignettes,

- Cingular has found a new way to market to the teens: via video games. In Need for Speed Underground, Cingular billboards and stores are in-set along the game and the players also recieve Cingular text messages. This marketing method was even appreciated by the teens and "added to their enjoyment."

(Reminds me of the aquarian parodies of brand names in Shark Tale: GUP, Coral Cola, Kelpy Kreme, and Old Wawy. I thought it was very creative and actually enjoyed it, even the references to pop culture)

- Video-gaming industry works largely on word-of-mouth and campaigns that create buzz. (Don’t most industries work on creating buzz?)

- Rise of social-networking among the teens, especially MySpace, which is releasing its own music label soon. Corporations are also creating and using MySpace profiles for their brands.

- Teens won’t pay for music downloads but they will pay to download phone ring-tones!

- Paris Hilton is a hit among the teens.

More coverage here : Ypulse , Jeffrey McManus, and WOW report

What about IT?

November 4th, 2005 • Marketing/ Advertising

Late last month, eBay launched a new TV ad campaign that I am absolutely in love with. This campaign, created by BBDO and Agency.com, has a strong concept. The ad is an excellent example of diversity-targeted adveritsing.

I don’t know if eBay is planning on releasing this campaign internationally, or if it is made with that intention. I just saw the ad for the first time today and noticed a brief snippet of a South Asian family posing for a family portrait with IT perched on the camera. I am not sure though, it was probably less than a second long! And this ad is not featured on the website.

If it really is a South Aisan family, kudos to eBay and the agencies that designed the ad, if not–it’s still a very good ad simply because it displays odles of creativity, that’s quite rare now.

And what a bummer it was to watch the lousy Old Nay ad right after such excellent work. I don’t know why Old Navy is so bent upon digging its own grave. You are better off if you haven’t heard any of their awe-spiring jingles or seen the ad actors strut what they don’t have!

New York and Company has signed on Eva Longoria, the sultry Hispanic GAB-reil from Desperate Housewives for the Holiday Season.
And I just saw Beyonce and her whole family share gifts and hugs in a commerical for Wal-mart. Beyonce and Wal-mart? what is wrong with Beyonce and what is Wal-mart thinking? First it places 8 pages of ads in September issue of Vogue and then it signs on Beyonce- Wal-mart has come off as the geeky high-school girl trying to fit in by discarding her glasses for contact lenses and exhanging her bulky sweaters for skin-tight leotards. Verdict: Trying too hard.

Okay, this post was supposed to be about eBay.

My photograph on my credit card!

November 3rd, 2005 • 2 comments To be filed

Although I can’t find this information online, Capital One Bank just sent me a mailer telling me how I can have MY OWN PICTURE OR ANY PICTURE I WANT, on my card!! Did I mention it’s for free?

Finally a chance to stamp my own identity on my credit card. No, it doesn’t make a difference to my finances, but it just makes buying with my card and looking at my card and carrying my card around much much better

I will soon post a copy of the flyer here. Other credit card companies should do this too. An excellent holiday incentive to keep your existing customers and bring in more!

The equation’s changed or has it?

November 3rd, 2005 • 11 comments Culture Briefings

Whatever happened to tall, dark and handsome?

I am dusky woman (yes, the picture is misleading) and a proud one at that. But I grew up in a culture where dusky women used (and still do) turmeric and honey pastes and Fair and Lovely creams to lighten their skins. Now there are professional beauty treatments available as well, aptly titled, Skin-Lightening Treatments.

I grew up in a culture where boys liked light skinned women. I don’t know if it was a myth, but I remember feeling insecure because of my skin color. Especially when I entered junior college (11th and 12th grade)

I grew up in a culture where the Marriage Classified ad’s in newspapers still say, "Looking for a slim fair-skinned girl…." And where my mother often rebuked me for playing in the sun too much lest I become darker. With good intentions ofcourse.

No jokes. Most dusky Indian women grew up with a complex that being fair equates to being more attractive, more successful, and secures a good catch for marriage. This has definitely changed over the last few years with dusky Bollywood actresses and dusky models ruling the Indian glamor world. The changing social climate has also lent the women a sophisticated confidence which has effectively cured most of us of our skin-color related insecurities.

But when Emani Industries annoucned, Fair and Handsome. I was stumped. Fair and Handsome sounds like the younger brother of Fair and Lovely, but it’s just a brilliant advertising move because Fair and Lovely, the fairness cream is owned by Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL). Emani’s fairness cream for women is called, Naturally Light.

India is a huge market for fairness creams. Fair and Lovely was first and the only patented fairness cream in India when it was introduced in 1976! This cream alone is claimed to be a larger brand than the other seven skin-cream brands put together. Fair and Lovely is marketed in 30 countries!

The other fairness creams are, Revlons Fair and Glow, Godrej Consumer Product’s FairGlow, CavinCare’s Fairever and Chik Fairee, Emami’s Naturally Fair and Gold and Turmeric, and other creams under Lakme and Aviance brands. Fair and Lovely holds 53% of the fairness market.

Emami has definitely scored a point by using similar nomenclature as HLL’s Fair and Lovely. Not that it matters, how different can skin creams be? But Fair and Handsome will certainly gain more brand value from its "fake" association with India’s number one fairness cream brand.

The advertisement for Fair and Handsome is also, not surprsingly, very predictive. Has this become a sure-shot ad formula for men’s beauty products?

The advert for the male cream shows a dark-skinned college boy
relegated to the back seat and ignored by the girls until he uses the
product. Soon enough, his complexion lightens and girls flock to him
like moths to a flame…

I don’t know if men share the same concerns and insecurities about skin-color. But this report indicates that the Fair and Handsome has been receieved well by Indian men. The article expands that men are not afraid to admit that they want to have a light skin.

I have no doubts or qualms about men using beauty products but sometimes, I think advertising takes a little too far when it begins to exploit these inbred insecurities about skin-color. As another blogger puts it, "it won’t be long before we see self-depricating ads about how a man got left behind in life because he
was not fair or was too dark and how by using this Rs 30 tube of
ointment (which could be moisturiser for all I know), he can catch up
and indeed leave the rest behind."

I guess it is cool, in a way. Men have every right to demand a skin-lightening cream if they need it. But I feel very strongly about this issue, or maybe the way it is advertised. Is there a way to advertise a skin-lightening cream by not making any MAN or WOMAN feel like he/she’s a loser if he/she’s not fair?
Frankly, that’s how these ads made me feel when I was a teenager.

An advertisement where a guy attracts a girl because he smells good, is fine. No girl in her right mind is going to coddle with a stinky guy. But this particular method of marketing this product, makes me feel uncomfortable.

I invite discussion on this. I want to hear what you think, regardless of your sex.

How to lure a teenage boy

November 1st, 2005 • To be filed

Yes. It is a universal truth about a teenage boy. He cares about how to get the girl. Just as the girl cares about impressing a guy.
So it wasn’t a surprise when finally the American advertising agencies dawned upon this insight.
According to this NYT article, advertisers have now position men’s deodrants and body sprays as along the lines of, "buy me and women will pursue you."
Tag Bodyspray fragrances even have suggestive names like Lucky Day, First Move, After Hours and Midnight. and aren’t we all familar with the Axe effect!

In retrospect, I have been a HUGE fan of the Indian advertising industry.
I don’t know what it is about the Indian advertisements that is so powerful and connects so beautifully with the consumers. This time when I was in India, I literally relished watching advertisements on TV.
I also remember how the tone of Indian ads has changed from "use this and get the guy" to "use this and get the job"

So if your brand targets teenage boys, remind them that they will get the girl they like if they use your product. If it’s worked in other countries, it’s sure to work everywhere. It’s universal, after all