Karthik S | beastoftraal.com

Who is Donald Joshi and why does he have so much spare cash?

February 13, 2020 by Karthik S

Note: I wrote this last night fully hoping for a reveal today/Friday. And the reveal happened today. If you are in Mumbai (and read either Hindustan Times or Mumbai Mirror), you may know the secret already, but if you are not in…

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Ola launches in London; advertises in India?

February 12, 2020 by Karthik S

Ola has just launched in London. The news was out in the newspapers yesterday. And today, Ola has a splashy front-page ad proclaiming the same across 3 editions of The Times of India and 2 editions of Hindustan Times. We may have…

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Impressionable young minds engaging with Amar Chitra Katha and Barbie

February 11, 2020 by Karthik S

As a kid growing up in Bhubaneswar, Bhopal and Srirangam (near Trichy) in the 80s, my playtime included playing street cricket, bringing home stray puppies and cats and feeding them, watching Doordarshan and reading a LOT of comics and children’s books. I…

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KFC, Uber Eats, Tide & The North Face to people: “We fooled you… ha ha ha!”

February 10, 2020 by Karthik S

KFC wanted to launch its new Kentucky Burger in the Middle East. So their agency in that region, Memac Ogilvy & Mather recommended an intriguing idea: partner with 3 famous music artists in the region – Flipperachi, Moh Flow, and Shébani. Sounds…

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Happy 15th birthday, Google Maps! You’ve been hacked!

February 7, 2020 by Karthik S

Google Maps was launched on February 8, 2005. It turns 15, today! And it is also one of the few apps that I’d pay to use on my phone; I find it that indispensable! But, this is one of those ‘How did…

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Thappad uses end-credits as a marketing vehicle

February 6, 2020 by Karthik S

Watch the trailer of Thappad, first. The end-credits of Thappad’s trailer. Notice something different? No? Let me explain. I usually always look at the name of the music composer (composers, these days) in the end credit of trailers, and noticed ‘Anurag Dipali…

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The not-so-smart phone wars

February 5, 2020 by Karthik S

Originally published in Brand Equity (The Economic Times), February 5, 2020. When Manu Kumar Jain (Managing Director of Xiaomi India) Madhav Sheth (Realme India CEO) and C Manmohan (General Manager of POCO India) stumble upon each other in an event, how do…

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