Delhi’s Vada Pav Girl and Kumari Aunty – where are we heading?

 

There was a time when journalism was a noble career and journalists worked for years without becoming famous. We have had very few known faces.

Smartphones made everyone a journalist, a video editor, a TV producer, an anchor, and the deliverer of News and importantly judgements. There is no course on Smartphone journalism, and it is like the Wild West – Anything goes. People simply shoot what they want and upload. There is no editing and everything is extremely raw.

The example of smartphone vultures feasting on businesses is a dime a dozen. The small businesses thrive on whatever publicity they can get and invite these vultures to take videos and reels of their businesses. After all, it is free publicity. The business owners have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Some small businesses may give paltry sums or a free meal, but most don’t.

Kumari Aunty a small street food vendor  gained prominence over the last two years in social media with her witty commentary and the way she serves her customers. No one knows about the taste, but the cost of a meal was very reasonable.

But things spiralled out of control and her place of business became a traffic hazard. GHMC moved in and seized her business. This led to a hue and cry and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy intervened and let her restart her business.

The flip side is Kumari Aunty has become a celebrity and many real and wannabe celebrities queue up at her stall. Kumari Aunty appeared  in a  TV show, Suma the well-known anchor spoofed her and Netflix wants to do a documentary.

There are also news items that people are coming over from neighbouring states and even from Bangladesh to savour the dishes made by Kumari Aunty. Is it worth it?? I am sure it is not, but this is the hype that social media creates.

The problem with untrained smartphone journalists is that they have minimal comprehension of the actual issues that the society is facing like corruption, the elections, women's safety, environmental pollution and water scarcity.

They see Kumari Aunty getting famous and hundreds take their mobile phone and raid her humble food joint. It is a great inconvenience to the customers, the traffic on that road and poor Kumari Aunty herself.

Has Kumari Aunty gained? I would say yes, and no. Gained publicity but made many enemies too. She now regrets her popularity and her latest videos show a very sober and restrained Kumari Aunty.

The recent hype created around Rameshwaram café in Hyderabad came up a cropper. Many felt that the taste was not the same as in Rameshwaram, Bangalore and that the prices were high. But the food vloggers made their money, and no one was wise that most of the reels were paid for. The social media posts  were as synthetic as plastic roses.

The other social media sensation is the Vada Pav girl from Delhi. Vada Pav, dubbed the Mac Pav of India is the humble, cheap, and fast-moving street food snack from Maharashtra. There the Vada Pav sells for 10 - 15 rupees.

Delhi’s Vada Pav girl realized that there was a gap in Delhi Street food. Delhi street food fare is mostly North Indian, with roti served with many side dishes. Otherwise, it is the traditional South Indian snack food, Idly, Dosa and Vada.

The Vada Pav girl cashed in. Her charming persona her story (came from a middle-class family) her struggles captivated the social media journalists.

So far so good. All the buzz and fame attracted more vultures and more customers who wanted to bask in reflected glory. Her videos where she is beseeching  the customers to come in two lines made it to the top of social media charts. Yesterday she got into a huge fight with a YouTuber which gave her a lot of negative publicity.

Just like any new celebrity she is not able to handle the fame and gets into frequent fights both with her customers and with the social media journalists. And the Vada Pav at her place cost a whopping Rs 50. But Indians being Indians they shove, push, and create bedlam at her street food joint.

They all want quick service, and the Vada Pav girl is not able to control the crowd. The beauty of street food is that the overheads are low, places are cramped and the owner himself/herself  handles everything themselves.

The minute it becomes a regular hotel the charm is gone. Ram ki Bandi has posh outlets in many places including one in KPHB. The KPHB “Ram Ki Bandi” has the spic and span look of any upmarket hotel but hardly has any crowd.

The charm of Ram ki Bandi is the bandi itself. Mithun’s (Mithun Chakravarthy is often called “Poor man’s Amitabh Bachchan) fan base is different from Amitabh Bachchan, If Mithun pretends to be Amitabh, he will lose his loyal clientele and will not attract  Amitabh’s fans. 

This social media circus must stop. Let us not like, share, and subscribe to these types of YouTube channels. Once they don’t get what they want this type of unsavoury social media reporting will cease. 

Jio Cinema - Premium Plans - Disruptive Pricing at its best

The eagerly awaited Jio Cinema Premium plan comes as a huge surprise. Most viewers expected it to be like an Amazon Prime plan at Rs 129/- or a Netflix plan at Rs 199/-. But Jio showed that it knows the Indian pulse. 

Jio Cinema went for the jugular. It wants to destroy the stranglehold of  Netflix, Amazon, and Disney Hotstar. Jio Cinema threw down the gauntlet down to the three majors. It came out with an invitation pricing strategy that takes our breath away. 

Jio Cinema's monthly plan starts at only Rs 29/- monthly. That is less than a rupee for the first month and then goes up to Rs 59/- less than 2 rupees per day. This offer is for a single connection but the steaming will be in 4K resolution. 

The cost after a month will be less than a dollar per month. this must be the lowest OTT charges/month for premium and in 4K resolution. This is exactly 1/4 of Netflix charges for a month in SD resolution. Netflix must be worried right now. There is now competition, big time!!!

Jio Cinema has another plan where the charge is Rs 89/- for the first month and from the second month it would be Rs 149/- for four connections. Great for the consumers. If Jio Cinema can shore up its content and deliver high quality at low prices there is no reason why it can't break the stranglehold that Amazon, Netflix, and Disney Star Star have on the OTT market. 

Telugu Translation Goof ups - Wolfa, Telugu Gibberish from Om Raut, Habi, Bli KCR and Chill Avvu

1.  Wolf Became Wolfa in  Telugu 

Nowadays it is trendy to release the same movie in different languages. But most producers don’t take enough care and make silly mistakes. Prabhu Deva acted in the movie “Wolf”. In Telugu, it was translated as “Wolfa”. Wolfa in Telugu means a useless fellow or a good-for-nothing person.

2. Adipurush’s does not care a hoot for the Telugu Language

What a sad state of affairs. Telugu film industry is known for making the best mythological movies which are still a great draw. Thus it is a pity to note that Om Raut takes Prabhas the Telugu superstar and makes him a caricature of a Ram. 

Rubbing salt into the wound, the tweet put out by the director himself has some gibberish touting to be the Telugu language.  It was written as

The above is not Telugu at all! The line should be శక్తివంతులం.. భక్తివంతులం. 

The Bollywood promotion designer team couldn’t read the Telugu lines, so they ignored the mistakes and posted it as it was.

The makers of the movies have spent nearly ₹500 crores to make the movie, but can’t they spend a few hundred rupees to get the Telugu lines properly written in their promotional material? No, they used  ‘google translate’.

3. Goof up at the World Telugu Conference:

One of the posters put up at the prestigious world Telugu conference held at Hyderabad in Dec 2017 had become a butt of jokes and anguished the lovers of the Telugu language.

The poster welcomes the Chief Minister of Telangana. In English, it would have been “The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Telangana”. There is no equivalent word for Hon’ble, and the word “Guaravaneeyulu” meaning respected is used. 

But the poster went one step ahead and asked, “Google to translate” and the result was ‘Habi, Bli’ (Google remembered Habibi Habibi the famous song of AR Rehman) which does not exist in the Telugu language. The pity was this was the poster put up at a conference that celebrates the rich legacy of the Telugu language.

The booklet distributed detailing the schedule of the conference has more  “gems”.

The word “Prasangalu” became “Pasangalu” (luckily it did not become Pessarattu or Punugulu. Google does not like these breakfast items!!). Cinematography became “Cine Autograph” and taking the cake “Telangana” became “telagana”.  

4. Sprite Telugu Ad

The Snap-on the left says Thand Rakho (meaning keep Cool). The right one says "Chill Avvu" which means hanging out or partying. The word on the right should have been Cool or శాంతగా ఉండు.

But common sense is not common. Chill sounds very much like Chali (cold). Maybe Challi was better than Chill. No Telugu person says Chill Avvu. They might say Chill but not Chill Avvu. Sounds very funny. No one talks like in the ad. They might say Scan, Joke vinandi, and Chill. !

Worst Indian Ads ever!!!

1. Tapa Tap soap Ad, one of the best if not the best of the worst: The most irritating ad. The soundtrack I so jarring that you hear it more than once it will haunt you in your sleep.   

2. Mahaveer Jeans ads. Another Great one. The girl wanted a slave rather than a boyfriend. Or maybe a servant boy!!

3. Some fitting company: It appears as if the girl wanted a plumber instead of a husband. So she married the nearest plumber who is more worried about Nul fitting, and toilet fitting than taking care of his wife!! what Gyan.   

4. Swami Narayana Furniture: It is a typical marriage-looking scene. The boy goes upstairs to the girl's room (Don't get naughty ideas). Rather he has other ideas. He admires the furniture. He comes down and says "I like". His mother gives a coy smile and says "The girl or the furniture". He says "both". what an ad. This ad needs an Oscar for the worst ad ever made  - the world over!!

5. Quba Mobiles: A dramatic ad where goons chase a girl throughout Hyderabad mohallas to find out where she bought her (Cute Mobile). 

6. Quba Again: In this classic ad the humble Doodh wala gets the better of the Bollywood hero-like man using what else - the Quba Mobile. wah kya, scene hai. 

7. Indu Technical Institute: This person can get the final degree from the genie right. But no, he asks the genie which is the best technical institute in India? And genie being genie tells him that "Indu is the best technical institute in the world". End of the story.  

8. JK white Cement: wow what a comparison. JK white cement and a bikini-clad girl emerging from the sea. David Olgolvy must be watching in total happiness. 

   

9. Dixcy Scott: One of the silliest ads ever. Why did Salman have to do such a trash? In the ad, Salman's friend wonders if Scottish people wear underwear beneath their skirts. The thought was creepy enough. But the ad does not end there. Salman plays a silly tune and promptly the Scots' skirts dropdown. To our relief, they are wearing underwear. But Salman has a last laugh. He smirks and says, "They do wear but they don't wear Dixcy Scott underwear like us". This is one of the worst under-the-belly ads.

10. Rajani Ganda Auction ad: The son of the hotel's gateman buys the same hotel for his father paying US 500 million dollars. The secret of his success. Eating Rajani Ganda pan masala right from his childhood. This is taking fantasy to the next level.   

11. MTR - IDLY Mahabharatha ad: Why are Hindus and Hinduism targeted for advertising creativity. In this deplorable ad an actor who looks like Arjuna throws an arrow that becomes a rava Idly and the entire opposing army is defeated. If only we had MTR - Rava Idly during the British times. We could not have been colonized in the first place. 

12. Mahindra Gusto Ad: one of those confusing tongue twisters of an ad.  If you want to buy a Gusto buy it. If you don't want to buy a gusto, buy it. I am totally confused. 

13. XXX soap: Classic case of an ad where there is a mismatch between the product's name and the tagline, "Samskaravanthamaina Soap". The soap makes people gentle, cultured, and deeply rooted in the Indian religion and the country. Great so far, as all of us know XXX stands for pornography, and XXX videos are the rage on the internet. Dont know if the makers realize this mismatch!!!

  

Consumer Attitudes - I don't care to Negative - how to change??

Consumer attitudes are the beliefs, thoughts, and feelings that influence consumer opinions and decisions. They are the emotional responses individuals have towards products, brands, services, or experiences. Consumers have emotional responses that are not logical but emotional. Attitudes can be positive, negative, or even neutral. Let us look at some extreme attitudes towards products and services.

I don’t care attitude: The entire world is driven by health fresh and thickness. Consumers worship an image of themselves. An image in which they are "lean, mean, and fit". The fitness industry is worth many billions of dollars. But surprisingly an exact reverse of extreme fitness also exists. it is called the "Heart Attack Grill."

Heart Attack Grill is a restaurant in Los Angeles. Heart attack grill worships gluttony and large people. The Octuple Bypass Burger offers a whopping 20,000 calories in one go. Many consumers have suffered seizures and some have even died. Heart attack gill has waitresses dressed as nurses; Drinks are served not in glasses but come through pipes styled like IV drips in a hospital. Consumers dress in hospital aprons and the nurse spank consumers who are not able to finish their food. Consumers weighing over 350 pounds get to eat free.

The trigger here is being anti-establishment. In a world that worships thinness, consumers of Heart Attack Grill have no qualms about their size or girth. They worship obesity and have no discomfort about being big. In their world, thin people are seen as sissy or unnatural.

Being anti-something itself is an attraction. Now we see Similar tendencies in Indian street food which is greasy, oily, cheesy, and extremely buttery.  Many consumers want to taste and saviour such unhealthy food.

Converting Negative attitude to neutral to positive:  Motorcycles had got a very unsavory reputation in the USA during the 50s and the 6os. People riding motorcycles were seen as tough and mean guys. In short, motorcycles were seen as vehicles for the tough and the anti-social elements. The tough image of the Harley Davidson riders and the looks of the Harley riders did nothing to bolster confidence that motorcycles were for the entire family. Consumers had a very negative attitude towards motorcycles and motorcycle riders.

Honda did a campaign, ‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda’. This campaign was executed by Grey Advertising, USA.  The advertisement depicted housewives, a parent and children, young couples, and other respectable members of society referred to as "the nicest people" riding Honda motorcycles for a variety of purposes.

Honda succeeded in its appeal to the American public. It was seen as a casual vehicle for daily activities, and as such was an entirely new consumer value as a vehicle for the entire family. It erased the motorcycle's deeply rooted image of evil and discontent.  This iconic campaign legitimized motorcycles and made motorcycles and motorcycling reputable again in the USA.

Shifting Consumer negative Mindsets: some tips that might work

1) Pinpoint the Origin: Identify the root cause of consumer dissatisfaction. Address the Persistent Issues: Concentrate on recurring customer grievances.

 2) Offer Trustworthy Data: Supply reliable and consistent information.

 3) Stir Emotions and Values: Appeal to consumers' emotional and moral compass.

 4) Encourage Trial and Engagement: Motivate consumers to test and engage with the product.

 5) Strengthen and Acknowledge Loyalty: Bolster and recognize consumer loyalty.

 6) Monitor and Adjust: Stay vigilant and adapt to evolving consumer perspectives.

 7) Craft a Strategy: Formulate a comprehensive strategy to rectify negative perceptions, possibly through enhanced staff training and product enhancements.

 8) Align with Communities or Events: Connect the product with communities or events admired by consumers.

9) Resolve Attitudinal Conflicts: Resolve any existing or potential conflicts among consumer attitudes.

10) Transform Brand Perceptions: Alter how consumers evaluate product attributes, shift brand beliefs, and improve overall brand sentiment.