PVR INOX innovation - Flexi Watch Plan - Watch a movie only for as long as you want!

PVR  Inox  kicked  off  a  great  innovation  in  New Delhi. Christened the Flexi Show, it allows the viewers to pay for the time that they watch the movie.

Great innovation. Often students think that whatever must be innovated has already been innovated and that they are simply robots pushing buttons. They think of themselves as obeying orders and not as disruptors who will kickstart the next innovation.

It is not the machine but the man behind the machine that matters. In 1971, during the war, the Indian Air Force pilots were manning Knat planes, and the Pakistani Air Force had better and more sophisticated fighter planes, the F-86 Sabre. But it was Indian pilots who won the air wars, including the famous Longawal War.

Movie watching has stagnated, and many like me have even stopped going to the theatre completely. The entire process proves daunting and time-consuming. Go to the theatre, buy the inflated tickets, and then sit through the boring movie cursing our fate and burning a hole in the pocket buying obscenely highly priced popcorn and cold drinks. The result, in 90% of the cases, is total dissatisfaction and disgust and the hollow feeling that you have wasted money!. I have not watched a movie in a theatre in the last three years.

Blue Diamond and Emerald theatres in Chennai introduced an innovation that was a rage in the 70s and 80s. Blue Diamond and Emerald showed mostly English movies (English movies are of short duration and last mostly for 2 hours). Viewers were charged a 50% premium on ticket price. The huge attraction? Viewers could enter the theatre at any time and watch the movie as long as they desired. I remember watching a Jackie Chan movie twice, and the feeling was as if I had won an Oscar, pure elation.

PVR INOX is on the right path. This deal could mean that people like me could come back to the theatre feeling assured that we could walk away after some time and that our money and time would not be wasted. This would also mean that some people who only come to watch some parts of the movie would benefit.

Going further, I would think that some movies would be played continuously for 24 hours, and we would be charged for the time that we spend in a theatre. Also, the negativity that builds up in watching a boring movie in its totality can be avoided. Watching a boring movie fully might lead to dissatisfaction and even disgust.

Damn good idea. I don’t mind watching Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo in a loop. I can spend away time in an air-conditioned movie hall instead of waiting in a boring airport lounge. I would say that airports should start this innovation themselves.

Make AI Mediocre Again - a Cadbury Initiative when irrelevance becomes the new relevance!

What is happening? It is too much stimulation!!! Is it déjà vu? Or is irrelevance the new relevance? I am not sure, and I am sure many of our generation are floundering with the same type of doubt or self-doubt!

Of course, I am talking about the latest ad from Cadbury 5 Star. In the last decade, Cadbury Five Star has decided that its main target group is millennials and that it must shock people out of their pants to achieve that objective.

They have done many “in-your-face campaigns” that seem to resonate with their target group, like “Eat 5 star, do nothing” campaigns, and the latest campaign, “Make AI Mediocre Again.”.

My generation has grown up watching and admiring Cadbury’s iconic ads and campaigns, like Cadbury cricket, Khaane Waalon ko khaane ka Bahana Chahiye, Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye, Khaane Ke Baad Meethe Mein Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye, Shubh Aarambh, Raho Umarless, and Bring out the child in you, etc. This one is and sounds sacrilegious!

The ad talks about how AI is making our lives miserable and making us work more. The solution? Make AI mediocre by submitting a lot of trash in farm search engines. According to Cadbury, this will make AI mediocre again, and we can be back at our workstations—doing nothing but eating Cadbury 5 stars!

Is Cadbury serious! I don’t know. They ask us to submit our worst answers that will make AI mediocre! I scanned through the comments section of the ad airing on YouTube, and 99% of the viewers liked and even commented on how doing nothing is the best thing. I might belong to the minuscule minority, but I dislike the advertisement! I don’t get it at all. Can we fight AI? I suppose not! That is what Cadbury is trying to do!

This ad is prodding the millennials into inactivity! But active in consuming Cadbury 5 Star! Welcome to the digital world—where irrelevance is the new relevance!

Print Media is dead - Nope - It is alive and kicking - Next level Flipkart interactive Rubbable first page ad in THE HINDUSTAN TIMES

Print, they say, is dead. They snicker, "Who reads newspapers?" Reading is so boring, man. Everyone seems to be on the digital gravy train. Everything is online, including a country - Tuvalu. Tuvalu is furiously trying to become the first virtual online country. 

But popular beliefs, myths, and hearsay have no standing in real life. The Indian Newspaper Society (INS), the central organization of newspapers and periodicals in the country, said its member publications recorded an 11% rise in ad revenue for calendar 2023 at ₹16,472.40 crore, compared to ₹14,892.34 crore in 2022. 

Print is still a big draw, and its primary advantage is its credibility. Readers still believe in the printed word, and somewhere there is a grudging admiration for journalists and the editorial fairness and impartiality. Newspapers are still respected, and people working there are seen as part of a trained professional team. 

This is in stark contrast with the Wild West of social media, where anyone can be a digital creator. All one needs is a mobile phone. There is no training, qualifications, degrees, or communication skills needed, and best of all, no editing and censorship. One can do as one feels. The first page of a newspaper still has an irresistible appeal and still grabs instant attention. 

Headlines always make news, and they stay as headlines for a day, unlike digital media, where headlines can change in a matter of minutes. It was refreshing to see Flipkart and The Hindustan Times try out a new innovative print media advertising campaign. 

Last Sunday Hindustan Times newspaper readers woke up to an intriguing headline. The front page had a picture in which the milk was splashed liberally. The headline said, "Doodh ka Doodh aur Paani ka Paani Ho Jayega (meaning don't worry; everything will be as clear as clear water)”. 

The Advertisement also said, "Rub some water on the split milk and see what happens"! On rubbing or wiping the split milk with water or with a soft tissue, the message magically appeared: "Flipkart MINUTES—Everything in minutes, Toh Tension Mat lo. Khyunki Sab 10 minutes mey Replace ho jayeega (don't take tension; everything will be replaced within ten minutes)". 

The pitch was for the super-fast 10-minute delivery service from Flipkart. It was a wonderful attempt by all three parties: Flipkart, its advertising agency, and the Hindustan Times. They hit a bull's eye, garnered huge eyeballs and curiosity, and created a buzz on social media. It was a very innovative and creative interactive print advertisement that stays in the mind.

"THE TIMES of INDIA" does it again - Plays with its Masthead! But not the first Time!!!

At ICBM-SBE students are given two newspapers per day. "The Times of India and The Economic Times." Today they were excited to receive a third, the Paneer of India! Jokes apart, can you play around with the sacrosanct masthead? 

The Fake Masthead

The Real Masthead

This type of stunt was tried by TOI once, maybe 20-25 years ago for the first time. On that day the first page screamed, 

"LET TIMES OF INDIA WAIT" 

The body copy talked "breathlessly" about the impending launch of a new variant of chocolate (or something else; I don't clearly remember). The entire masthead was changed. It was the love of the lucre!!

The Puritans were furious with the wordplay involving the Sacrosanct Masthead. Arguments raged for weeks and months. But in the overstimulated modern era, anything is passé. Your opinions are welcome.

Thunder Strikes again - A perfect Match between Thums Up and Allu Arjun's Pushpa's 2!!!

“Thunder striking soon,” the latest campaign of Thums Up, has a twist. One needs to see it twice to understand what it is conveying. Show it to a Caucasian American, and he would be nonplussed. He would understand it as a promo, but it would not make any sense to him.

But for Indians and Indians throughout the world, it makes perfect sense. Thums Up has partnered with Allu Arjun; the Thums Up teaser is for the much-awaited movie Pushpa 2.

Does it make sense? You bet it does. For Allu Arjun, who is endorsing Thums Up, it is free publicity for his movie. For Thums Up, the teaser gets tremendous eyeballs, and the image that Allu Arjun portrays in the movie matches the positioning tack that Thums Up has consistently used.

The positioning is that of a macho man who wants the strongest cola in the market. And even better if that strong man borders on the line between lawfulness and lawlessness. That is Sona Pe Suhaga (That is the icing on the cake). The present generation wants to be a rebel—with a cause or without. A perfect marriage between the brand, its positioning, the brand ambassador, his on-screen image, and movie promotion.