Well.. just a few thoughts that were triggered by my friend, Sats' comments, abt me trying to advertise for Kodak through my previous blog. :-)
Talk about Brand building. Some brands are so tightly coupled with the products, that a similar product of some other brand also ends up being called by the established brand's name! Some brands just monopolize the market, and are the first ones to be referred for a particular product.
Lemme explain.
DALDA. Yeah, the name which is so very synonymous to any vegetable oil being used in thousands of Indian households. Be it any [ read any brand's] vegetable oil, its almost always called and refered to as DALDA. Now thatz some really serious brand building, say laymen :-)
TINOLPOL. This was a famous bleaching agent esp of the yester years, for clothes, . TINOPOL [Calcofluor White] was made synonymous with the degree of whiteness, to the extent of calling sparkling canines Tinopol white! :-)
CADBURY or DAIRYMILK. This ain't as prevelant as the previous one, but many might agree that generally any bar of chocolate is referred as CADBURY . Esp in the LMC and MC households of India. Also, the ubiquitous DAIRYMILK [ its Cadbury's milk chocolate brand. There are plain chocolate bars offered by Cadbury as well, under Cadbury Bournville ]. Any Cadbury's regular bar in India[as in, not the Temptations and Desserts etc] is referred to as DairyMilk.
KODAK. This can be an example of how effective a product is marketed. Many refer the moments to be cherished or recorded as the Kodak Moments.
RASNA. This soft drink concentrate really ruled [and still rules i guess?] the household sector. Come summer and Rasna was omnipresent in most of the Indian households. Such widespread has been its appeal that you can still come across a housewife asking.. "kya loge? chai, coffee, Rasna? "
AMUL BUTTER. This case is similar to the DALDA case. This breadspread has been so popular,that it almost monopolised the pasturised salted butter market. Even recipes used to refer "100 gm of AMUL Butter.. " :-)
Am adding a few more examples,
XEROX. Its so soooo common to say getting a Xerox, when all one means is getting a photocopy of the original document. Things being identical are synonymous to things being Xerox copies..and that says all about the phenomenal success of the Xerox Office Copiers.
PS: Thanks Manoj, this brand is sooo popular that just slipped outta my mind to consider it as a brand at all! :-)
TETRAPAK. The packaging solution provided by Tetrapak [packaging,processing and aseptic technology] became so popular, that this form of packaging has has introduced the brand itself as the commodity.. "stuff being tetrapacked.. " says it all.
GODREJ. The storewells of this brand have gained huge stronghold in Indian households. And any cupboard with a similar look n feel is fortunate enuff to be called a "Godrej" :-)
VOLVO. A luxury bus with A/C, TV and reclining comfortable seats is called a VOLVO. :-)
BISLERI. Bottled/Packaged drinking/mineral water. Be it anything, all is BISLERI.
BANDAID. be it a bruise or a boil, scrape or a cut, one applies a BandAid. The adhesive bandage brand of Johnson & Johnson really seals shut any other competion.
And there are many which are ubiquitous on the home medication front; Vicks, Crocin, Glycodin, Benadryl, Tiger Balm, Iodex, .. and the list goes on...
Many of these brands hail from the yesters, and have maintained their popularity through the passing years. Some brands were popular once, but now one rarely hears of them. [remember the soft drink GoldSpot? or the mini chocolate bar, Fonda? , the Kismi toffees ?]
The olden days had lesser options and markets weren't flooded with brands and products galore. Some brands sustained the flood and are still enjoying a loyal consumer support. Others will just keep coming, and going too..
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Kodak Moments !
There are certain moments in life, which remain on the canvas of your mind for a long looooong time.
They are not always the moments to cherish; neither are they always spectacular or grand; but still, they stay, as everlasting memories.
These memories aren't always very elaborate or detailed, but they do assume a distinct picture frame, with poingant colors and boundaries.
They aren't like a film being played in your mind, but more like a slide-show.
They are frozen potraits or painitngs in time, but very much alive with their scents, sounds and colors.
And the 'pointers' to these memories aren't always visual.
I mean a certain memory floods into your mind by a familiar smell, by a familiar feeeling, by a familiar sound....
The smell of earth, just before it rains, always triggers memories of summer holidays.
So does the smell of mogra flowers. During summer, these flower vendors would stroll into our lanes after sunset, and the entire lane would be fragrant with that intoxicating smell. We kids would be allowed to be up till late night, and watch the ladies of the house make gajras [small streams of flowers needled into threads] .
The smell of new textbooks reminds me of some 7th or 8th std history textbook with sepia colored picture of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose [why him of all other leaders that we studied? dunno..]
The sound of cow-bells always reminds me of the mobile-sugarcane-juice-vendors who passed by our lanes selling the cool n sweet juice. The juicer had these bells hooked at one end of its handle.
When ever I get butterflies in my tummy, it reminds me of the first reluctant plunge in water during my swimming classes. [i wonder how many times these swimming classes are going to figure in my blogs! :-D ]
Any mention of the movie, Broken Arrow [John Travolata] triggers a memory-avalanche of my Engg days, esp the submission night-outs, coz during 1 such night out we all had watched this movie on HBO. :-D
I believe that each one of us has his/her own copy of an album; tucked away in some corner of the mind, which treasures such Kodak Moments.
They mean much to us, and invariably surface when the "pointers" pop up!
The best thing is , this album keeps on growing with us, and I believe a time will come when every thing we see, every thing we smell, every thing we touch, evry thing we feel will have its own special memory attached with it, and life will become one beautiful collage of Kodak Moments! :-)
They are not always the moments to cherish; neither are they always spectacular or grand; but still, they stay, as everlasting memories.
These memories aren't always very elaborate or detailed, but they do assume a distinct picture frame, with poingant colors and boundaries.
They aren't like a film being played in your mind, but more like a slide-show.
They are frozen potraits or painitngs in time, but very much alive with their scents, sounds and colors.
And the 'pointers' to these memories aren't always visual.
I mean a certain memory floods into your mind by a familiar smell, by a familiar feeeling, by a familiar sound....
The smell of earth, just before it rains, always triggers memories of summer holidays.
So does the smell of mogra flowers. During summer, these flower vendors would stroll into our lanes after sunset, and the entire lane would be fragrant with that intoxicating smell. We kids would be allowed to be up till late night, and watch the ladies of the house make gajras [small streams of flowers needled into threads] .
The smell of new textbooks reminds me of some 7th or 8th std history textbook with sepia colored picture of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose [why him of all other leaders that we studied? dunno..]
The sound of cow-bells always reminds me of the mobile-sugarcane-juice-vendors who passed by our lanes selling the cool n sweet juice. The juicer had these bells hooked at one end of its handle.
When ever I get butterflies in my tummy, it reminds me of the first reluctant plunge in water during my swimming classes. [i wonder how many times these swimming classes are going to figure in my blogs! :-D ]
Any mention of the movie, Broken Arrow [John Travolata] triggers a memory-avalanche of my Engg days, esp the submission night-outs, coz during 1 such night out we all had watched this movie on HBO. :-D
I believe that each one of us has his/her own copy of an album; tucked away in some corner of the mind, which treasures such Kodak Moments.
They mean much to us, and invariably surface when the "pointers" pop up!
The best thing is , this album keeps on growing with us, and I believe a time will come when every thing we see, every thing we smell, every thing we touch, evry thing we feel will have its own special memory attached with it, and life will become one beautiful collage of Kodak Moments! :-)
Monday, November 07, 2005
Cheap Thrills?
While flipping the channels, came across this one on Discovery.
The lives of stunstmen in Indian Cinema.
Most of them were so much like.. us! I mean no hunky figures, no flashy gears, no fans, no media, no camera clicks swarming them.
Many made almost the same picture: boot cuts/ acid washed/ monkey washed pants of some non-brand brand, latest fashioned, but cheaper versions of shirts / Tees , few had gutkha stained teeth, few younger ones had highlighted hair, pierced ears, many had an assortment of dhagas on their wrists;black,red,yellow,saffron, some junk jewels around the neck.. that forced hep look one can say.
The documentary said there were no safety measures/ insurances or other securities in place for these ppl.If somebody was injured, or worse, dead, the family recieved one-time compensation,and the one-time dare devil would be lost in anonimity.
One Mr. Shetty [ i forgot the 1st name..] was being interviewed.
He has been paralysed waist-down, at an active age of 30 smthing.
He met with a fatal accident while rehearsing for a free fall from a helicopter for some movie.
And since it wasn't during the actual shoot, he was denied the liable compensation.
Help was offered for initial rounds of treatment, but now he is on his own. He spoke bitterly about the fame and fortune the actual actors [ lets say heroes ] earned at his cost.
The documentary also showed an action scene being shot, down south. They were using a crude pulley to catapult one of the goons, when the hero hits out at him. As exagerrated as it may sound, the stuntsman was supposed to be lifted off the scene almost 15 feet above the ground, and hurled outside the frame.
The pulley misfuntioned and the stunt went horribly wrong. The stuntsman landed on his back with a thud. He winced in pain, and few of the crew rushed to help. The fall was nasty, but damage wasn't much. Once again the fellow was ready for the shot. This time all went well. There was visible relief on his face.
"darr toh lagta hain, but jaab saab theek hota hain, to majaa ata hain! ", he grinned at the camera.
One reporter who has covered shoots in Hollywood commented that there are safety analysts and stunt experts present at the shoot. Stuntsmen are provided with maximum safety gears and are well covered for injuries and damages incurred during the stunts.
There is a special training school for "risky driving" required for chase sequences or car-actions.
Why don't we have that, I thought. After all, we too have a huge film industry, and all the workers, big or small are entitled to proper training and compensation. This too has something to do with the mass production I guess. "yeh nahin karega toh koi doosra jaroor karega.."
There are a few heroes who do their own action scenes, and earn a full fledged applause for it.
Any mishap during their shoots, big or small, becomes a news and clippings of a wheelchaired hero with his limbs in the cast splash on our TV screens. But a stuntsman, even if he loses his life, never features anywhere.Guess these kinda news don't sell.
While watching the documentary, images of "thrilling" scenes were flashing in my mind.
For us, its a scene that stays in our mind for some time, and vaporises away soon after. Its not even 1/10th of the movie. During a fight scene we hardly bother to give a look or a second thought for the gunda/goon/the likes / or the body double been flug across the screen, crashed into the glass, pushed down a plane,thrown out of a moving train, trampled by a horse, dashed by a car.
Spectators are lost in cheering the hero and are carried away by his antics.
Some of us trash the action scenes for being too much. Too much of blood shed, too much of voilence, "how a movie goer enjoys all this ? All for the masses..Cheap Thrills.." we say.
The lives of stunstmen in Indian Cinema.
Most of them were so much like.. us! I mean no hunky figures, no flashy gears, no fans, no media, no camera clicks swarming them.
Many made almost the same picture: boot cuts/ acid washed/ monkey washed pants of some non-brand brand, latest fashioned, but cheaper versions of shirts / Tees , few had gutkha stained teeth, few younger ones had highlighted hair, pierced ears, many had an assortment of dhagas on their wrists;black,red,yellow,saffron, some junk jewels around the neck.. that forced hep look one can say.
The documentary said there were no safety measures/ insurances or other securities in place for these ppl.If somebody was injured, or worse, dead, the family recieved one-time compensation,and the one-time dare devil would be lost in anonimity.
One Mr. Shetty [ i forgot the 1st name..] was being interviewed.
He has been paralysed waist-down, at an active age of 30 smthing.
He met with a fatal accident while rehearsing for a free fall from a helicopter for some movie.
And since it wasn't during the actual shoot, he was denied the liable compensation.
Help was offered for initial rounds of treatment, but now he is on his own. He spoke bitterly about the fame and fortune the actual actors [ lets say heroes ] earned at his cost.
The documentary also showed an action scene being shot, down south. They were using a crude pulley to catapult one of the goons, when the hero hits out at him. As exagerrated as it may sound, the stuntsman was supposed to be lifted off the scene almost 15 feet above the ground, and hurled outside the frame.
The pulley misfuntioned and the stunt went horribly wrong. The stuntsman landed on his back with a thud. He winced in pain, and few of the crew rushed to help. The fall was nasty, but damage wasn't much. Once again the fellow was ready for the shot. This time all went well. There was visible relief on his face.
"darr toh lagta hain, but jaab saab theek hota hain, to majaa ata hain! ", he grinned at the camera.
One reporter who has covered shoots in Hollywood commented that there are safety analysts and stunt experts present at the shoot. Stuntsmen are provided with maximum safety gears and are well covered for injuries and damages incurred during the stunts.
There is a special training school for "risky driving" required for chase sequences or car-actions.
Why don't we have that, I thought. After all, we too have a huge film industry, and all the workers, big or small are entitled to proper training and compensation. This too has something to do with the mass production I guess. "yeh nahin karega toh koi doosra jaroor karega.."
There are a few heroes who do their own action scenes, and earn a full fledged applause for it.
Any mishap during their shoots, big or small, becomes a news and clippings of a wheelchaired hero with his limbs in the cast splash on our TV screens. But a stuntsman, even if he loses his life, never features anywhere.Guess these kinda news don't sell.
While watching the documentary, images of "thrilling" scenes were flashing in my mind.
For us, its a scene that stays in our mind for some time, and vaporises away soon after. Its not even 1/10th of the movie. During a fight scene we hardly bother to give a look or a second thought for the gunda/goon/the likes / or the body double been flug across the screen, crashed into the glass, pushed down a plane,thrown out of a moving train, trampled by a horse, dashed by a car.
Spectators are lost in cheering the hero and are carried away by his antics.
Some of us trash the action scenes for being too much. Too much of blood shed, too much of voilence, "how a movie goer enjoys all this ? All for the masses..Cheap Thrills.." we say.
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