Start something new (Shoppers Stop), Zidd Karo (Dainik Bhaskar), Ab HIndustan Ki Bari Hain (Hindustan Newspaper), Todha Aur Wish Karo (Dish TV) are some of the central themes or taglines of recent campaigns by many Indian companies.
The co-incidence of these themes is not incidental but is driven by the fact that we as Indians are a much more confident lot than the generations that stepped onto this soil in the last 300 years. Unlike them, we are ready to push the limits, we are ready to experiment, we are ready to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Threfore, these campaigns are playing on this commonality of attitude across the length and breadth of this country. While most campaigns mentioned above border on the realm of making a difference, they all somehow border on leveraging this new found confidence and exuberance to get more out of life. Be it a certain Mr. SRK coaxing us to wish a little more, or the country side hero and captain of our cricket team asking us to be stubborn, or the slick definitions given by so called creative agencies to the mundane words like recycle, conserve fuel etc. for shoppers stop. All these campaigns, tell us that our surroundings can offer us more - and thus in effect saying - "ask for more from it, (better still) strive for more from it."
The reason I am exploring these campaigns is not because I wanted to write a casual blog on certain advertising trends, but because the NATION HAS BEEN ROCKED. BANGALORE (the peaceful one), JAIPUR (the colorful one), A'BAD (the richness one), SURAT (the lucky one, so far at least) have been targeted, people killed, terror spread. One cannot help, but look at any car with suspect, feel scared while boarding buses/local trains, feel scared on any stranger around your college/work or home.
While, world is raving about a growing India and advertisers tackling the new confident "must have everything- will do anything" India, the indians - the masses seem to be trembling in fear on their way to the 61st Independence Day.
Independence from WHAT ??, If i may ask. Poverty -- Partly, Poor Country - Yes, inconsequentiality - YES. But, what for ?? ask yourself - What for?? If you cannot send you child school without the scare of bomb blast in bus or school once crossing your mind, what independence have we got. what gives us the right to "wish" more, to "Zidd" or to "start something new". Now, don't get me wrong, I am not a scared soul begging for humanitarian security. All that this blast has made me realize is th INDEPENDENCE that is valued the most is the independence from our fears, the freedom to experiment with ourselves and stretch ourselves. we need independence from our inhibitions.
There is one message from a leading watch manufacturer, Titan, to this effect. The recent umbrella brand campaign is one of the most relevant and most brilliant campaigns on air as it coaxes us to leave our deepest fears, explore ourselves, challenge ourselves...Everuday!! ...... And though some of you might think ..that what the F, the above mentioned campaigns did pretty much the same. But my answer is NO..a BIG NO.
"BE MORE" campaign is not about asking more or about achieving more but about living your deepest fears and exploring oneselves, it is about not getting bogged down by life, it is about living life, it is about not getting caught in a rat race ..it's about you..and ONLY YOU. The ad with Mr. perfectionist - Amir Khan asking you to change your look every three months, or going on random travels, or asking you what happened to those childhood dreams conveys a message we should all remember in thee trying times and for times to come.
If all of us can de-root our deepest fears and live life to live life, we all can just stroll through these times when a certain few are trying to scare us in a hole. My friends, readers, and just happen to be heres ...please live freely. Enjoy your weekends, go to that mall, go take the train journey for that vacation, go take the bus to work..go take the metro to college..go live it up.
The lesson is not just for the blasts, but forever, though it will help us in these times.
I once again ask you to "BE MORE" and live your entire life fearlessly and taking things as they come, as the moment arises. if you live your life the "BE MORE" way, we all will outgrow ourselves each day of our life, we all will live your dreams because we didn't fear reality but challenged it. All this not because we want more, but all this becuase we can BE MORE. It's not about getting the maximum off the world, but unlockinh one's unlimited potential.
And in lack of fear, the terrorists will have no motive to instill FEAR - an emotion that we wont understand anymore.
It's time to unlock it, its time to throw the fear into the gutter, and its high time that we BE MORE and LIVE LIFE.
$%^& Terrorists and let us just live...fearlessly.
