Karthik S | beastoftraal.com

A prequel to that Sabhyata Diwali ad

October 31, 2022October 31, 2022 by Karthik S

The recent Diwali ad by Sabhyata, a clothing brand, made by the agency ‘P se Picture’ garnered a lot of praise. The narrative in this ad reminded me of a classic episode of Darpan or Katha Saagar that I used to love…

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About the ‘reimagining traditions’ accusation on advertising

October 17, 2022October 21, 2024 by Karthik S

Shorter version on audio: YouTube: Spotify: Full post: Let me start with a disclosure: I am a huge fan of McDonald’s Paneer Burger. They seem to have made it hotter/spicier recently compared to what it seemed to have been a few years…

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The 5G advertising challenge

September 22, 2022September 22, 2022 by Karthik S

I don’t specifically recall when my mobile phone network moved from 3G to 4G. 4G arrived in India around 2012 and I don’t recall a pricing difference (at least in my Airtel post-paid connection) between the 2 networks or even being given…

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Muscle-memory and personal branding

September 21, 2022September 21, 2022 by Karthik S

I have written about my daily 5-kilometer running routine many times in the past. See:1. Get healthy and enjoy your drive… while reading a book! 2. Habits But this post is about the breaks in that routine and how it affects me….

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Mint-flavored QR codes

September 20, 2022September 20, 2022 by Karthik S

As someone who skims through 20+ newspapers every day, one specific thing that catches my eye—though I don’t do anything about it—in Mint newspaper is the use of QR codes. I don’t think I have seen QR codes being used as prominently…

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Dabur Honey’s unnecessary ruse

September 19, 2022December 19, 2022 by Karthik S

Shorter version on audio: YouTube: Spotify: Full post: The Financial Express story on Sunday was about brands ‘dropping the act’ and showing authentic experiences. One of the products—and campaigns—mentioned was Dabur Honey, based on a recent campaign featuring Sonu Sood. Here’s what…

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Crocin’s doctor deception

September 15, 2022December 19, 2022 by Karthik S

Shorter version on audio: YouTube: Spotify: Full post: As far as I recall, GSK’s Crocin first released an ad featuring ‘Mr. Sachin Khurana’ early in 2022. The pitch in that ad was that Crocin starts working in 5 minutes. ‘Mr. Sachin Khurana’…

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