Advertisement - a social constipation

Hello folks,

I know it’s been a while since I visited my blogs... hope you all enjoyed a safe and exciting diwali.

Ever since I went to US, I have been a little cut off from our usual TV schedules. Not that I appreciate the never ending mega serial loops or those fascinating tollywood special stunts, but hey some senseless entertainment at times would do any harm. Though my break from such extravaganza was not long, I guess it was long enough for me to forget what the latest trend was.

Some of the couples (as in jodies) on these mega serials have swapped!!! Some of the mega serials haven't moved an inch!!! Cine industry is remarking old legends and is running out of good stories (as usual), music sucks and guess what I even noticed some of the most liberating ads on the stupid box.

I remember a quote from Steward I guess...

"Business without advertisement is like winking at a girl in the dark: you know what you are doing but no one else does."

This was one of the most important expectations guidelines of any advertisement. I doubt if that is true anymore. Some of the ads talk more about what harm their competitor brand does rather than what good their own product is. Sounds like politics to me!!! Worst come worst basis, an ad only has a catchy celebrity and the concepts are ridiculous and disgusting at times.

For instance, Fanta and Miranda ads were the most awfully moralizing ads I have seen in like a zillion years. I guess smooching around is the best use you can put your mouth to!!! or cheat a petty shop keeper of his money with Fanta caps is the smart kid job!!! Even a simple diaper ad sounds awful. Did anyone notice the ad were the infant moans b'coz his diaper fits him too good that he could do some exercise?? did you happen to close your eyes and listen to those moans!! gosh what is happening to all these ad agencies??!!??

There were times when we complained why would one need to women model in shaving cream ads or men's vests and brief's ads... but I guess those are smaller topics of concern these days.

All of us are aware and we know for sure that these ads attract infants and kids for some reason. They get influenced faster by such ads. Would my mother really want my teenage sister to go and kiss the movie screen while she is in a movie hall with a Miranda in her hand. I would be surprised if she did!!!

We sit on lunch tables, coffee breaks or some of us even blog, to talk about things like how do we let our kids know what is right and what is wrong for them. How they should learn to be responsible for their own actions. and how they should function in order to gain some self respect!! some of us even go to the extent of disputing that western culture develops kids to be way too independent that they lack emotional strings to their own family. Don't we?

Frankly, the time I was in the US, I did not see a single ad that said you could eat on credit and when the shop keeper asks you for money, you can fool him with a bag full of Cool Drink caps. They even say that such a kid is the smartest of all. Do we still expect our kids to grow responsible? I wonder what these social organizations do. They have all the time on earth to dispute a fashion show and media gives so much hype for such things. But what is the result, Ms. World or Ms. Universe have not ceased to exist nor did men stopped drooling over their posters for nothing..!!!

Parents work 16 - 18 hrs a day. Kids tend to spend a lot of time with TV or internet. We seem to have less control over any of these parental substitutes. For all those child lock systems and site blockers, our kids still have subtle but influential exposure to demoralizing propaganda through every bit of what they see. The box doesn't become a stupid box all by itself. It is only such media that makes it stupid. This leaves me with the thought that may be we are too blind to such media-crisy ourselves. Are we guiding our future generations in the right direction!!!!! Are we even capable of it???

There is another whole lot to discuss about the kids market that these big companies are targeting at. Amongst all these traveling and viral fever, I promised my sister that I would do her diwali shopping. So we went to a leading clothes outlet in the city. I was surprised at what my 8 year old sister wanted for diwali. She wanted a saree!!!!

I gave her a big lecture about childhood and the beauty of it and then he finally tells me.. Akka the small gal who compeers for the kids show on TV wears a mini saree and she does look beautiful.. why wouldn't I??? I had no answer for that but I had to refuse her diwali wish. Now I became the villain!!!!!

For pete's sake, we have enough alarms to be concerned about. Cultural shocks, premarital sex, AIDs. Why would we add to our concerns by killing the childhood and its innocents in our kids!!!

Who should bell these cats?? would social organizations be raising their voice against these as well!!!!