Branded

World Cup 2011, ad-fest. Like clockwork, at the end of the over, transmission shifts to an advertisement. Shah Rukh Khan is on a living room couch with a girl half his age. Just as things are about to get interesting, a WWE-style wrestler jumps into the frame, followed by a couple of cricketers, and then a saas-bahu prototype. There’s a LCD TV mounted on the wall behind him. It’s an ad for the HD package of a DTH provider, DishTV.

Wait, rewind that. (I don’t have a DVR, but bear with me here). Didn’t you just see Shah Rukh Khan on TV a few days back endorsing the Airtel phone network? Doesn’t Airtel also have its own DTH service? He’s endorsing two competing brands?

So, you say? What’s wrong with him earning a bit of money on the side for his star power? Oh, none, I say. More power to him. However, I’ve already made the SRK-AirTel connection in my mind, so I unconsciously associate Airtel DTH with him. Dish is getting the short end of the stick. I’ve also linked A.R. Rahman to Airtel, Junior Bachchan  to Idea Cellular, and of course, Saif Ali Khan to some brand of banians (Amul Macho, really?)

Which brings me to my second point. I’m all for Saif Ali Khan in banians and a luscious Katrina Kaif posing with juicy mangoes. But just because you can do it doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. For the celebrity, for the brand, or for the audience. 

It should be straightforward to state what a brand stands for. And if we’re treating the celebrity as a brand, very few celebrities in India can claim to have that kind of consistency, especially when it comes to their endorsements. The Detroit ad for Chrysler with Eminem, for instance, is a great example of how Eminem’s persona and his Detroit roots can tie in to a good story, enhancing the perception of both celebrity and brand.

The only celebrity in India giving his endorsements some kind of thought is, of course, Aamir Khan. (He does march to his own drum-beat, doesn’t he?). After a moment’s thought, I can instantly say what his general endorsement philosophy is. He endorses mass-market brands that are affordable, but not necessarily cheap – Samsung, Titan, Tata Sky (and Coke). He has an instantly recognizable face, so he plays characters that tie back to a story the ad campaign is trying to tell. His series of advertisements for Coke were quite memorable, and the current Tata Sky Bablu series is another good ad series spread over multiple advertisements.

I do wish he didn’t do the finger-wagging, funda-spouting bit in the Incredible India ads, but that, too ties back well with his on-screen persona. He does do a lot of that in films like Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots. Though that is a story for another post.

'Do it with respect'

Dileep Premchandran writes about how today's upcoming cricketers may be losing their sense of grounding because of the amount of money and adulation being thrown their way.

This reminded me of an article I read on MSN money a short while back. It seems like it was syndicated from here. It was something that somehow made sense as the author says:

And did you do it with respect?

When I read that question ..., it seemed to me here was some real guidance.  Anything worth doing is worth doing with respect.

I see that in the way the Australians approach their game. Even if Ponting or Hayden are on song, but they'll run every single like their life depended on it. They don't take anything for granted. The same approach is visible whenever Dravid takes guard or Tendulkar simply enters the playing field. These greats did and still do their thing with humility and give their job the respect it deserves. It's something these youngsters could do well to remember.

While scratching around and hating the things you have to do to get by(cleaning, the laundry, chores, your taxes...) is one thing, these are words I found to be worth living by. Do what you are doing with the respect it deserves. It'll find a way to pay you back.

Or so you hope.

- On Friday it seems that there's less of a rush coming in to work at peak hour. Makes me wonder, where does the crazy Friday evening rush appear from? The roads are clogged from 3 PM to almost 8 PM and even later at times. Does TGIF mean people get to work early and leave at normal times, or maybe they come late and leave early/on time?

Maybe there's some secret factory that generates Friday-commuting drones that suddenly hit the road saying 'Thank God It's Friday!" Recycling them (or storing them till the following Friday) must be a massive job, since they disappear by Monday morning when things are back to normal.

- Ever wonder how almost all retail stores have women's sections on the first floor/street level (that's ground floor for Indians) while the men's section is hidden away upstairs or in the basement? Retail science has evolved so much. They've figured out that men have the homing instinct and will hit exactly the store and section they want, clearing out the minute they are done, missing most of everything on sale in the bargain.

Which is why 90% of shop window displays in these stores are devoted to women's apparel with a forlorn mannequin in the corner sporting menswear. The women's section is on the street level, guaranteeing temptation and instant gratification those who seek it most.

- I'm given to wonder why the most beautiful women play Lizzie in various versions of "Pride and Prejudice". Kiera Knightley plays her in the '05 version, while Aishwarya Rai plays her in Gurinder Chaddha's butter-chicken edition. Isn't she supposed to be less conventionally beautiful, but with more spunk than the dainty Jane? Looks apart, Knightley's characterization isn't completely off. But one has to wonder if it's a recent phenomenon. I'll have to check older versions to know.

- Day 4 of Perth is yet to be played, and I have a request of Anil Kumble. Please, please, when you need a breakthrough ( I know there's going to be enough of those pesky partnerships with the Aussies), can you toss the ball to Ganguly? On a swinging pitch, it's going to be interesting to see what he can muster. He's had a lackluster match with the bat and I'd count on his general form to give him an edge with the ball. I'd give him and Tendulkar a few overs here and there just to mix things up and see what happens.

Being counted when it counts

Cricinfo has a great article here .

Bloody-mindedness is more important than mere skills and talent. I think Rahul Dravid has it. Dhoni exhibits it from time to time, and Dinesh Karthik's looking veryyy promising. Stick-to-it-iveness is a quality that is often unnoticed and mostly under-appreciated.

If you can do it when the chips are down, the world is yours to conquer.

Edit: corrected the Karthik from Murali to Dinesh

Whither safety?

After this, it'd be really galling of the Aussies or the Poms to protest about safety conditions in the sub-continent or Africa.

Electrifying

Cricinfo's All Of Today's Yesteryears marks July 26th as an important date - the birth of Jonty Rhodes.

Jonty caught the imagination of a generation of cricket-lovers with that spectacular run-out in the '92 World Cup to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq. An interesting and little-known fact about him is that he had a chance to represent South Africa in hockey in the Olympics, which would have given him the rare distinction of representing his nation in two sports (he declined the selection to play cricket) . Also, he is epileptic, a fact that caused him to stop playing soccer as a kid (a hit to the head would have induced a fit). The present generation of cricket players definitely have been inspired by his antics at backward point since he was probably worth 20 runs before he even walked out to bat.

A request to hardcore cricket aficionados reading this: *Any* chance of obtaining an image of his extraordinary dismissal of Inzy? I remember a Sportstar centerfold poster from back then. Searching online so far has been futile.

Landmarks et al

"The ability to be patient is rare and praiseworthy for it means a player is willing to let a moment pass aware that he can own the next."

My favorite cricket journalist - Harsha Bhogle on my favorite cricketer, Rahul Dravid on my favorite (and IMO under-rated) virtue here.

India's main man hits a landmark 100 tests. Cricinfo has a good section on him.

On a personal note:

The 17th of March is a defining day in yours truly's life. It redefined the way people look at me, and this embarrasses, infuriates and pleases me in equal measures. The 'pleases' part has gone down in recent years as this mortal tries to find something that he really wants to go on his epitaph.

A new era begins... I hope

I don't remember the last time I so fervently wished well for an Indian cricketer (Sachin, like everything else is an exception). Dravid begins his campaign on the hot seat of one of the most thankless jobs in India.

Dravid epitomizes every one of the qualities that I look up to in a sporting hero. He is hardworking, polite to a fault, and yet impossibly resilient ( He isn't aggressive? Tell me that if you think Eden Gardens 2001 and Adelaide 2003 isn't about being a goddamn d*#k and not getting out while scoring runs) . A team player to the core, he's played in positions 1-7 and as wicket-keeper in ODIs depending on the team's needs and contributed immensely to our short-lived stature as a good one-day team.

He definitely is the person I want to succeed, and succeed emphatically. Only by succeeding emphatically will he bring to an end this carping over whether he is a good captain.

That being said, it is too short a timeframe for him to succeed. In fact, I get the bad feeling that he is being set up for failure by the selectors. The good thing is that he seems to be seeing eye-to-eye with the coach, and they do seem to have some ideas. I hope they are the right ones for India.

Update: As I write this, India is on the rampage in the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka.

Go India!

Driving with Elan(tra)

While watching the Super Series, I learnt that the ICC Player of the Year was to get a Hyundai Elantra. I remember as a child the wonder that we all had, when Ravi Shastri won an Audi for becoming the Champion of Champions at the World Series in 1985.

Seeing an Audi on the street (a rare sight in India then, and even now, I'm sure), we'd go "Ooo, Ravi Shastri won an Audi". Things sure have come a long way since then

Audi -> Hyundai. hmm.. I'm not sure I like this journey.

Hyundai of course is big in India now - a huge seller of cars with SRK endorsing them. I'm sure they must have gotten a lot of leverage out of this. Boatloads of money made by the ICC?

The big question is, are either Kallis or Flintoff going to hold on to theirs? Their endorsement money will surely buy them fancier Italian or German models. Will the car have enough sentimental value for them to keep it, maybe for the missus to go down to the grocery store in? She could surely try the Quattroporte. Lots of trunk space in that, I hear.

I sure hope they do (hang on to their cars). Then there'll be only one degree of separation betwixt yours truly and Freddie and Jacques. You see, I drive an Elantra too. Oh, the horror.

End of An Era?

Nice article by Harsha Bhogle on where Indian cricket stands right now. I was a supporter of keeping Ganguly as captain till as recently as the Pakistan series. The past two series show him as having serious issues in the head. If after so long in the game, he cannot counter the short ball on his body, his hard work(?) on his technique leaves a lot to be desired. The (lack of) improvement in his running between the wickets and fielding mean that there is an 'attitude problem' somewhere that needs fixing.

Further, the series in SL showed that Dravid has the chops to be captain. He showed a lot of aggression as captain, and did a great job of marshalling his resources. His batting didn't suffer all that much, and but for that ill-timed rush of blood by him in the final, we might well have held the trophy in our hands there.

It's time to move on. Ganguly's been a great captain, and he showed us some of our best times ( A world cup final, that magical pair of series against Australia and the win in Pakistan). But as he has suffered in form, the team has suffered due to his diffidence at the top of the order, and as captain.

Let him earn his way back into the team the hard way - by performing. Appoint Dravid as captain and get on with it. Our greatest player ever deserves a World Cup. It's the best gift this team can give the man who carried it for the better part of a decade.

The Gym, Gigs and the Indian cricket fan's heartbreak

It's been a crazy two weeks. Features integrating upwards, downwards and laterally. Regressions and bugs hitting from left-field. To add to the hectic-ness of it all, I decided to start on a fitness regimen - a New Year resolution 7 months too late to come into action. Plus, there were five matches (go India! :-( ) to be seen in the wee hours of the night and two concerts to be attended (more on them later). By the end of it all in the middle of this week, I was happy to be standing. But rarely had I felt more alive. Adrenaline, caffeine and pure will carried me through.

That which does not kill you will only make you stronger
- Nietzsche .

Touché. Here's to more such insanity in the future.

Indian sports roundup

BCCI says "We are in it for the money". We agreed all along.

"The ICC is toothless" says rediff. ICC agrees.

After trying her hand at editing the TOI, Sania Mirza sings on rediff radio.

What next, Hrithik cavorts with Sania, singing "you are my Sania"?

And yes, a spot of cheer in the midst of this media circus - the fastest Indian gets his spot in the sun against the world's fastest.

Un-f'ing-believable. The Tata logo on a F1 car? The Indian tricolor at Indy this year? Gotta make it there baby.Never thought I'd ever root for Jordan.

The Return of the Prodigals

Even as Australia showed why they are the best, halfway across the world, a challenger rose. It's been a good run by the English. They have shown as much (maybe more) promise as the Indians did in the golden Australian summer of 2003, when the Indians almost did the unthinkable -beating Australia in their own backyard.

There are no reasons to think this run may last longer than the Indian one did. But, I feel that India were done in this year by what I believe was a combination of statistical anomalies. So many top batsman losing form at the same time combined with bowlers being injured at the same time did take its toll.

But England seem (I say seem, as cricket for me is what I follow online) better poised this time around. I am writing this as we still go into the fifth day of what has been an intense Test match so far.

This summer's Ashes promise a tough fight. I know the world's waiting for someone to give to Australia as good as they get, and I sure don't mind it being the limeys.

Incredible!

It's the only word one can use for India's victory in this match. All the grouses about the pitch are just whining. Like Durban or the WACA's "where's a lawn-mower when you need one" pitches allow matches to be played over 5 days.

Australians are too good a team to accuse of the sour grapes phenomenon.But they did miss Warne. Like we missed Harbhajan in the last game, and Pathan in the last two games. But one thing is affirming itself, that this test rivalry has been incredible over the past 3 years. Overshadowing the Ashes? hmm...that will have to wait till the next Ashes, since now Australia will have a new England to contend with.

Dada and his ideas

Ganguly's been much-maligned in the past few months. It's a bit harsh for someone who brought India to a competitive level after they'd been really down for a few years. His form as a batsman right now leaves a lot to be desired, and there are jokes about making him a non-playing captain, a la the Davis Cup. This article however makes a good case of his motivations. I myself find his treatment of Akash Chopra not quite exemplary, and I still don't know why we can't find a better wicketkeeper than Parthiv Patel. But Saurav Ganguly knows what he is doing. At least a billion people hope he does.

The Wall

No, this is not the obligatory PF reference. ( A college-mate back in COEP used to say this - every quiz event had to have one Pink Floyd question - the obligatory PF reference) .

This is a nice article about the ICC cricketer of the year, Rahul Dravid. A classic case of what hard work, persistence and some sheer bloody-mindedness can bring a good player - greatness.

I've always liked Rahul Dravid. Since he hit that six off the backfoot off Allan Donald, I thought he had something about him. Thats why all the jokes about him not playing quickly enough used to get to me. I mean, this wasn't Ravi Shastri, scoring a 100 off 150 balls. He wasn't your typical slogger, thats all.

Then, in the past three years, he has shown that "de parvus grandis a cervus erit" - from "small things arise great ones." The constant hard work on the little things, (running singles, his lovely pull and hook shots, his fitness, his 'keeping) is paying off.

Importantly,his aforementioned bloody-mindedness in staying at the crease for hours at end, runs scored or not, has won us matches. Adelaide, Rawalpindi, and ones in the past too. He has saved the team even more often.

An interesting observation: generally his first 50 runs take more than a 100 balls (closer to 150), the next 50 take less than a 100, and generally the next runs come at around 4 an over. If he stays long enough (which is quite often nowadays) he is scoring runs at 3.5 an over. Justin Langer put it in the right perspective - its almost like he is meditating at the crease.

Here's to our man - we lost today, but it won't be often again if this man and the team can help it. Lets see if the Final Frontier still stands.