As usual I’m stuck in traffic again. There is a crossing and vehicles are standing in every which direction with no direction. Everyone wants their right of way and no one is willing to wait.
There are a few individuals who have volunteered to steer the traffic and clear the jam but sadly no one listens to them. It is depressing when people are not willing to even make use of a service which is being offered for free.
What then is the solution? The solution given below is paradoxic and that’s why it is so difficult to accept.
“To reach faster, give way.”
This simple statement epitomises what the problem is and also what the solution could be. If everyone wants to be the first, no one eventually will. But if you let the other person make the first move, who knows you may be reaching home first.
But given the collective ‘wisdom’ of crowds, the status quo is probably the way its going to be. People will dismiss this suggestion as idealistic or too much to expect.
Strange are the minds of humans. Willing to overlook the simplest of solutions in search of more complex alternatives.
Q. What is Yashwant Kanetkar’s favourite vegetable?
A. Lettuce (Let us C)
For the non-geeks and non-nerds, here’s some background info on Yashwant Kanetkar.
First a short background. Tonight our car got towed. This was when we were having a dinner consisting of dosai and idlis. Not only was the food bad, we were in for a rude shock when we saw another car parked where we had parked our car. We did a double check, walked through the entire parking lot just to make sure but then reality sank in. The car was gone. It had been towed.
Now to cut a long story short, we got the car back after paying the requisite fine. But while paying the fine, I saw at least 10 other towing receipts in front of me. A quick back on the envelope calculation follows:-
Let’s assume 16 receipts per day (probably up to 20). 16 * 300 = 4800Rs. 4800 * 30 = Rs1.44 lakhs. Assume 30 police chowkis in Mumbai. Rs30 lakhs per month to the Mumbai pandus. Wonder how much of this goes in to their stomachs.
But while researching traffic rules, I stumbled upon this gem of a FAQ. The Mumbai police explaining traffic rules to inquisitive questioners. The helmet section is a hoot. Check out this question for instance:-
Question: Why must I wear a helmet?
When man was created, he was quipped with a skull to protect his brain. This original protection measure ” set-up” was effective in the then soft environment which was man’s normal habitat’. As man evolved, he started by taming the horse, as he outgrew the speed capability of the horse, he began searching for faster modes of travel. He first developed the steam engine, followed by the internal combustion engine and then the turbine. Man, while he has succeeded in propelling himself at speeds that would have scared his ancestors, has also changed his surroundings to hard unyielding surfaces both horizontal and vertical.
Unfortunately, he has not been able to transform himself to the protective needs of his new lifestyle and environment. The helmet is, therefore, necessary and just a link in the long chain of safety equipment and counter measures man has to use in his present surroundings.
Lol. Talk about beating the bush. The author of this FAQ would make a good consultant. Read the entire Mumbai traffic police FAQ at your leisure.
Recently Micromax mobile brought out an ad starring Akshay Kumar as a chef playing in the kitchen with his Micromax mobile. While doing so, he becomes so involved that he messes up the kitchen real bad. All the time he keeps laughing this “Rahul Mahajan” (btw where is he?) laugh. The ad was terribly irritating. Would give that ad around 1.5 out of 5. Ad link.
But recently they came out with a self-parody of the previous ad. Two cleaners are cleaning the kitchen which was messed up by Akshay Kumar while another cook picks up the phone and starts playing with it. When the cleaner sees this, he gets frustrated at all the work and taunts the cook in the same laughing tone.
This ad is much clever and full credits to the ad agency of Micromax for bringing out this self-parodying ad. Would this one 4 out of 5. (Can’t find the link of this ad online)
An interesting piece of news: Micromax leads the pack of local mobile manufacturers (who collectively now constitute around 17% of the Indian mobile market share). Micromax’s share of the Indian mobile phone market is 4.8%
If you’ve watched any of the cricket matches during the ongoing IPL3 season, you must have seen the Adidas ads. There are three ads – one from the point of view of a batsman, a fielder and a bowler. Adidas is well-known for its inspiring ads, and this one doesn’t disappoint at all.
“Sometimes I can fly.” Wish I could write copy like that. Here’s the Youtube link for the ads.
The same old autos
The same old puddles
The same old dug-up roads
The same old traffic cops
The same old commuters
The same old failed actors
The same old red signals
The same old beggars
The same old route to work
Life definitely needs a change…
IIFL (India Infoline)
With this post I began a long neglected hobby of mine. Criticizing ads. On TV, in newspapers ads are all around us. Some are good, some are bad and some are downright ugly. This is my effort in tearing apart the ugly, criticizing the bad and appreciating the good.
The ad industry is very close to me, almost like a dear brother lost in the kumbh-mela of the career rat race (…if you can make any sense of that sentence). I begin this endeavour with a few ads which have been making the rounds these days. One of them is the IIFL ad. This is for India Infoline a financial services company who has always seeemed to be struggling to define its brand identity. In its latest move, to renew its brand it has come out with an ad saying it has shortened its name to IIFL (India InFoLine).
Two things against this change. First, the capitalization makes no sense. Random letter capitalized to make a short form. Secondly they have come out with an ad today (http://epaper.livemint.com/ArticleImageEx.aspx?article=31_03_2010_015_003&type=1&mode=1) saying “Short is Great” and justifying their short name with famous personalities like Sachin, Gandhi, Picasso who were of “short height”. This comparison seems like a huge generalization and irrelevant if you ask me. The good thing about this ad is that it has been smartly executed. Short. Crisp. The way I like it.
AdMeter Rating: 2.5/5
PS. May I suggest IIFL to add Kim Jong Il (at a height multiple of 5′3″) to your portfolio for better diversification.
Q. How would the famous song from Omkara go if Bipasha Basu were a geek?
A. CD jalai le Nero se piya, Nero me badi aag hai…
On a side note, the domain is about to expire. Accepting donations now for server hosting costs.
1) Gateway of India
2) The Taj hotel with a few pigeons.
3) Powai night skyline.
4) An airplane landing/taking off.
5) A child laughing.
6) Bandra Worli Sea-Link.
7) Inside of a shopping mall.
8 ) A policeman taking a bribe.
9) ???
Deadline for these pictures? By the end of this year. Wish me luck.
