Karthik S | beastoftraal.com

When mocking cliched Diwali ads became a cliche

November 10, 2021October 7, 2025 by Karthik S

Can mocking cliches end up being cliched? It did, this Diwali! Let me start in reverse. On November 1st, DIZO, the sub-brand of Realme launched its Diwali 2021 ad film. Created by the agency White Rivers Media, the ad’s idea was to…

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Advertising narratives: ‘safely obtuse’ vs. ‘outrage-worthy obtuse’

November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 by Karthik S

Related reading:1. The bindi factor in Indian advertising2. Indian advertising: Submit to my world-view, or else… There are advertising narratives that are called ‘obtuse’, in response to a question that goes “How has marketing during the festive times evolved over time?” (by…

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Misdirection as a narrative device in advertising

November 8, 2021November 8, 2021 by Karthik S

Two new ad campaigns use a classic advertising misdirection to force a particular imagery first, only to change it entirely to make a contextual point. Take a look at the series from Petco, the pet food company, made by the agency Droga5….

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Indian advertising: Submit to my world-view, or else…

November 3, 2021November 3, 2021 by Karthik S

Note: An abridged version of this post appeared in The Hindu, today (November 3, 2021). See at the end of this post. “An Indian woman, without sporting a bindi, wearing Western clothing, is seen dancing unabashedly in public to celebrate her boyfriend’s…

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Embracing patience

October 28, 2021October 28, 2021 by Karthik S

We are at the age of 15-minute grocery delivery. We need/want everything as soon as possible. And brands comply to create businesses around making that happen and feed into our endless instant needs and wants. Imagine something, and you have the means…

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Moody Hues, featuring Surya Roshni and Crompton

October 27, 2021October 27, 2021 by Karthik S

Two Indian lighting brands have launched new campaigns with identical themes at the same time! They have been created by two different agencies, obviously. Surya Roshni’s campaign, by Ogilvy, has the theme, ‘Sabko Mood Mein Le Aaye’. It features Shankar Mahadevan who…

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Coke does a Pepsi

October 26, 2021October 26, 2021 by Karthik S

Back in 2017, Pepsi launched a new ad featuring Kendall Jenner. The ad had Jenner come out of a photoshoot to see a demonstration happening on the road, joining that crowd, pick up a chilled can of Pepsi from a well-stocked cooler,…

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