MxMIndia

Category: BLOGS

  • The station did start off as an English channel, it played super music, and the RJs at the time packed in spunk. But along the way it joined the herd, dumbed down, went all-Hindi, and totally lost its edge

    Anil Thakraney: Radio One is finally singing the right tune

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    According to market news, Radio One is all set to return to English programming in Mumbai and Delhi. And I believe that’s the right decision. It was quite late in coming, but as they say, better late than never.

     

    The station did start off as anEnglish channel, it played super music, and the RJs, at the time, packed in spunk. Some names that come immediately to mind include T Man, Tarana and Jaggu. The issues they discussed connected with the up-market urban audiences. However, along the way, for some inexplicable reasons, the channel joined the herd; it dumbed down, went all-Hindi, and totally lost its edge.

     

    Radio One became just another Hindi channel, essentially catering to the lowest common denominator. And it became a me-too radio station. What’s worse is they did this long after all the bigger radio stations had already earned brownie points with the mass listeners, and it became difficult to create a loyal base.

     

    In fact, speaking personally, Radio One’s dumbing down was the last nail in the coffin I had bought for my car radio. And I completely gave up on the medium and loaded my glove box with many CDs. I am quite sure this is the case with many other people. And, as a media professional, I found the station’s strategy to be quite bewildering, to say the least. Common sense suggests two things: One, there’s no point joining the rat race, as this kills the brand differential. And two, a whole lot of advertisers would want to target the up market audiences, as that’s the segment with the highest purchasing power. Even if all cab drivers tune into a channel, of what use is that to premium advertisers?

     

    Anyway, it appears the Radio One managers chose to learn the hard way. The station now seems to be coming full circle. And yes, I am quite thrilled. Looking forward to taking a break from my CDs, and enjoying some great music and some interesting chatter all over again.

    * * *

     

    PS: The London underground recently celebrated its ‘No trousers on the tube’ day. Which involves commuters travelling with their legs exposed. Hope Mumbai train commuters don’t ape this idea, and launch a ‘No shirt on the local’ day. Packed like sardines, we already have to smell armpits. Now imagine smelling naked armpits. The pits!

     

    Link: http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2012/01/10/in-pictures-no-trousers-on-the-tube-day-2012/#more-46049

  • Indian showbiz just does not have writers who can pen such superlative scripts and dialogues like 24. The very average quality of writing in our movies and soaps is a clear indication of that.

    Anil Thakraney: Star India’s massive gamble

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Actor Anil Kapoor, who played a smallish role (after hectic lobbying) in the cult American TV serial 24, now wants to re-make it in India. Have we totally run out of desi programming ideas? Well, that’s a topic for another day. What interests me urgently are media reports which suggest that Star Plus has bought the rights to the Indian version for a mind-numbing sum of Rs 85 crore. No TV show in the history of Indian television has commanded that sort of a price tag.

     

    One sincerely hopes Star is rejoicing over this sensational investment. Because quite honestly, I have serious doubts if the Indian cast and crew can pull this one off. I watched two seasons of 24, and I can tell you the show is simply unstoppable. I had to postpone work assignments and a lot of sleep in order to finish all the episodes, it was that riveting. Now, here are the reasons why I believe 24 rockedAmerica: the pace is extremely brisk, the script is powerful with many sudden twists and turns, the acting is superlative and the special effects, fantastic. However, what shines the most are the kickass dialogues, they keep you hooked.

     

    I am not sure if we can deliver all of that in India. And my scepticism is rooted in three huge areas of concern. One, Indian showbiz just does not have writers who can pen such superlative scripts and dialogues. The very average quality of writing in our movies and soaps is a clear indication of that. Two, our directors seldom deliver on both, form and content together. On 99 per cent of those projects, when it comes to producing with style and chutzpah, the content gets compromised. If a talented Farhan Akhtar can commit that folly (Don 2), you can easily imagine what a risk this is with others in the frat. And three, 24 is a gritty show that pulls no punches when it comes to featuring political debates and communal tensions. That’s one of the reasons the American audiences connected with it. In a hyper-sensitive and a vote bank politics-led India, where people are ready to protest at the drop of a hat; that will be a tough act to follow. And too much caution will kill this particular show.

     

    Well, all I can say is that Anil Kapoor and many others are about to hit the jackpot. Good for them. And I hope the Star network isn’t the only one left short-changed. Good luck to the channel!

     

    ***

     

    PS: BBC’s Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, has pissed India off. The mischief-monger made fun of our ‘lack of hygiene’ in his India series. Now, instead of ignoring the man’s rubbish, even laughing it off, the Indian High Commission inLondonhas formally complained about the programme. And they have demanded an apology. Come on guys, the man is a comedian. Surely a billion plus Indians can’t be so under-confident as to take a joker seriously. When will this nation learn to be cool?

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers.

    Journalists’ covenants on cricket and more

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Aging batsmen, an arrogant captain making bad choices, indifferent performances, the Indian Premier League and the Board for Control of Cricket in India- all or some of these are to blame for the Indian cricket team’s unfortunate performance in Australia.

     

    Television, which was building itself up, started in a slow frenzy at the start of the weekend but it was all out there – foam, fits – by Sunday evening. Arnab Goswami of Times Now, amply helped by his alter ego Boria Majumdar inAustralia, was extremely saddened as only he can be by Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni in particular. Had Dhoni denigrated Test cricket by suggesting that he might retire from that version of the game? Was this the end of civilisation as we know it and so on? He was supported by Bishen Singh Bedi who was sputtering at the mouth with anger and by the cynical observations of another guest who got Goswami and Bedi even more enraged.

     

    Newspapers are still more circumspect but try ‘Shame Old Story’ and ‘Disgrace’ from The Times of India, ‘Perth Pangs’ and ‘India blunder, Oz plunder’ from Hindustan Times. Sunday Mid-Day tried to put a spin on it with ‘Bright Spark’, referring to bowler Umesh Yadav getting five wickets but the strap line below the headline emphasisedIndia’s batting collapse.

     

    Luckily forIndia’s beleaguered cricketers, a week is a very short time in journalism. Just before the India-Australia series started, I seem to rememberAustraliabeing hammered for losing toNew ZealandandIndiafeeling all pumped up because of its enormous talent and at-home victories. A couple of days atMelbourneand all that moaning and hype was completely reversed.

     

    My journalist friends and colleagues tell me that I should not be so hard on my fellow journalists and that it is the job of journalists to get hysterical and to have no memories at all, especially when it comes to sport. There is apparently some mysterious covenant signed by sports journalists (us general purpose journos are not privy to this procedure) by which they have to swear that they will make every effort not to remember what they had said or written the week before. Also that every loss by a sports team or person has to be portrayed as the end of the world and every victory had to be the best ever. I know this to be true from my experiences as a tennis fan (empirical evidence!).

     

    We already know that TV people have their own covenant which makes them swear to try and “save” Indiaat every opportunity and know as little as possible about any subject which gets them all excited.

     

    The cocktail of these two covenants makes for some very dramatic viewing and for those with longer attention spans, there are newspaper articles. Some sober commentators in print will try to look at the larger picture and to extrapolate future courses of action from past experiences. They may be chucked out of the Lodge for breaking the covenant unless they are long term offenders. But in these times, the hysteria will win. Except of course tillIndiawins something!

     

  • The one little problem is this: Because all the ad time gets used up in establishing the clones, there's no chance of telling us exactly how Kotak Life will help us double our income.

    Debrief: Kotak hits the clone zone

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Another Bollywood classic lifted. Kotak Life promises you guaranteed second income in their new commercial, and the idea is ‘cloning’. The jingle borrows the popular Qurbani film song, and the tinkered words are: ‘Mere jaisa koi meri zindagi mein aaye’.

     

    In the commercial, people discover duplicates of themselves, much to their delight. And these clones happily assist the originals in their activity. A singer gets a partner to croon with. A chef gets a partner to aid in preparing a delicacy. Another chap gets a look-alike to help him board a moving bus. It’s not a bad idea at all. If the Kotak Life managers are alive to the long term possibilities of the cloning idea, then they are on to a good thing. It can become a powerful brand property. But if it’s just a one-off TVC, then the ad only serves as a cute entertainer, and no more. The real challenge is how they take this one forward.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXvFZqxaEGw[/youtube]

    The one little problem is this: Because all the ad time gets used up in establishing the clones, there’s no chance of telling us exactly how Kotak Life will help us double our income. For that, we have to call/visit them to find out. That’s fine… because you can’t load a brochure on TV… but it also means the idea must be pumped with steroids, else it serves little purpose.

     

    All said, I like the core thought. Wouldn’t all of us like a duplicate to share our work load? For the politicians, that’s serious double ‘income’, hehe.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3. Good long term potential

     

  • No matter what happens, as long as Brand Tendulkar continues to deliver, Indian cricket is in safe hands, feels Hemant Kenkre

    The Anchor: 8 reasons why marketers must not fret over the Indian cricket team’s dismal performance down under

    By Hemant Kenkre

     

    1. Brand Cricket will always rule the roost over all other sports:

    Yes, the intelligentsia will always be (rightly) talking about promoting sports like F1, EPL, Tennis, Marathon, Badminton etc, but the aam janta (read consumers) will always go gaga when MS Dhoni plays the ‘Helicopter’ shot.

     

    2. All izz always forgiven:

    The history of Indian cricket’s performance abroad will show you that all is always forgiven: 1959, 1974 and 2011 – badly mauled by England. Bruised by the Aussies in 1999/2000. Did not qualify for the ICC World Cup knockout in the West Indies in 2007 and more. None had a major impact on the followers of game which continues to thrive.

     

    3. Brand Tendulkar rocks:

    As long as Brand Tendulkar continues to deliver, Indian cricket is in safe hands. His tearful tribute to his late father after smashing a hundred in the ICC World Cup in England (1999) or the many centuries scored by the master when India has lost a series is testimony that people don’t care about the result as long as he is around and delivering.

     

    4. Unveiling of the new poster boys:

    After Virat Kohli, more poster boys will follow; Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma  and so on. They will be groomed, manicured and made to look like studs. All ready to be unveiled like new products for the masses to lap up!

     

    5. Apne maidan mein khelenge:

    India’s next Test series abroad is when they tour Sri Lanka in July 2012, Zimbabwe in July 2013 and take on the big bad wolf, South Africa in November 2013. Till then one can be assured of TRP ratings going northwards with the average Indian watching carrom balls, upper-cuts and helicopter shots played against all comers on the flat batting tracks in India.

     

    6. Maja, masti aur IPL:

    Just wait till April and the IPL. Once it starts, the disappointments will ‘poof’ into thin air and the aam janta will enjoy the traditional trumpet call, cheerleaders as well as the pyrotechniques of the T20 Dadas.

     

    7. Public memory is too short:

    Bhool Gaya Sab Kuch, Yaad Nahi Ab Kuch: Very Very Special will be dropped (or forced to retire), there will be heated discussions on primetime news channels about Dravid, Sehwag, et al. The bottomline is, like all the other scams and glitches, the consumer (read aam janta) will not even remember the bloodbath at Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in a matter of few weeks.

     

    8. Kursi badal:

    The eternal optimist in me still believes that India can turn the tables on the Aussies in the forthcoming One Day series. Please do not forget that in the last series that India played in Australia in 2008, India lost the Test series (Monkeygate etc.) but won the CB (One-day) championship. Time to switch the chair? As I said, all will be forgiven!

     

    Hemant Kenkre is a former first class cricketer, a commentator on radio and in print and a communications/PR specialist. Amongst others, he also consults with Hanmer MSL.

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers

    Media frenzy over VK Singh’s age

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    On Monday night, I really thought the world had come to an end, what with India’s army chief suing the government over his date of birth. At least, that’s what I understood from Times Now, Newsx and a random sampling of Hindi channels. NDTV had move on to Pakistan to look at their own crisis, with the military playing its usually stellar role of villain cum hero.

     

    But by Tuesday morning, oddly, India was no longer at the brink of some terrible crisis. Yes, the army chief’s problems were headlined everywhere and while newspapers found his court action unprecedented, they were not concerned that India was at some crossroads or the other. The issue is undoubtedly serious but TV likes to see everything as a catastrophe or a victory and this attitude can cloud real issues.

     

    From my point of view, the big story was the ASER report about the tragic state of rural education in India (I confess that column for Mid-Day tomorrow is about this). The report made to the front pages of most newspapers but the attitude of the Times of India, I found most intriguing. A single column on page 1 spent half the space talking about how this report wasn’t the biggest as it claimed to be – as if that was the main point of the exercise. One inside report was about a possible education ombudsman and the other about enrolment of girls being up. Compared to this meagre sampling, DNA, Indian Express, Hindustan Times focused on the revelation that class 5 students cannot even read class 2 textbooks.

     

    * * *

     

    The Times of India was the only paper (only?) to carry the story of the possibility of writer Salman Rushdie not attending the Jaipur Literary Fest because of security concerns raised by the government after some hardline Muslim groups objected to his presence. TV is all over this story now and judging from the latest “source” news, the government may well be changing its mind.

     

    The lack of commitment to freedom of speech and expression from our government agencies remains a worry. The attempts to muzzle Google and Facebook have also got plenty of newspaper space.

     

    * * *

     

    The Indian Express had its fifth Ramnath Goenka Awards for journalistic Excellence in Delhi on Monday. Vice-president Hamid Ansari said that “watchdog journalism” is “vibrant journalism”. He also pointed to the more pertinent problem – that the slow corporatisation of the media has led to falling standards. “The slow erosion of the institution of the editor in Indian media organisations is a reality. When media space and media products are treated solely in terms of revenue maximisation strategies, editors end up giving way to marketing departments.”

     

    The cat is out of the bag as far as the media is concerned and we need to address this issue more seriously than we have so far, no matter how many EMIs will suffer as a result.

     

    Press council chairman Markandey Katju couldn’t resist a little dig about the poor intellectual level of most media people but that still is the lesser problem. Ansari’s diagnosis is more apt.

     

    * * *

     

    One suspects that MS Dhoni must be thanking army chief VK Singh for taking him off headline news!

  • Yawny soaps, tepid Hitchcock, but a riveting Javed Akhtar.

    Gouri Dange: A Random Harvest

    By Gouri Dange

     

    I honestly tried, the other day, to watch a random Hindi soap. I first hid the remote, so that I was not tempted to shout in Marathi “shyaa kay rubbish” and switch channels. So I hung in there. While I watched the crumpled drama unfolding, I also noticed the way they put together a sequence even now, in most soap opera shoots. Which is that most of the actors have no idea what the script is or what episode they’re shooting for. The director or eighth assistant director is put in charge of extracting (yes, like toothpaste from a finished tube) reaction shots from one actor. The seventh assistant director is getting another actor to deliver lines, of course without anyone in front of him/her to give appropriate reactions. “Sab editing mey ho jaygega” is the assurance that is given. And there you are, watching the results – just a series of close-ups and chopped up shots that are supposed to make up a scene.

     

    Anyway, all this is old hat, and the one soap that I used to watch that looked like real people and real situations and real interiors (Ladies Special) and good composite shots with several actors actually in the same frame, was summarily pulled off the air a while ago, reconfirming that I live in a bubble.

     

    So then I took hold of the remote again, and pressed the ‘i’ button on it – i for information about this particular soap. Here is the information provided by the channel, and now you tell me, does this not merit jumping to the next channel:  ‘Vijay stops Jay from being reckless and she realizes that Moniya will eventually hurt Uday’s ego. Uday threatens Moniya into coming for a drive. Moniya is getting bored and is expected to spot Akash.’  (I swear I am not making this up – including the first confusing ‘she’ in reference to said Vijay and Jay.) All I could say was huh? and switch channels.

     

    There was Alfred Hitchcock Presents on FX. I watched a full episode, and I may be committing a big crime here by saying this, but it was rather boring and flat. This is the second one that I watched, and I was disappointed for the second time. There were simpleton-set-ups, trite dialogues, and predictable endings. To top it all, Hitch himself appears at the end, and where earlier he would add a grim note and send more shivers down your spine, in these episodes he further dilutes the effect by making some joke about the episode or the victim. No fun… whatever happened to the episodes that would leave you so frozen in fear that you would not dare put your foot off the sofa to get to your bedroom, when it was done?  But of course I loved the lighting, the B&W faces, the Classic American diction that was different from today’s American mumble.

     

    On I wandered randomly, without much hope, to be rewarded at 7.30 pm by Classic Legends on Z Classic. Javed Akhtar talks about some of the greats of Hindi Cinema (this time it was Bimal Roy). And what a raconteur he is. I am told he speaks from memory and not a written script at all, and I believe it. Firstly it is such a pleasure to hear good Hindi (after a day of listening to the chuckleheads on FM Radio in your car speaking the idiot-version of ‘chat-pata’ Hindi). And then there are his insights, the stories, and those little particular things that he points the viewer towards, before showing a small clip that illustrates his point. It is as if he shows you that one pivot of the entire film that he is talking about, that one crucial well-oiled piece of machinery, on which that film rides. You have been up until then unconscious of it, but what he tells you about it and the clip that he chooses to show – they give you that ‘aha’ moment; you recognize why you have been so involved and moved by that particular part.  For instance, he spoke about the forlon foghorn of the boat scene in Bandini, and when the clip is played, you say to yourself, ‘of course, I know how this sound makes me feel whenever I have seen it!’ A programme like this sets off your own memories and associations, as all legends must and do.

     

    I have only one crib (or perhaps three) about this programme. Why such a generic and vague sounding title ‘Classic Legends’? Why the cold set which looks like Javed Akhtar has been plucked out of his own sitting room and placed in some large desolate half-warehouse  half-disco during off hours?  And lastly, you have to listen to the programme at a fairly high volume (prompting others around you to smirk about you going deaf etc) because the last three words of each sentence are simply not audible, or are severely shortened/eaten up. Given that Javed Akhtar’s every word counts, I feel slightly cheated.

     

  • Why should we suffer because a few sods wanna have street fun, and are desperate for their 'athletic' frames to be featured on Page 3?

    Anil Thakraney: How the marathon has become an an outdoor Page 3 bash

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I am no fan of celeb parties. The last one I went for, I think, was when the twin towers of New York City were still around. And I loathe them because I consider such soirees to be a total waste of time. The whole ‘networking’ bit is bollocks, I immediately trash all the visiting cards that get doled out, and I suspect so do others. But, people have the right to party, so let them do it. It’s a free country and people have enough free time to kill, so that’s cool.

     

    However, the one big party I cannot deal with and strongly condemn is that Great Outdoor Bash called the Marathon. Where a bunch of publicity hungry celebs and a whole lot of wannabes and wastrels collect and make a mess of our Sunday, as all sorts of traffic restrictions come into play. Last Sunday, because of the Mumbai Marathon, I had to cancel my plans of visiting South Mumbai on work. And that’s so damn unfair, why should we suffer because a few sods wanna have street fun, and are desperate for their ‘athletic’ frames to be featured on Page 3?

     

    Here’s why I think the event sucks:

    Hundreds of people claim to run for hundreds of charities. No one really remembers or even knows what charities these are, and more importantly, if the money really makes it into the right places. There are zero checks and balances on this, so the whole charity bit sounds very dubious.

     

    Over 90 percent of the hangers-on arrive for potential star-gazing. They have no interest in either running or in charity. All they do is create street nuisance.

     

    The kind of money that claims to be generated at the Marathon, it’s loose change really for sprinters like Ambani, Mahindra and Mallya. These very loaded gentlemen can so easily donate hugely to charity without creating a public spectacle, if they wanted to. But then, how will they get their hot bods on to Page 3?

     

    Each year the predictable happens. A broke Kenyan or a broke Nigerian wins the bounty prize. Because these are the only dudes who can run, as everyone else wants to simply party. Fine. As long as these boys use the money for the right purposes. And don’t end up in the back alleys of Juhu peddling you know what.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILxjxfB4zNk[/youtube]

    Net Net: Guys and gals, please do this tamasha inside Brabourne stadium. The sponsors will still get their mileage, the Africans will still win, you will still get media coverage and a chance to show off. And the rest of us can continue with our routine lives. Thank you!

     

    ***

     

    PS: Brilliant public service ad from the British Heart Foundation. Making the act of reviving victims of cardiac arrest look not just a simple, but a fun thing to do. See, you don’t need to run street marathons if you want to do good work. Doing an ad like this goes miles in changing lives.

     

  • A film should have a unique storyline or a powerful narrative or a moderate direction, or a mix bag of all, says Vipin Dhyani.

    The Anchor: Vipin Dhyani on the 5 films he wishes he had directed

    By Vipin Dhyani

     

    I don’t smoke, I don’t booze, and movies are my only poison. I am quite callous in my selection for a film. I don’t watch a film twice even if I like it to the core. I believe a good film must have the ability to leave that mark in my mind; otherwise it’s a waste of time. And while judging, I believe a film should have either a unique storyline or a powerful narrative or a moderate direction, or a mix bag of all.

     

    Though my list of must-watch movies is endless, here are some of the finest ones:

     

    #1 Kolya (Czech)

    This won academy awards in 1996 for best foreign film. The film is about a small kid named Kolya and his innocence transforming an aimless old man. The kid is forced to live with the protagonist, and ironically they don’t speak the same language. One speaks Czech and the other Russian. The storyline, the fabric of the film is very simple but the way it’s been portrayed is awesome. It’s sensitive and very languid, but heart-wrenching in the end. I saw ti in ’97, but it seems really fresh in my mind. Directed by Jan Sverak, loved by all.

     

    #2 13 Tzameti (French)

    You wouldn’t like a phone call or a person disturbing you while watching this dramatic crime thriller written and directed by Gela Babluani. It gripped me well and left with a hangover. The story is about a naïve man who finds an invitation meant for somebody else. His quest and curiosity makes him an unfortunate 13th player in a game of death. The best part is that it is based on true events of a survivor of the actual game. If you are not watching it on a pirated DVD, you can treat yourself with the bonus feature real interview of the survivor of this notorious underground game from Europe.

    It’s a 2006 film but intentionally treated in black and white. It is stark, honest, bold, very real and enigmatic.

     

    #3 Love Me If You Dare (French)

    ‘Unthinkable’ is the word to describe this mad roller coaster rom com, written and directed by Yann Samuell. The storyline is simply unique. Our protagonist couple are childhood friends and all they do is play an odd game to challenge each other for daring and outrageous stunts. And they continue to do this even when they become adults. Very intriguingly, the fact gets unfolded that their game is nothing but a device to hide the truth that they are truly meant for each another. It is the maddest film I have ever seen, I can say.

    It bends all the rules of a romantic film, it boasts more energy and wicked humour than mushy moments. It’s worth watching even if you don’t like romantic movies.

     

    #4 Swindled (Spanish)

    It’s a con drama written and directed by Miguel Bardem, a fantastically woven plot to swindle a hefty sum by a group of conmen. The narrative is engagingly beautiful, and the plot is flawless. Unlike regular Hollywood con dramas, protagonist here has a very calm and down-to-earth approach to his schemes and execution. That makes him a lovable and believable character in the film. The fabrication is of the real, ‘I know these guys’ type. Most of the ideas leave even the audience outguessed, and that’s the real beauty.

     

    #5 Scoop (English)

    It’s a hilarious comedy with elements of fantasy and mystery, written and directed by master craftsman Woody Allen. Scarlett Johansson as a journalist student looking out for a scoop about an aristocrat who is a suspected serial killer. She gets the signal about his moves from a dead journalist (played by Woody himself). If you are a Woody Allen fan, you will get everything from him in this movie. The surrealism, the wisecracks, his monologues, the dark comedy and real insights. A film like this can be enjoyed more with friends. Worth giving a shot!

     

    Vipin Dhyani is Founder & Chief Creative Director, Thoughtshop Advertising & Film Productions Pvt Ltd.

     

  • Localised content, lower literacy rates and frequent power outages are some of the reasons people prefer radio in the tier 2 and 3 cities says Harrish Bhatia.

    The Anchor: 5 reasons why radio is very effective in tier 2 and 3 cities

    By Harrish Bhatia

     

    #1 Radio offers localised content:

    Radio speaks to consumers in their own language or dialect, and the degree of connect of the local content with people in these markets is far higher than any other medium.

     

    #2 People have more time for radio consumption:

    Since the level of activity in these markets is lower than in metros, people have more time to spend for themselves. This is where radio fills the gap. The increasing number of FM-enabled handsets has further increased the consumption of radio. Radio measurement survey conducted by RAM has proved that the average time spent listening to radio per day is 244 minutes inNagpurand 206 minutes in Jaipur as compared to 127 minutes in Mumbai and 124 minutes inDelhi. (Source: RAM Sweeps 1.0)

     

    #3 Radio serves as key source of information because of lower literacy rates:

    Literacy rates in these markets are much lower than in metros and as a result, radio serves as the primary source of information. Another critical point is that radio provides regular updates throughout the day whereas a newspaper provides news only in the morning.

     

    #4 Radio works even when there is no electricity:

    Since tier2 and tier3 cities have fewer electricity connections as compared to the metros and also suffer more frequent power cuts, radio serves as a main source of entertainment for people, instead of television. As a result people tune into radio using transistors and mobile phones.

     

    #5 Low internet penetration:

    Low internet penetration and inadequate bandwidth in these markets means that internet remains a distant dream. Thus, in the absence of internet, radio serves as a major source of engagement and personal entertainment.

     

    Harrish M Bhatia is the CEO, MY FM.

     

  • The key target audience, the youngsters, will connect with this situation. Also, Nestle has done a cool improvement over the previous version: they have set the new commercial inside a classroom.

    Debrief: Kit Kat: All about the birds and the squirrels

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Recall Kit Kat’s dancing, crooning squirrels from last year? While the idea was quite insane, I did feel the approach imparted distinctiveness to the brand’s advertising. In fact, I remember social media was abuzz with the ad. Guess the positive reactions have prompted Nestle to make a sequel. And this time it’s parrots.

     

    The setting is a college classroom. A boring history teacher is in action, and one of the dudes can’t take it any more. He starts to record the lecture on a dictaphone, and takes a ‘Kit Kat break’. Once the choc is down, the hallucinations start. Two parrots suddenly appear out of nowhere and the couple gyrates to a romantic track. They even sit on top of the lecturer’s hair puff, much to our chap’s delight. Basically, pretty much the same stuff that happened in the squirrels commercial.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HygFG-yvh4[/youtube]

    It’s good fun, no doubt. The key target audience, the youngsters, will connect with this situation. Also, Nestle has done a cool improvement over the previous version: they have set the new commercial inside a classroom. This allows the creative to have some irreverent fun with the boring lecturer, and it adds to the general masti. All in all, Kit Kat is on the right track. The animated creatures give the brand good recall.

     

    I wonder which animal/bird will feature in the next ad. Elephants? Well, if they do so, the ad must happen after the UP assembly elections are done, or the election commissioner will clamp down on it. 🙂

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3.5 The animal farm is buzzing!

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers.

    Journalism, a very intriguing career choice

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    The Economic Times has an interesting story on how High Street brands record higher sales atDelhiairport than any mall inIndia. While recording lots of facts and figures and quotes from retailers, the article nowhere suggests one possible reason: delayed flights and trapped passengers. Conspiracy theorists have the chance to build up a case here.

     

    * * *

     

    Is Salman Rushdie coming toIndiaor not? The Times of India set the cat among the pigeons saying that he is not coming or has been de-invited or that the Rajasthan government was playing chicken. Today’s Hindustan Times says he is coming but then doesn’t either corroborate or provide further information. The upshot seems to be that the Jaipur Literary Festival is being neither brave nor cowardly but nothing at all. The newspapers haven’t done enough homework and the TV channels are looking for bogeymen and monsters around every corner and under every bed.

     

    * * *

     

    While television appears to be all in favour of army chief VK Singh and his defiance of the government, newspapers have presented a more balanced view of the date of birth controversy. Indeed, it might even be gleaned from various articles and opinions that newspapers have been a wee bit critical. It is interesting to see that television news anchors and reporters are unable to exercise any objectivity where the armed forces are concerned – it is as if worship has been ingrained since childhood. This makes journalism a very intriguing career choice.

     

    ***

     

    Vice-president Hamid Ansari’s speech at the Ramnath Goenka journalism awards is the main edit page piece in the Indian Express. Excerpts were quoted in yesterday’s Freaking News. It makes some points which are worthy of discussion – editors being coerced by management, better professional training for journalists and the role of the media in a democracy.

     

    * * *

     

    Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey’s visit toIndiahas actually inspired less hysteria than I thought it would. Perhaps much as she “loves”India, she has decided to orchestrate the TV hoopla herself.

     

    * * *

     

    The Hindustan Times has picked the women’s finals at the Australian Open as their “no television” day. They must be crazy if they think someone like me will even pay attention!