Creativity can never be drained out of advertising. I don’t know if sales will increase post these ads, but smiles definitely will.
An incredible Incredible India TV commercial by Nirvana films.
A wonderfully executed TV commercial by TATA Communications for its foreign markets (hence not featured on Indian TV).
A glocalized Intel ad for an Indian audience.
An Amul billboard I spotted in Bombay, targeting the 90% reservation proposal for SSC students by the Maharashra government. Never doubt the power of the freedom of speech in a democracy!
As adults, we often train ourselves to think in ways that favor us. Instead of rotating thoughts, ideas and opinions through 360 degrees, we fix them at an angle and refuse to twist them. Gradually, everything starts to enter a region of grey, and we reach a point where it’s hard to seperate good from bad, right from wrong, and black from white.
I guess my point is that as we make our transitions into adulthood, it is important to open up to perspectives. We are often ingrained with opinions about people and ideologies, and it can never hurt to switch shoes and re-evaluate them.
I didn’t mean this to be a motivational post, I promise. All I wanted to get across is that the world is full of perspectives, and if only we loosen up, we’ll start to enjoy the 360 degree view.
Here’s a video on perspectives, courtesy a friend.
If you aren’t wowed yet, watch it again. The words, when read forward paint a picture of negativity. The same words, when read in reverse, do just the opposite. It’s a brilliant, applaudable piece!
PS: I am joining the NaPloBoMo (National Blog Posting Month) network on Ning for the month of April. The theme this month is Growing Up, so (hopefully) there’ll be a lot more reflections to read here
To some of our minds, climate change is still a far-fetched issue, way out of our grasp and way beyond our time. Even as we speak, people are getting trapped in poverty and hunger all over the world. Our generation is suffering, and climate change is trying to make us reflect upon the well-being of future generations. I don’t know if it’s a just cause, but I do know that we are genetically coded to be futuristic. After all, we do all we do in our life time, so our race could survive further, consciously or sub-consciously.
Above is a glimpse into climate change. If you have ever been awestruck by the picturesque view from a hill top, been hypnotized by the turquoise blue of the sea, or simply marvelled at the sheer beauty of the evening sky, you know that our planet is worth saving. You can read more on CNN’s exclusive section Planet in Peril.
Earth Hour is an initiative by the WWF, that tries to urge each individual, household and organization to turn off the lights for one hour. The event was spearheaded by WWF Australia in 2007, and has since been adopted by almost 82 countries worldwide. Today’s aim is to get 1 billion people to embrace the dark for an hour, between 8:30 and 9:30 pm, local time.
On average, turning the lights off for an hour in a regular-sized city like Bangkok can decrease electricity usage by 165 mega-watts, which translates to nearly a 100 tonnes of carbon-dioxide, a gas believed to be a major contributor to global warming.
Apparently, during Earth Hour last year, Google turned its homepage black for an hour. The power consumption of organic LED monitors, though rarely used, reduces on webpages with black backgrounds. Google’s tagline read, “We’ve turned the lights out. Now it’s your turn – Earth Hour.”
Earth Hour seems to be pretty big in Singapore this year, from social media campaigning, to more traditional advertising on billboards and dedicated events. The city is always so illuminated that you can barely spot stars in the night sky; it will be interesting to see what it looks like in the dark.
Critics claim that the amount of energy and money spent in propogating Earth Hour, engaging volunteers, and garnering support and participation, will negate the amount saved during Earth Hour, if not exceed it. We need to understand though, that the initiative is more of a means to create awareness about climate change and our role in it.
Here’s some food for thought from WWF, Canada:
Remember to turn off the lights tonight at 8:30 pm your time. Do it for our planet, for a nice candle-light dinner, or simply to reduce your electricity bill. Whatever your motivation, you could help save the world.
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race…
Slumdog Millionaire has put the slums of India on the world map, albiet in an artistic way. Despite the obvious, it’s still hard to believe that some people don’t have a concrete roof over their heads, that they live in make-shift shacks even in this age and time. Apparently, India homes 17% of all slum-dwellers in the world, a figure which translates to about 170 million people! The odds are just slightly tilted in our favor.
If you have ever witnessed the poverty on India’s streets (in person or through CNN or BBC), I am sure you have wondered, even for a moment, if there was a way you could help. This is your chance.
A few of us have started an initiative with Habitat for Humanity to build houses in a slum area in Devanahalli, on the outskirts of Bangalore, India. The 2 weeks we spend on site will involve an intensive 10 day build, with an aim of constructing 8 double-storeyed houses, sheltering 16 families or approximately 96 individuals. A house might sound trivial, but to some child and some parent, it will be their first real home.
Aasha is the Hindi word for hope, and The Aasha Build is our chance to make a difference in our world.
Besides the issues of homelessness and poverty, the village of Devanahalli and its neighbours are also breeding grounds for microfinance and self-help groups. Without the technicalities of these titles and the formal operations they entail, these villages have sustained themselves for years by self-help practices. Unlike urban India, families in these villages are mostly headed by women, who support each other as ‘human collateral’ for microfinance institutions and undertake entrepreneurial ventures.
Although we are recruiting only 20 volunteers to go for the build, we are trying to engage the entire online community to create awareness about homelessness, microfinance and self-help groups, and to garner support. If you would like to contribute to our initiative, here is how you can help.
Support our cause by displaying The Aasha Build badge on your blog or website. Communicate your support to the Devanahalli community by leaving them a message here.
“How wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world.” - Anne Frank
ABOUT ME
I quit my corporate job in 2011, at age 23, and decided to travel the world. I've lived with the White Thai tribe in a remote Vietnamese village, hitch-hiked along Turkey's Black Sea coast, swum with black-tip sharks on Malaysia's east coast, spent a night in the highest inhabited village of the Himalayas, and fallen in love with so many people and places, that I've lost count.
My travel stories have appeared in BBC Travel, National Geographic Traveller, The Times of India and Lonely Planet, among others. I'm a Forbes Travel Guide Correspondent for Delhi and a travel blogger for The Huffington Post. I've been featured as an intrepid female traveller in Business Standard, The Hindu, New Woman Magazine and DNA, and interviewed on All India Radio.
In January 2012, I co-founded India Untravelled, with an aim to introduce travel enthusiasts to responsible travel experiences in rural India.
