This banner looks like most other Häagen-Dazs’ banners, simple, straight-forward and discreet.  Yet this banner has stirred up a tide of nationalism among India nationals in Delhi, India, demanding Haagen Dazs be fined or thrown out of the country, or both.

The offensiveness of the banner lies in the copy at the bottom, ““Exclusive Preview for International Travellers. Access restricted only to holders of international passports.”

It all began with a friend of Rajesh Kaira, the editor of “The Times of India, who was denied entry to the Häagen-Dazs store. Well, access is only granted to holders of international passport. Incensed by such slavery mentality, Mr Kaira put up a few pictures on Facebook, added a caption and also sent out a tweet with a request it be retweeted. In a few hours, it had turned viral and he started getting messages from angry Indians all over the world. Interestingly, he got comments not just from his fellow countrymen  but also non-Indians worldwide. Subsequently, Mr Kaira put up a blog post, “Sorry, Indians Not Allowed,” and to-date, there are more than 1000 lively comments on the issue.

Judging by the angry response, the Indian nationals obviously do not resonate with TBWA India’s original intention of striking a vibrant and cosmopolitan ambiance with a reference to the French Riviera. In fact, they were totally upset. It was evident by the first comment from Samir, “This is an insult to Indian nationals and Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1% [?]

How did you like your past 364 days?

How do you intend to create your next 365 days in 2010?

Today is the last day of 2009 and tomorrow is a brand new year waiting for you and I. Here’re some questions from my friend, John Stamoulos to complete 2009 and create 2010. You may find some of the questions really tough to answer, however, it will help you to have clarity in your life.

Clarity is Power.

Versa Creations and I wish you a happy new year.

Completing and Remembering 2009

What was your biggest triumph in 2009?

What was the smartest decision you made in 2009?

What one word best sums up and describes your 2009 experience?

What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2009?

What was the most loving service you performed in 2009?

What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2009?

What are you most happy about completing in 2009?

Who were the three people Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1% [?]

I thought that I would go powerfully into Twitter. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Twitter Workshop.

So sad. But I have started doing some Tweets, but I guess without the guru, I will find it hard to make fast progress.  Let’s see how it can progress. Hope I can attend the next one though…

Popularity: 1% [?]

I’m a fan of IKEA’s print advertisements.

I also have many IKEA’s creations in my house and office.

So I was somewhat surprised to see this ad from the famous Swedish furniture and furnishing house.

IKEA’s furniture is sleek and streamlined, and more often than not, its print advertisements mirror the same look and feel.

Not this advertisement though.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw this ad.

Messy.

Untidy

Poor choreography.

Ironically, the headline said “… it’s more about creativity and coordination”.

I can see the effort involved in the selection of bed sheet, quilt cover, pillows, cushions, lamp shade etc from the green, white and red bedroom collection. There is certainly creativity in there and no denying the excellent colour coordination.

What I cannot see is the Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1% [?]

Well, for those of you who have been following my blog, you would have realised that I am a laggard when it comes to Twitter. In fact, if you asked me, I would blush and say, well, I just got it five minutes ago. Here is what it looks like:

So, take a look at the zeroes. Zero following. Zero followers. Zero tweets. How is that for a nice clean slate to start with?

But in case you feel sorry for me, don’t.  I am not going to be doing this alone. I just met a new friend, and he happens to be the #3 Top Twitter in Singapore. And I am going to be learning the ropes from him.

Would you like to come along and have some fun learning how to tweet?  Here is the link:  Twitter Pro Workshop

You see, Twitter is so simple that most people have no idea what it is and what to do with it. Strange as that may sound, it is true.  How do you get from nothing like what I now have, to several hundreds and hopefully thousands of followers?

At this point, I couldn’t tell you with any level of confidence. However, once I am done with my Twitter Pro Workshop, well, we’ll see.

Roger and Aaron have promised that I am going to learn:

• Learn what Twitter is all about
• Master Twitter mechanics and start twittering like a PRO!
• Discover the Twitter secrets that PRO use :-)
• Find out who’s who in the Twitter-sphere and who are the reigning champions?
• Which Twitter superstar achieved 300,000 followers in just one day?
• How to leverage Twitter to market your business online?
• Learn advanced Twitter tips, tools and techniques to skyrocket your followers quickly and easily!

So, I am going to share my progress with all of you. More importantly, I am going to try to really understand the full implications of Twitter and how it can be powerfully incorporated into a total media campaign. Up until today, I have been relying on partners who specialise in these areas, but now, I myself will be learning. Watch out, I am woman, hear me roar! (or Tweet!)

Popularity: 1% [?]

Recently, I read a few blogs saying they are not filling their pages with Google Adsense and any contextual link ads. Writing paid review is definitely not an option. One sited his reason being not prepared to sell himself out.

I guess I took a totally different view point since I’m a marketer working in advertising agencies and graphics design companies for the past 2 decades. An advertisement is similar to a paid blog review, both are paid for by advertisers for someone to write, design and produce for them. Great marketing slogans like “Good to the Last Drop”, “A Diamond is Forever” and “Be The Best You Can Be”, “When You Have It, Flaunt It” are all from advertisements but they are used so often in daily life that no one remember their origins are from paid messages.

Will a blogger  lose his/her credibility just because he/she writes paid reviews in his/her blog? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 3% [?]

“The most dangerous thing that can happen to us, I think, is to permit a feeling to develop that any client is a problem. I have always taken the attitude that no account is a ‘problem account’ but that all accounts have important problems attached to them – that you can waste more time and burn up more nervous energy by fighting a problem than by taking a positive attitude and solving it. It sure gives you a nice, warm glow when you do.”

Leo Burnett, quoted in 100 LEO’s, Chicago, IL: Leo Burnett Company, p. 75.

No client should be seen a problem. However, their problems can be our concerns. We are the problem solver and that’s what keep us in business and them as our clients.

We are inviting unnecessary stress and telling the universe that we don’t want business if we think and regard our client as a problem.

Popularity: 1% [?]

When you want to publish an advertisement with black background and white text, be extra careful. You might end up like the ad shown above.

I do not know if this is a case of a penny-wise, pound foolish client or an honest mistake by the designer who does not have enough understanding of press production.

There are just too many clients out there who happily get their ad agency or creative firm to do up an array of full colour brochure, hand bills, poster, wobbler and yes, advertisements. When it is time to run a black-white advertisements in the dailies, they happily tell the art director, “Use back the same artwork”.  Some give  that instruction because the boss had already approved the colour ad and it is much more convenient just to re-use and recycle in the spirit of  harmonious co-existence. Yet there are some whose intention is to save money on artwork adaptation or re-work. And, of course, there are clueless clients who did not understand the devastating effects of simply converting a colour ads into black & white ad without looking into production concerns.

What are the flaws of simply converting a colour ad into black and white? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 3% [?]