If your dad owned a major Indian company, would you still travel by a local bus to college? Well, Ranbaxy heirs Malvinder and Shivinder Singh did just that. Even when U special buses were stoned during the Mandal Commission protests, daddy didn't offer 'take the BMW instead.'
This, and more, was revealed in an interesting conversation with Shobha De on "Power Trip" aired on Sahara One - a channel I would normally not be caught dead watching.
The difference between a 'coat-tailer', as described in my previous post and inheritors who've taken the family legacy forward can be summed up in a single word: 'values'.
Those who had it too easy in life, and too comfortable, are doomed to remain dabblers. Those who were brought up to realise the value of money - despite having so much of it - are programmed to succeed.
'Modesty Blaze'
Take the example of Kumarmanglam Birla. I have, personally, experienced how lightly he wears his family name on his shoulders.
The difference between Kumarmangalam and the son or daughter of a Johnny-come-lately is humility. When you've already arrived you don't have to throw your weight around. Or attract undue attention to yourself. You let your work speak for itself.
On the other hand, there's Yash of 'Yash and Avanti Birla' fame....
Takes all kinds - and hair colours - to make up the coat-tailer universe!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sciontology
27 year old Zorawar Kalra planned to sell paranthas and rolls from carts at shopping malls. According to Business Today, he got this brainwave after seeing cups of steamed corn selling like hotcakes at the same venue.
So Kalra set up 'The Royal Parantha Company" and sunk in Rs 12 lakh to set up a state-of-the-art central kitchen in Mehrauli, from where he shipped out the paranthas to franchisees in frozen form.
Zorawar's dad is the well known food consultant Jiggs Kalra and he's a graduate of Boston's Bentley Business University. Being an MBA, Kalra ostensibly studied the market situation and thought he had a winning idea. Definitely, I think there is a demand. Success will depend on how well can he execute the supply.
But Kalra is just one example of a new breed of young people. What I call the 'coat-tailers'.
Coat-tailers are the kids of parents who have it all. Statistically they are a small % but very visible in the media. eg Kids of actors, politicians, industrialists and the miscellaneous well-known.
They have had no pressures to perform well academically, or had to put much thought to their careers. Their career is to prepare themselves to inherit the family legacy. There is no shame in this. They are generally educated abroad but aspire to return home, not settle there permanently.
Coat tailers can go thru life doing nothing - there's already a house, car and spending money and Indian parents will support their kids for life. But it's not fashionable to sponge off your parents forever, coat tailers do aspire to make some sort of personal contribution. It's just that they can afford to think longer about what they want, and even fail at a few things.
Characteristics of coat-tailers
Kids of: Celebrities, successful Westernised professionals, Businessmen of standing
Attitude: We've always had the best, because we can afford it.
Parental expectation: Do what you want, what makes you happy. If u need a leg up, I'm around.
Aspiration in Education: Foreign Univ from undergrad level, if not definitely a Foreign MBA.
The ranking of the university is not key - Bentley for example is um, nowehere in the Businessweek top 50 but is still $ 80,000 well spent as far the coat-tailer is concerned. Who needs a placement?
What kids do: Drifting around for some time after education is OK. Eventually they know they will join the family business or profession.
However they do aspire to make a difference in the longer run, do things differently. When that does not happen they feel lack of purpose and meaning in life.
Emerging Trend
Coat tailers whose families are into the more traditional, boring businesses are striking out into more exciting areas eg nightspots, clothing stores, media, something-to-do-with-entertainment etc. These ventures are often aimed at "People Like Us", and modelled on similar concepts seen on foreign trips.
Usually the family will help fund their ideas. The new business may not contribute that much to family bottomline but keeps the young person busy and out of trouble, also may give boost to image.
Bottomline: At the very least, coat-tailers - who bring us fancy new restaurants and convert their boring mill lands into cool malls - make the world a better place for us lesser mortals.
If some of their ventures end up in the red - so be it. Call it adventures in angel investing - where the angel is actually our father, not in heaven, but yon planet earth.
So Kalra set up 'The Royal Parantha Company" and sunk in Rs 12 lakh to set up a state-of-the-art central kitchen in Mehrauli, from where he shipped out the paranthas to franchisees in frozen form.
Zorawar's dad is the well known food consultant Jiggs Kalra and he's a graduate of Boston's Bentley Business University. Being an MBA, Kalra ostensibly studied the market situation and thought he had a winning idea. Definitely, I think there is a demand. Success will depend on how well can he execute the supply.
But Kalra is just one example of a new breed of young people. What I call the 'coat-tailers'.
Coat-tailers are the kids of parents who have it all. Statistically they are a small % but very visible in the media. eg Kids of actors, politicians, industrialists and the miscellaneous well-known.
They have had no pressures to perform well academically, or had to put much thought to their careers. Their career is to prepare themselves to inherit the family legacy. There is no shame in this. They are generally educated abroad but aspire to return home, not settle there permanently.
Coat tailers can go thru life doing nothing - there's already a house, car and spending money and Indian parents will support their kids for life. But it's not fashionable to sponge off your parents forever, coat tailers do aspire to make some sort of personal contribution. It's just that they can afford to think longer about what they want, and even fail at a few things.
Characteristics of coat-tailers
Kids of: Celebrities, successful Westernised professionals, Businessmen of standing
Attitude: We've always had the best, because we can afford it.
Parental expectation: Do what you want, what makes you happy. If u need a leg up, I'm around.
Aspiration in Education: Foreign Univ from undergrad level, if not definitely a Foreign MBA.
The ranking of the university is not key - Bentley for example is um, nowehere in the Businessweek top 50 but is still $ 80,000 well spent as far the coat-tailer is concerned. Who needs a placement?
What kids do: Drifting around for some time after education is OK. Eventually they know they will join the family business or profession.
However they do aspire to make a difference in the longer run, do things differently. When that does not happen they feel lack of purpose and meaning in life.
Emerging Trend
Coat tailers whose families are into the more traditional, boring businesses are striking out into more exciting areas eg nightspots, clothing stores, media, something-to-do-with-entertainment etc. These ventures are often aimed at "People Like Us", and modelled on similar concepts seen on foreign trips.
Usually the family will help fund their ideas. The new business may not contribute that much to family bottomline but keeps the young person busy and out of trouble, also may give boost to image.
Bottomline: At the very least, coat-tailers - who bring us fancy new restaurants and convert their boring mill lands into cool malls - make the world a better place for us lesser mortals.
If some of their ventures end up in the red - so be it. Call it adventures in angel investing - where the angel is actually our father, not in heaven, but yon planet earth.
Do or diet
"I have not touched bread, rice or even roti for the last 4 years. I can't even remember the last time I had a roti. My diet consists mainly of fruits and vegetables. Almost throughout the day I have a glass of juice, either carrot/ orange/ watermelon or a glass of coconut water."
- Bollywood actor Ayesha Takia, speaking to Sunday Midday
She is only some movies old. But this actor surely adds a new meaning to the phrase "hungry to succeed". If her diet is anything to go by...
And oh, she does 2 hours of aerobics every day.
What do we, lesser mortals, infer after reading such interviews? That we should be grateful to be ordinary and less-than-perfect .
We don't have to deprive ourselves of sev puri, pav bhaji and gooey chocolate cake.
Or atone for the sins of eating the same by vomiting it all out later.
Here's a great idea for a Reality Show:
Lock the models at Lakme India Fashion Week in a room full of real food.
Then, watch them struggle into those slinky clothes.
Should be a riot :)
- Bollywood actor Ayesha Takia, speaking to Sunday Midday
She is only some movies old. But this actor surely adds a new meaning to the phrase "hungry to succeed". If her diet is anything to go by...
And oh, she does 2 hours of aerobics every day.
What do we, lesser mortals, infer after reading such interviews? That we should be grateful to be ordinary and less-than-perfect .
We don't have to deprive ourselves of sev puri, pav bhaji and gooey chocolate cake.
Or atone for the sins of eating the same by vomiting it all out later.
Here's a great idea for a Reality Show:
Lock the models at Lakme India Fashion Week in a room full of real food.
Then, watch them struggle into those slinky clothes.
Should be a riot :)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
LA..IRA..ILA... - no more
The channel is Star World.
The background is white.
A metrosexual type man, a foreign looking woman.
She has a blood red mirchi in her mouth.
He is licking drops of water off her back.
Instinctively, I finger-flick to another channel. It could be an ad for some fancy perfume. On the other hand, it could be a condom.
Children sit right in front of the idiot box and then later want to deal with their never-ending questions.
Sex education is essential but we don't need a child prodigy in that particular area.
A few seconds later I flick back and to my shock, it's an ad for LIRIL soap. Um, what exactly were they thinking???
Goodbye waterfall
So, the girl and the waterfall became repetitive and boring. The success of the brand became a millstone around its neck.
They tried girls dancing in deserts, on glaciers and even an orange variant. It must not have worked, so they decided to do something drastic.
"The new Liril Soft Aloe Vera and Lemon campaign focused on naughty intimacies among married couples instead of the erstwhile iconic `waterfall' campaigns, " notes Hindu Businessline.
Why this won't work
A brand - like a city - is built on a certain heritage.
Yes, it can be tweaked to a certain extent but if you want to simply throw it ALL away, why not just launch a new brand. Why use the name Liril at all?
a) The ad looked/ felt/ jingle was not Liril. There was some la la la going on in the background (I think) but not evocative of the original tune at all.
b) Selling point was no longer freshness but lemon + aloe vera ie freshness plus soft, supple skin.
As a soap, it may have been quite nice actually (the packaging and shape looked interesting) but it was not LIRIL.
Secondly, the 'married' couple bit did not come across. Which married couple in India looks/ behaves like THAT?
Thirdly, what was this obsession with fair skinned/ light eyed models? How was the Indian consumer supposed to identify with the situation??
Lastly, the red mirchi made absolutely no sense. Was the soap fresh, or hot?
For all those reasons, I thought the ad would bomb. Reminded me of the classic 'new Coke' fiasco which actually led to the old Coke being brought back with a vengeance! Bet the old girl under the waterfall would have made a similar comeback in 6 months time...
Phir bhi
I must however commend Hindustan Lever for taking the risk of doing something different. That particular attempt might have failed but some of their other advertising experiments were worth noting.
The 'do bucket paani hai bachaana' campaign for Surf and the Lifebuoy ads where kids could clean up their neighbourhood were both very bold departures from conventional soap/ detergent advertising. They were in fact what you might call 'socially relevant'.
These ads were being noticed - and achieving a positive impact. An impact which could, eventually, get reflected in sales figures. But probably didn't - in the short run.
Which meant things would have soon be back to 'safedi ki jhankaar' type advertising.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if soap/ detergent advertising was banned from television for a year. Would we stop buying and become filthy/ unhygienic cretins?
The background is white.
A metrosexual type man, a foreign looking woman.
She has a blood red mirchi in her mouth.
He is licking drops of water off her back.
Instinctively, I finger-flick to another channel. It could be an ad for some fancy perfume. On the other hand, it could be a condom.
Children sit right in front of the idiot box and then later want to deal with their never-ending questions.
Sex education is essential but we don't need a child prodigy in that particular area.
A few seconds later I flick back and to my shock, it's an ad for LIRIL soap. Um, what exactly were they thinking???
Goodbye waterfall
So, the girl and the waterfall became repetitive and boring. The success of the brand became a millstone around its neck.
They tried girls dancing in deserts, on glaciers and even an orange variant. It must not have worked, so they decided to do something drastic.
"The new Liril Soft Aloe Vera and Lemon campaign focused on naughty intimacies among married couples instead of the erstwhile iconic `waterfall' campaigns, " notes Hindu Businessline.
Why this won't work
A brand - like a city - is built on a certain heritage.
Yes, it can be tweaked to a certain extent but if you want to simply throw it ALL away, why not just launch a new brand. Why use the name Liril at all?
a) The ad looked/ felt/ jingle was not Liril. There was some la la la going on in the background (I think) but not evocative of the original tune at all.
b) Selling point was no longer freshness but lemon + aloe vera ie freshness plus soft, supple skin.
As a soap, it may have been quite nice actually (the packaging and shape looked interesting) but it was not LIRIL.
Secondly, the 'married' couple bit did not come across. Which married couple in India looks/ behaves like THAT?
Thirdly, what was this obsession with fair skinned/ light eyed models? How was the Indian consumer supposed to identify with the situation??
Lastly, the red mirchi made absolutely no sense. Was the soap fresh, or hot?
For all those reasons, I thought the ad would bomb. Reminded me of the classic 'new Coke' fiasco which actually led to the old Coke being brought back with a vengeance! Bet the old girl under the waterfall would have made a similar comeback in 6 months time...
Phir bhi
I must however commend Hindustan Lever for taking the risk of doing something different. That particular attempt might have failed but some of their other advertising experiments were worth noting.
The 'do bucket paani hai bachaana' campaign for Surf and the Lifebuoy ads where kids could clean up their neighbourhood were both very bold departures from conventional soap/ detergent advertising. They were in fact what you might call 'socially relevant'.
These ads were being noticed - and achieving a positive impact. An impact which could, eventually, get reflected in sales figures. But probably didn't - in the short run.
Which meant things would have soon be back to 'safedi ki jhankaar' type advertising.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if soap/ detergent advertising was banned from television for a year. Would we stop buying and become filthy/ unhygienic cretins?
Mall tales
Finding parking at Spencer Plaza in Madras on a Saturday afternoon is as tough as getting a telephone connection once used to be. Demand far exceeds supply, especially since part of the parking area has been cordoned off for concretisation.
But where is the crowd? Mostly, shopping for atta-dal-sabzi in the hypermart - Big Bazaar. Or, hanging out at the eating joints - here too McDonalds and the street-side eateries have the maximum rush. Thoda bahut crowd department stores mein bhi hai.
What's absolutely deserted is the 'Skyzone' housing an array of youth focussed clothing outlets - Killer, Spykar, SF jeans, Wrangler, Weekender. Pepe and Levi's at least had some browsers, the others had 3-4 salespeople twiddling their thumbs behind the ceiling-to-floor glass windows.
Um, so where ARE the youth? I saw a few collegians checking out the junk jewellery at Lifestyle. That's a place any girl could pick up a bauble or two without thinking twice. Quite a neat selection too.
There are probably more young people hanging out at suburuban malls like Alsa Mall in Egmore (which gets the call centre crowd).
But even at Fountain Plaza which is about the only 'happening' place in Pantheon Road in Egmore, the crowd concentrates on the top floor - which has a really nice food court. Or the ground floor which has the Food Bazaar.
The two floors in between which house shop after shop stocking clothes see mainly window shoppers - except during 'sale' periods. Pantaloons is the only shop which seems to have some steady youth traffic.
This could have something to do with the fact that unlike other stores they rotate their stock very often. The same kapda does not hang there for the entire season - every 10-15 days there is new stuff.
And the 'teen' range UMM/ Bare is very affordable. You can pick up a pretty cool t-shirt for as little as Rs 199. Which is not possible at most 'branded' outlets.
Beyond the 'FamilyMall'
I think, as time goes by, malls catering especially to youth will have to come up. Right now, outlets with branded clothing are quite identical to each other. You see one, you've seen them all. The same denims, checked shirts for boys, tank tops for girls.
Where's the excitement? Where's the joy of discovering something that's 'just you' - which is what you get (and at a much cheaper price) at streetside shopping on Purasawalkam High Road.
To attract young people we'll need malls which are less standardised and sanitised. Malls like the graffiti-rich Heeren Arcade on Orchard Rd in Singapore or MBK Centre in Bangkok.
Chaotic but interesting places which feature rows and rows of little shops run by young entrepreneurs who 'understand' their customers better. The kind of shops we have in Madras are currently tucked away in tiny garages.
And, today's branded clothing players will need to put out a larger range, funkier designs and better prices, if they really want to thrive - not just survive.
But where is the crowd? Mostly, shopping for atta-dal-sabzi in the hypermart - Big Bazaar. Or, hanging out at the eating joints - here too McDonalds and the street-side eateries have the maximum rush. Thoda bahut crowd department stores mein bhi hai.
What's absolutely deserted is the 'Skyzone' housing an array of youth focussed clothing outlets - Killer, Spykar, SF jeans, Wrangler, Weekender. Pepe and Levi's at least had some browsers, the others had 3-4 salespeople twiddling their thumbs behind the ceiling-to-floor glass windows.
Um, so where ARE the youth? I saw a few collegians checking out the junk jewellery at Lifestyle. That's a place any girl could pick up a bauble or two without thinking twice. Quite a neat selection too.
There are probably more young people hanging out at suburuban malls like Alsa Mall in Egmore (which gets the call centre crowd).
But even at Fountain Plaza which is about the only 'happening' place in Pantheon Road in Egmore, the crowd concentrates on the top floor - which has a really nice food court. Or the ground floor which has the Food Bazaar.
The two floors in between which house shop after shop stocking clothes see mainly window shoppers - except during 'sale' periods. Pantaloons is the only shop which seems to have some steady youth traffic.
This could have something to do with the fact that unlike other stores they rotate their stock very often. The same kapda does not hang there for the entire season - every 10-15 days there is new stuff.
And the 'teen' range UMM/ Bare is very affordable. You can pick up a pretty cool t-shirt for as little as Rs 199. Which is not possible at most 'branded' outlets.
Beyond the 'FamilyMall'
I think, as time goes by, malls catering especially to youth will have to come up. Right now, outlets with branded clothing are quite identical to each other. You see one, you've seen them all. The same denims, checked shirts for boys, tank tops for girls.
Where's the excitement? Where's the joy of discovering something that's 'just you' - which is what you get (and at a much cheaper price) at streetside shopping on Purasawalkam High Road.
To attract young people we'll need malls which are less standardised and sanitised. Malls like the graffiti-rich Heeren Arcade on Orchard Rd in Singapore or MBK Centre in Bangkok.
Chaotic but interesting places which feature rows and rows of little shops run by young entrepreneurs who 'understand' their customers better. The kind of shops we have in Madras are currently tucked away in tiny garages.
And, today's branded clothing players will need to put out a larger range, funkier designs and better prices, if they really want to thrive - not just survive.
I scream, You scream
There was one of the many hoardings for Kwality-Walls ice cream way back in 2005 in which a boy and a girl were shown in a compromising position with less of clothes and enjoying an ice cream. I guess the brief which produced the ad would have gone as follows:
"Yaar, icecream is seen as a kiddie product. Make it exciting for youth. Make it sexy."
And that, literally, was what was done. Maybe it was an international campaign used in India - the models were quite foreign-looking. But it could have been an Indian campaign trying to look international - 'aspirational' they called it.
As a side-bonus, the hoardings caught the eye of the Moral Police who filed a PIL and provided the brand with lots of free space in newspaper columns.
As happened with VIP X underwear once upon a time.
Aakhir kyun
Something was gadbad. Young people were not eating enough ice cream, which was why advertisers tried to shock them into noticing their product.
Here's what I think went wrong.
When I was growing up - in the mid 80s - the ice cream parlour was THE coolest place to hang out. It was the place you went with friends to give your birthday treat.
There was also the Dollops ice cream parlour - from Cadbury's which had a really good black current ice cream I still remember vividly.
Cut to 2010 and you'll see the coffee shop has taken over hangout status completely. The ice cream parlour culture is dead.
Dollops - which I as a consumer thought was a fairly successful diversification for Cadbury - was apparently not such a good idea. It was sold to HLL, which killed off the brand.
Thanda matlab ...
All that's left now is Baskin Robbins - which has good icecream but is sold from tiny, uncool shops or counters and the ubiquitous paanch ya dus rupaye waala 'softy' machine. Then there's kirana shop icecream. Here, Amul is beating HLL because it's priced lower. And because it contains 'real milk' as opposed to Kwality-Walls which is made from vegetable oil. That's a real selling point in Amul's favour as far as parents are concerned!
The last avenue is home consumption and here too Amul appears to be more popular. They generally have some offer like "20% extra free" or buy strawberry and get a small vanilla pack free and a lot of junta feels their ice cream tastes creamier and better.
Still, I would be more than happy to try out Kwality Walls -if they came up with something out of the ordinary. Sadly, their last such attempt - the Vienetta - was a disaster. The ice cream looked nowhere like the enticing picture on the pack and in fact tasted extremely ordinary.
Still, there's hope
I think ice cream is one of those things people young and old love. It just has to be packaged and sold better - as an experience.
One way to go could be Haagen Dasz - which offers really rich creamy and sinful stuff. If they actually come to India though, they are likely to be too expensive to ever make a mass impact.
So the space is wide open for a Vadilal or a Kwality Walls to upgrade themselves and corner the adult ice cream-as-a-treat market!
I think ice cream is all about flavour and Indian ice cream makers have hardly tried to invent new ones. Vadilal once experimented with gulab jamun icecream and gajar halwa ice cream (because people apparently liked the combination at weddings). It didn't work but hey, at least they tried.
Vanilla, chocolate and butterscotch are 'killer app' ice creams. With trial and error, I'm sure many more are possible!
Creating magic
"Had a bad day? Had a good day? Either way, our four NEW Mood Magic flavors are sure to bring you emotional rescue". That's Ben and Jerrys icecream for you - and I think the appeal is far more effective than sexual innuendo! Of course Ben and Jerry's is the crazy company which sells Cherry Garcia and Karamel Sutra - flavours which were in fact suggested by consumers.
Ben & Jerrys is the google equivalent of the ice-cream world, and retains its uniquely cool and delicious image. Despite now being a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever.
Hey, that means we just might see Ben & Jerry's in India in the near future. Keeping my fingers crossed! Toes too!!
In Gurgaon, the visual with boy and top of girl was replaced with a close up of only the girl. The 'course correction' came after comments from consumers about the 'Pleasure Up' campaign being too daring.
"Yaar, icecream is seen as a kiddie product. Make it exciting for youth. Make it sexy."
And that, literally, was what was done. Maybe it was an international campaign used in India - the models were quite foreign-looking. But it could have been an Indian campaign trying to look international - 'aspirational' they called it.
As a side-bonus, the hoardings caught the eye of the Moral Police who filed a PIL and provided the brand with lots of free space in newspaper columns.
As happened with VIP X underwear once upon a time.
Aakhir kyun
Something was gadbad. Young people were not eating enough ice cream, which was why advertisers tried to shock them into noticing their product.
Here's what I think went wrong.
When I was growing up - in the mid 80s - the ice cream parlour was THE coolest place to hang out. It was the place you went with friends to give your birthday treat.
There was also the Dollops ice cream parlour - from Cadbury's which had a really good black current ice cream I still remember vividly.
Cut to 2010 and you'll see the coffee shop has taken over hangout status completely. The ice cream parlour culture is dead.
Dollops - which I as a consumer thought was a fairly successful diversification for Cadbury - was apparently not such a good idea. It was sold to HLL, which killed off the brand.
Thanda matlab ...
All that's left now is Baskin Robbins - which has good icecream but is sold from tiny, uncool shops or counters and the ubiquitous paanch ya dus rupaye waala 'softy' machine. Then there's kirana shop icecream. Here, Amul is beating HLL because it's priced lower. And because it contains 'real milk' as opposed to Kwality-Walls which is made from vegetable oil. That's a real selling point in Amul's favour as far as parents are concerned!
The last avenue is home consumption and here too Amul appears to be more popular. They generally have some offer like "20% extra free" or buy strawberry and get a small vanilla pack free and a lot of junta feels their ice cream tastes creamier and better.
Still, I would be more than happy to try out Kwality Walls -if they came up with something out of the ordinary. Sadly, their last such attempt - the Vienetta - was a disaster. The ice cream looked nowhere like the enticing picture on the pack and in fact tasted extremely ordinary.
Still, there's hope
I think ice cream is one of those things people young and old love. It just has to be packaged and sold better - as an experience.
One way to go could be Haagen Dasz - which offers really rich creamy and sinful stuff. If they actually come to India though, they are likely to be too expensive to ever make a mass impact.
So the space is wide open for a Vadilal or a Kwality Walls to upgrade themselves and corner the adult ice cream-as-a-treat market!
I think ice cream is all about flavour and Indian ice cream makers have hardly tried to invent new ones. Vadilal once experimented with gulab jamun icecream and gajar halwa ice cream (because people apparently liked the combination at weddings). It didn't work but hey, at least they tried.
Vanilla, chocolate and butterscotch are 'killer app' ice creams. With trial and error, I'm sure many more are possible!
Creating magic
"Had a bad day? Had a good day? Either way, our four NEW Mood Magic flavors are sure to bring you emotional rescue". That's Ben and Jerrys icecream for you - and I think the appeal is far more effective than sexual innuendo! Of course Ben and Jerry's is the crazy company which sells Cherry Garcia and Karamel Sutra - flavours which were in fact suggested by consumers.
Ben & Jerrys is the google equivalent of the ice-cream world, and retains its uniquely cool and delicious image. Despite now being a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever.
Hey, that means we just might see Ben & Jerry's in India in the near future. Keeping my fingers crossed! Toes too!!
In Gurgaon, the visual with boy and top of girl was replaced with a close up of only the girl. The 'course correction' came after comments from consumers about the 'Pleasure Up' campaign being too daring.
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Dating Shame
"Channels across genres are using dating shows to reach out to youth", says a report in 'The Brand Reporter, the fortnightly print magazine from agencyfaqs.com.
Amar Deb, head honcho, Channel [V] is quoted as saying, "Everyone wants to copy a good idea. [V] Crush was one of our most successful shows and has led to a lot of other channels following the path."
Reality Check
True, there are a number of shows with the word love, dil or pyaar in them - but are they really about 'dating'? And can you honestly call them a success??
From what I remember of Crush, it was a show where lovelorn young men were assisted in tracking down some long lost "crush". They would then land up to 'surprise' the girl by landing up at her doorstep with a TV crew. Some went as far as singing besura love songs outisde the hapless girl's house.
Naturally, not all girls were overjoyed - and neither were their parents. Neither did it make for 'compelling' viewing.
Then came 'Agent Love' - well, the idea was for a VJ to select a random boy and girl and convince them to go on a blind date. As a bonus the couple gets a free makeover.
One young man whose friend happened to be selected as 'random boy' described the experience thus:
"We searched an entire shopping mall for some girl who would be willing to go on a blind date. No one volunteered. Finally, a young woman from the [V] PR team sat in a Barista and 'posed' as a random girl. We both got makeovers - and went on a 'date'."
This, he says, is what generally happens. While there are more than enough guys willing, girls just think it's a dumb idea/ worry what mom will say/ already have a (jealous) boyfriend.
No thanks!
Forget reality shows, take a look at Indian 'dating' sites. The guys registered generally outnumber girls by 10: 1.There are girls who are into dating, but generally those girls are already spoilt for attention - and choice - in the real world.
A large number of girls on the other hand do not have the freedom to date. They know it would be against their family's wishes and hence consciously stay away from 'such things'.
Or they are too timid/ underconfident to think of attracting the opposite sex. They are intimidated by the 'hep' girls who dress and groom themselves better.
The net could offer them a chance to date, but they're neither net-savvy nor have unrestricted use of a home PC. Actually going to a cybercafe, alone, to chat with strange boys would be asking for too much courage on their part!
So, the available pool of 'date-able' girls remains restricted.
Guys on the other hand - even those from so called conservative families - are keen to date. But, they don't want to date behenjis. Ever hopeful, they register on dating sites where, unfortunately, few are able to even describe themselves cohenrently.
'Hi! I'm Jites and I want friendship with girls" is the standard opening line and as can be expected, it gets them nowhere!
The tide eventually turns, as girls do register in large numbers for matrimonial sites. But then the profile is older - average age being about 25.
Show me the honey
Getting back to the 'dating shows' enumerated, I would not even classify the others as such. The Zoom TV show, for example, was about a bunch of girls singing and dancing to impress a celebrity judge.
Delhi University Sociology lecturer Grace Nemching said,"A lot of viewers watch these shows for pure entertainment. Some watch such shows believing they will help them in picking up some dating tips."
Singing and dancing to impress your potential mate? Sounds more like an arranged marriage to me!
Bottomline: Dating is still alien to 'Indian culture' because it implies mental and possibly physical contact with a series of people from the opposite sex. And most parents/ society at large is unable to accept this trial and error kind of sampling of 'love'.
Amar Deb, head honcho, Channel [V] is quoted as saying, "Everyone wants to copy a good idea. [V] Crush was one of our most successful shows and has led to a lot of other channels following the path."
Reality Check
True, there are a number of shows with the word love, dil or pyaar in them - but are they really about 'dating'? And can you honestly call them a success??
From what I remember of Crush, it was a show where lovelorn young men were assisted in tracking down some long lost "crush". They would then land up to 'surprise' the girl by landing up at her doorstep with a TV crew. Some went as far as singing besura love songs outisde the hapless girl's house.
Naturally, not all girls were overjoyed - and neither were their parents. Neither did it make for 'compelling' viewing.
Then came 'Agent Love' - well, the idea was for a VJ to select a random boy and girl and convince them to go on a blind date. As a bonus the couple gets a free makeover.
One young man whose friend happened to be selected as 'random boy' described the experience thus:
"We searched an entire shopping mall for some girl who would be willing to go on a blind date. No one volunteered. Finally, a young woman from the [V] PR team sat in a Barista and 'posed' as a random girl. We both got makeovers - and went on a 'date'."
This, he says, is what generally happens. While there are more than enough guys willing, girls just think it's a dumb idea/ worry what mom will say/ already have a (jealous) boyfriend.
No thanks!
Forget reality shows, take a look at Indian 'dating' sites. The guys registered generally outnumber girls by 10: 1.There are girls who are into dating, but generally those girls are already spoilt for attention - and choice - in the real world.
A large number of girls on the other hand do not have the freedom to date. They know it would be against their family's wishes and hence consciously stay away from 'such things'.
Or they are too timid/ underconfident to think of attracting the opposite sex. They are intimidated by the 'hep' girls who dress and groom themselves better.
The net could offer them a chance to date, but they're neither net-savvy nor have unrestricted use of a home PC. Actually going to a cybercafe, alone, to chat with strange boys would be asking for too much courage on their part!
So, the available pool of 'date-able' girls remains restricted.
Guys on the other hand - even those from so called conservative families - are keen to date. But, they don't want to date behenjis. Ever hopeful, they register on dating sites where, unfortunately, few are able to even describe themselves cohenrently.
'Hi! I'm Jites and I want friendship with girls" is the standard opening line and as can be expected, it gets them nowhere!
The tide eventually turns, as girls do register in large numbers for matrimonial sites. But then the profile is older - average age being about 25.
Show me the honey
Getting back to the 'dating shows' enumerated, I would not even classify the others as such. The Zoom TV show, for example, was about a bunch of girls singing and dancing to impress a celebrity judge.
Delhi University Sociology lecturer Grace Nemching said,"A lot of viewers watch these shows for pure entertainment. Some watch such shows believing they will help them in picking up some dating tips."
Singing and dancing to impress your potential mate? Sounds more like an arranged marriage to me!
Bottomline: Dating is still alien to 'Indian culture' because it implies mental and possibly physical contact with a series of people from the opposite sex. And most parents/ society at large is unable to accept this trial and error kind of sampling of 'love'.
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