Random Thoughts

The new theme of Indian ads

A young Indian man with a job offer from overseas is crisscrossing the city roads on his sleek motor bike. Strangely, he is bit confused whether he should accept the offer. While in dilemma, he is swiftly riding along the smooth road gazing at the sky scrappers, super malls and other symbols of urban development along the way. And, finally he decides to stay back and be a part of the growing home economy. He says good bye to his foreign employer tearing apart the offer letter.

When this ad campaign for Hero Honda CD (guess, it’s new CD100) bike was launched on TV channels in India almost a year ago, it appeared to be more pretentious than audacious. An Indian youth leaving a chance to earn abroad in foreign currency was simply incredible. Why on earth would he let go an opportunity to leave his poor, underdeveloped, and corrupt country behind for greener pastures? Was the India’s growth story so strong to appeal to the young Indians? The answers were hard to find and the ad gradually went into oblivion.

However, as it appears now, the ad may have gone past the memory lane of the ad people and the viewers alike but the theme is not. In fact, this ‘India beacons you’ story is gaining roots as one can see handful of ads using it in various ways. The campaign of GMR Infra (Ready for India?) shows families of non-Indians in a hurry to customize to Indian conditions. Another ad (don’t remember the brand) portrays an Indian youth happy after missing an opportunity to study abroad.

The latest one in the frail is the Rin Supreme campaign. It shows a white couple attending an Indian marriage and worried over the way their pre-nursery kid takes up to the South Indian style of eating rice.

It is said that the ad people sense the societal trends quicker than anyone else. If this is true then are we really going to see the reversal of brain drain in the coming years? It is true that the number of trips made by foreign business people in India has seen a major jump in last two years. In fact, in a recent conference which the writer of this article attended, a global practice head of a top consultancy firm proudly mentioned that his passport now carries more of Indian visa entries!

Another point worth noting is the latest outdoor campaign launched by The Economist in the Indian metro cities. The Rs 3 crore campaign is the first ever in India for the London based weekly newspaper. Certainly this is the market which even the world's one of the most renowned business chronicles cannot ignore.

The idea underpinned by all these events may look little too unrealistic for an Indian mind who has till today seen nothing else but the indigenous talent leaving the country for a better tomorrow. But, who knows the ad people might be true even this time around!

Labels: Society

posted by Ranjit @ 3/03/2008 11:01:00 pm 0 comments

Union Budget 2008-09: Quick bites

The finance minister has not provided for the Rs 60,000 crore loan waivers that doled out to farmers. It is believed that the government would reimburse the banks for the losses arising out of this arrangement but how? That’s not clear. Further no provision for the recommendations of sixth pay commission, which would come on the anvil soon. Both the things are unavoidable and come with a time deadline of about 3-6 months.

The government can borrow money to fund these decisions. However, that would adversely impact its targets for fiscal and revenue deficits. Given this imbroglio, there are two possibilities. Either the government would increase taxes or print more of paper currency. There was no major increase in the tax structure nor were new taxes proposed during the budget. So, the government may have to settle down with the second option. And, that may result in higher inflation in the coming months.

If one has to consider impact of the budget on industrial sectors, then that is more obvious in case of sectors like auto, banking, paper, textile, FMCG and pharma. Among the less obvious customers is IT. There is no direct benefit for the IT services exporters, which form the bulk of the sector. However, the government seems to be serious about the growth in IT and communications in the domestic market. It reflects from its decision to give fillip to broadband connectivity in rural areas and to set up statewide communications corridor. Given this, the domestic IT market is likely to see a major demand push in the coming years, which might compel the IT biggies to pay more attention to the Indian market, which they more often ignore.

For FMCG, there is one more benefit from the budget proposals, which goes beyond the duty sops. It comes in the form of push for consumerism. Higher income tax brackets, the proposals in the sixth pay commission are likely to increase disposable income in the hands of the consumers. This would in turn result into higher consumer expenditure in a market economy.

Labels: Policies

posted by Ranjit @ 3/01/2008 02:43:00 pm 0 comments