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…

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,…

There is a lot of buzz around the bindi, or the lack of it, recently. Before I explain the current buzz, I should add that I have been conscripted into a ‘bindi-related’ misinformation campaign last year. Here is that issue: Do not…

How did we talk to brands before social media? We called them via telephones – this seems quaint now!We emailed them – this seems slow now!We chatted with them via online chat tools – I still do this, with Amazon. What happens…