Whose ad is it anyway?

Well that's what I wondered when I was scanning through the day's papers - The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/) and The Times of India (http://bit.ly/bfjrr5). Both of them had full pages ads of Airtel & Aircel talking about the launch of the Apple iPhone4.

On looking closer I realised like my other colleagues that they both were very similar except for the brand template. We also had a small discussion on why ads in the same papers, on the same day and having the same look!

On my way back I got to see hoardings of Airtel with the same creative. To my utter astonishment it didn't stop here. While watching TV I came across a series of ads talking about he launch of iPhone4 on Airtel & Aircel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvhVjRBLtVA). Interestingly (or not so when I think now) the ads start and end with 'If you don't have an iPhone, well, you don't have an iPhone!'. The only difference being again the logos of Airtel & Aircel that appear in the end.

So whose ad is it anyway? While discussions can continue...for me these are 'Of iPhone, By iPhone, For iPhone!'

Smart...isn't it?

Crayons are passe,kindergartens go hi-tech with iPads in Boston

Looks like crayons, finger paints and alphabet blocks as teaching tools are old school. Kindergarten students in Maine will now learn their ABCs and 123s on the latest iPad 2 tablets. A school district in Auburn, Maine will dish out $200,000 to buy iPads for nearly 300 kindergarten pupils for the next school session starting around August this year. Apart from their alphabets and numbers, the kindergarten students will learn drawing and music on the hi-tech gadget through apps for phonics, building words, letter recognition and letter formation. The iPad is a powerful education tool with hundreds of teaching applications, Superintendent Tom Morrill said in a Boston Globe report. With its touchpad screen, it is simple to use and can bring learning to life with imagery and sounds. It’s a revolution in education, he said. The school board had last week unanimously approved the plan to give all kindergartners iPads next fall. Maine had distributed Apple laptops to all seventh and eighth graders in 2002 and 2003, becoming the first state to equip students statewide with computers.

Source: Times of India, Chennai April 14th 2011, Page 17

When did you last hear of a movie leaving a lasting impact on its audience?
Well good or bad I think Lage Raho Munnabhai is one such movie...Or maybe there were and are lots of others but just that the events related to this particular move kept getting played up keeping the buzz around it? I wonder...

Munnabhai & Circuit had become part of the Bollywood folklore after the first of the now trilogy - Munnabhai MBBS (2003). About 4 years later came the second part Lage Raho Munnabhai and with it the forgotten Mahatma & Gandhigiri were added to the list. Movie was a hit and ran to packed houses. I enjoyed it too. After catching it at the theaters I saw it at least 3-4 times on TV. Everybody talked about it...discussed it over lunch and tea, mails and phone calls. For weeks there were reviews on TV. I was a bit pessimistic....beyond a couple of weeks or so 'Gandhigiri' would die its natural death...

But to my surprise just when the movie lived out its life in movie halls came one of the first news about Gandhigiri. I think it was from some college...Soon it almost became a regular affair...Delhi Police using Gandhigiri to teach traffic rules, somebody stripped down to his inner wear to get his driving licence etc.

What caught my eye was the latest in the series (appeared in Mumbai Mirror on July 15, 2008) ...Recently airlines announced that they were withdrawing travel agent commission thanks to the ever increasing ATF prices leading to ever mounting losses...And that is coming into effect from October 31st, 2008. Working on the basic idea to make airlines realise what they’re doing, travel agents chose to resort to Gandhigiri rather than protest their cause. “Since the airlines are in such a bad shape our members have decided to contribute what they can to help them survive. Over 100 agents in Mumbai have sent food to Jet Airways today. The story is the same in other cities across India,” said TAFI chairperson Vasuki Sundaram. In a letter sent to various airlines including Jet Airways states, “Please accept a sample of delicious samosas which is a new line of business we are getting into, after our travel agency days are over. Later we will be offering one samosa free with every ten that you buy, with no other hidden costs or surcharges.”

Is it really the movie or a combination of movie and media packaging???

News that muse! More soon...

Honking for the sake of it

Population and with it the stress on the Indian roads ( and infrastructure per say) is increasing at break neck speed. The best example for this is Mumbai - the financial capital...the city of dreams....

I left Mumbai in December 2006 and was back in May 2008. In these 18 months the traffic on the roads here has gone up like crazy. The other day on our way to work in Harish's car, near Sion circle we suddenly experienced the car being dragged on one side. We parked the car on one side to check. We were shocked to realise that both the front tyres were punctured. Luckily we located a shop near by and the car was ready in an hour or so. But within this hour I almost went deaf thanks to the honking of the vehicles out there.

People just love honking...don't want to even give it a thought,,even for a second as to whether it is really required. Like all other days Mumbai also celebrated 'No horns day' (or something like that). Just the other day read an article in Mid Day about lady drivers taking a no honking oath. Interesting...but will it motivate people to honk less???

I always dream of a day when people all over the world will wake up to realise that all the horns have vanished from their vehicles!!! Wish it happens some day...at least for a day.

The day the horn in my bike went dead I never got it repaired....

I remember, my Periappa, being a railway engine driver was used to using whistle only when there were directions, like an unmanned level crossing or while approaching station etc. He was so used to it that while riding his bike, I had to actually tell him to honk sometimes.

Hoping for a no horns (the ones which make noise) world!!!

The debut issue is an article I read in Mid Day yesterday on my way back home. G8 leaders have 8 course meal at food crisis meet! I remember George Bush was talking about how Indians are putting pressure on the world food scenario. And the same Bush was very much part of this G8 dinner feast. What does he have to say for this?
Excerpts
Hokkaido (Japan): World leaders have sparked outrage after it was disclosed they enjoyed a six-course lunch followed by an eight-course dinner at the G8 summit where the global food crisis tops the agenda.
24 dishes
They were served 24 different dishes during their first day at the summit — just hours after urging the world to reduce the "unnecessary demand" for food. The dinner consisted of 18 dishes in eight courses including caviar, smoked salmon, Kyoto beef and a "G8 fantasy dessert". The banquet was accompanied by five different wines from around the world including champagne, a French Bourgogne and sake. African leaders including the heads of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Senegal who had taken part in talks during the day were not invited to the function.
The menu
The dinner came just hours after a "working lunch" consisting of six courses including white asparagus and truffle soup, crab and a supreme of chicken. The lavish dining arrangements — disclosed by the Japanese Government which is hosting the summit in Hokkaido — come amid growing concern over rising food prices triggered by a shortage of many basic necessities.

During the course of the day...right from day break you get exposed to so many things...some catch your attention, some don't. Aptly titled 'News that Muse!' starting yesterday (given it was originally part of my other blog. But once created I thought it should be an independent blog!) the idea is to share news that is interesting and amusing...What will add to it is the irony between the news and the context!

I expect the readers to bring to light 'Newsthatmuse'. Send me clippings, observations, pictures...whatever you find interesting and whatever you thing is the 'Newsthatmuse'...