Mind Blowing Advertisements

As a student of Communication and Media Management, I learnt how to disect advertisements and identify the hidden messages embedded in them. 

When we come across advertisements, be it radio advertisments or TV commercials, most of us just watch it or listen to it absent mindedly or forward/skip it (if we can), especially if they do not catch our attention within probably the 1st one second. However, what we do not realise, is that as long as we've watched an ad once, or even just had a glimpse of it, the message will be embedded in our subconscious mind. We do not realise it, but the next time we see the product, our mind identifies it. That's why advertisements play a humungous role in brand marketing, and now you know why businesses are willing to pay by the buckets for catchy, creative and really avant-garde ads. Of course there are the technical aspects of an ad which makes this "embedment" possible, but I shall not divulge the trade secrets. 

Then there are the advertisments which do not use words at all. I've always been so intrigued by these kind of advertisements. Though mostly, these kind of ads are released by top ranking brands. One reason for this, is just to emphasize on the fact that these top brands are so famous that narration is not necessary for people to identify the brand or what it's selling. 

Here is one such example, from LV. I received this email from LV a few days before Father's Day, and the title of the email was "Life is a Journey". Enough Said.

Because I have learnt about identifying the deeper messages in ads, I can list a whole lot of interpretations for this wordless advertisement. The interesting thing about this is that it is entirely up to the viewer to decipher it whichever way you want to. But somehow, the different perceptions will still revolve around masculinity, adventure and other things related to men, fathers and their positive role in life.

And that's the beauty of advertisements like this. The advertisers manage to get the specific message across even without words. It's a work of art in itself. 

This applies not only to photographs but also to videos. The video below is the perfect example. 

Before you proceed to watch this video, it would be good if you turned up the volume.

There you go, my mind is blown. I mean, it's a 3 minute long video that portrays the journey of Cartier throughout history, and the only word spoken is "Cartier" at the end. They took it in such a fashion that it also showcases the products that Cartier offers. The first thing it shows is how good the Cartier branding is.

Now, if you do some research about this advertisement, you will find out that Cartier has been around for 165 years, in which some marvelous, world changing inventions and incidents have taken shape. One of them, as shown in the ad, is the invention of the airplanes. I got to know from my research that Cartier, which specializes in jewelry and watch-making, happened to create a watch for the pilot who travelled around the world, in the airplane shown in the video. A very critical point in the history of mankind, of course. The watch is also shown in the video. 

The reason for all the grandeur in this ad, is to symbolize the fact that Cartier has long been a favorite among Aristocrats around the world. The video first shows Russia, through the snowy landscapes and the attires of the people in the carriage pulled by the horses, then China, through the dragon and the Great Wall of China, then India, through the giant elephant and the Taj Mahal like architecture, and then Paris, which is where the Cartier headquarter is located. In between all of this, they are careful not to deter from Cartier's expertise - Jewelry and Watches. You can see gold, platinum, diamonds, precious stones and watches being portrayed in different ways throughout the video.

Obviously, the biggest question on everyone's mind is why Cartier uses a panther to be the main character of the movie rather than a beautiful model. Yes, it's a panther, not a cheetah. And, isn't it only too obvious why they used the panther? It's because the panther is a registered trademark of the brand, and they portrayed it really beautifully in the video. The panther is actually metaphorically used to represent the Cartier woman - elegant, free spirited and independent - as portrayed by the model towards the end of the video. 

Music has played a huge role in the success of this ad too. The music was composed solely for Cartier and is Cartier's theme music. The music is what catches your attention first, and makes you want to see what the video is about. I came across this ad while watching a video in YouTube. Normally the ads can be skipped after about 4 seconds and this ad also had that option. But this is the 1st and only ad that I chose not to skip. Not only did I watch it till the end, I was actually looking forward to the next time I would see the ad again.

This is a true example of how mind-blowing an ad can be. 

Note: 

I gathered these information about Cartier and this ad through Wikipedia and the Cartier website. They have a website solely dedicated for this advertisement: http://www.odyssee.cartier.us/#/home

Take a look, and be mesmerized.

First Step Successfully Taken...

Roughly a month ago, I quit my job as an Admin Assistant at an MNC, to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. I knew it was a risk I was taking - giving up a steady income for something that I had no experience in. However, I felt like it was the right thing to do. So I trusted my instincts and decided to go full fledge into writing. 

I had a very vague idea about how to be a successful writer, but I needed more information if I were to make it my career. So I spent my first two weeks researching about how to be a successful freelance writer. I gained a bit more knowledge, and one of the things I got to know was that I could sign up as a content contributor with Yahoo!.  I jumped head first into it. Signed up immediately, created my profile and read all their guidelines. I joined the newbies forum and read what others had to say.  I read various other contributors' articles.... and kept reading for about a week, hesitating to start writing because I simply could not think of a topic.

Then it hit me - I could make a topic out of anything and everything in my life. I could write about whatever I wanted, and no one would say I was wrong to have chosen that topic. It was my wish. So one day I decided to give it a shot and I wrote a short article about why personalized gifts are better than any other kind of gifts. I submitted it for the Yahoo! editors' review.

And then the wait started.

I waited for a couple of days, maybe 3. Then I received a reply... My article was rejected. Obviously I felt let down, but thankfully, they gave me a review about why it was rejected and how I could make it a better one. They were looking for something unique. There was the option to resubmit it after editing but I did not do so immediately. Instead, I mulled things over, and started reading other articles, afraid to give it another shot.

I went back to square one and started wondering about what I could possibly write that would be unique to myself - something that only I could write; something with my unique writing style. When I read the articles by other contributors, I wondered about what it is that they had that I didn't. I talked to a few friends and my family. They encouraged me to try again.

So I did. It took me a few days, but I managed to write about a very niche topic. It was a short article as well. I submitted it.

And waited.

Today, I received news that my article was successfully published. My very first article with Yahoo!. I was excited and I shared it with my friends and family - the very people who gave me the moral support to try again.

Now I'm sharing it on my blog as well: Ramayana Month - The Month of Scarcity

This is my 1st step, successfully taken. *Smiles*

And the Cat lives to tell it all..

As a recently jobless, green freelance writer, I am constantly on the hunt to find new things to write about.. and somehow that quest always ends up in YouTube. Like what Ellen Degeneres once said in her show, "You can literally find anything on YouTube, really. You can, like, search for any two random words, and something will come up".

So recently, my hunt for topics had just made me land on YouTube, when I saw this very peculiar video about a cat. It was so interesting that I just had to share it with everyone I knew. As the owner of an extremely lazy cat myself, I must say that this cat is a really really brave one. Enjoy the video. 

Mysteries of the Universe

I am a nature lover. And I especially love to watch the documentaries on National Geographic that take us into the depths of the Amazon and the wilderness of the African Safari, or even the cold freezing Arctics and the rain forests of Asia. 

With a wide screen LED TV and a hi fi home theatre system, you can get ALMOST close and personal, as if you were there for real. 

Is there a place in this universe where you can't go? Even the birth and death of stars, millions of lightyears away can be captured on tape and shown on TV.

Most detailed view of star birth in the nearby spiral galaxy M83, as shown in and taken from the NASA website. 

Humans have conquered the distances and spaces between the continents, planets and even galaxies. So much so, that they have become powerful enough to create and destroy. I once read somewhere that humans are the main reason why so many species of plants and animals are becoming extinct, but at the same time, humans are also the only hope for the survival of the remaining species. Remarkable, isn't it?

And maybe, just maybe, that's why it doesn't come as a surprise that humans are also discovering many new species of plants and animals everyday. They are uncovering the Earth's wonders bit by tiny bit every day, and we have been blessed with channels like NatGeo and Discovery to bring us where they go. 

The latest in the list of documentaries that I've surrendered my heart to, is one that's called the Untamed Americas, showing in National Geographic. Beautifully narrated, and clearly video-graphed, it's guaranteed to make anyone addicted to it. 

So imagine my excitement, when I just discovered that I can get the whole series, albeit in short sections, in the NatGeo channel in YouTube. As such, I will be writing about them very soon, and will embed the videos in my blog as well, for all my readers to read, watch and be mesmerized, just like I was. 

Aung San Suu Kyi

There is a lady that I truly look up to, in all aspects. She is a lady of strong character and true leadership, yet she's gentle and not the least bit arrogant. She is Aung San Suu Kyi, the Chairman of the Democratic Party in the Burmese Political Scene. This has placed her as an opposition to the government and put her through years of house arrest and struggles. 

So, when I came across this article another day as I was browsing through Facebook, I was pleasantly surprised, and developed a newfound respect for her. 

Before you proceed to read this article, I would like to state that this is not my work. This was researched and written by Rebecca Frayn and I only came across this in Facebook. I felt a strong need to share this inspirational story, and copied the whole article from here onwards, including the photograph. Have a pleasant read, and may you be positively inspired to do something, no matter how small it may be, to make a change in the world, and to do the right thing. 

The Untold Love Story of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi, whose story is told in a new film, went from devoted Oxford housewife to champion of Burmese democracy -- but not without great personal sacrifice.

By Rebecca Frayn

When I began to research a screenplay about Aung San Suu Kyi four years ago, I wasn’t expecting to uncover one of the great love stories of our time. Yet what emerged was a tale so romantic -- and yet so heartbreaking -- it sounded more like a pitch for a Hollywood weepie: an exquisitely beautiful but reserved girl from the East meets a handsome and passionate young man from the West.

For Michael Aris the story is a coup de foudre, and he eventually proposes to Suu amid the snow-capped mountains of Bhutan, where he has been employed as tutor to its royal family. For the next 16 years, she becomes his devoted wife and a mother-of-two, until quite by chance she gets caught up in politics on a short trip to Burma, and never comes home.

Tragically, after 10 years of campaigning to try to keep his wife safe, Michael dies of cancer without ever being allowed to say goodbye.

I also discovered that the reason no one was aware of this story was because Dr Michael Aris had gone to great lengths to keep Suu’s family out of the public eye. It is only because their sons are now adults -- and Michael is dead -- that their friends and family feel the time has come to speak openly, and with great pride, about the unsung role he played.

The daughter of a great Burmese hero, General Aung San, who was assassinated when she was only two, Suu was raised with a strong sense of her father’s unfinished legacy. In 1964 she was sent by her diplomat mother to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford, where her guardian, Lord Gore-Booth, introduced her to Michael. He was studying history at Durham but had always had a passion for Bhutan – and in Suu he found the romantic embodiment of his great love for the East. But when she accepted his proposal, she struck a deal: if her country should ever need her, she would have to go. And Michael readily agreed.

For the next 16 years, Suu Kyi was to sublimate her extraordinary strength of character and become the perfect housewife. When their two sons, Alexander and Kim, were born she became a doting mother too, noted for her punctiliously well-organised children’s parties and exquisite cooking. Much to the despair of her more feminist friends, she even insisted on ironing her husband’s socks and cleaning the house herself.

Then one quiet evening in 1988, when her sons were 12 and 14, as she and Michael sat reading in Oxford, they were interrupted by a phone call to say Suu’s mother had had a stroke.

She at once flew to Rangoon for what she thought would be a matter of weeks, only to find a city in turmoil. A series of violent confrontations with the military had brought the country to a standstill, and when she moved into Rangoon Hospital to care for her mother, she found the wards crowded with injured and dying students. Since public meetings were forbidden, the hospital had become the centre-point of a leaderless revolution, and word that the great General’s daughter had arrived spread like wildfire.

When a delegation of academics asked Suu to head a movement for democracy, she tentatively agreed, thinking that once an election had been held she would be free to return to Oxford again. Only two months earlier she had been a devoted housewife; now she found herself spearheading a mass uprising against a barbaric regime.

In England, Michael could only anxiously monitor the news as Suu toured Burma, her popularity soaring, while the military harassed her every step and arrested and tortured many of her party members. He was haunted by the fear that she might be assassinated like her father. And when in 1989 she was placed under house arrest, his only comfort was that it at least might help keep her safe.

Michael now reciprocated all those years Suu had devoted to him with a remarkable selflessness of his own, embarking on a high-level campaign to establish her as an international icon that the military would never dare harm. But he was careful to keep his work inconspicuous, because once she emerged as the leader of a new democracy movement, the military seized upon the fact that she was married to a foreigner as a basis for a series of savage -- and often sexually crude -- slanders in the Burmese press.

For the next five years, as her boys were growing into young men, Suu was to remain under house arrest and kept in isolation. She sustained herself by learning how to meditate, reading widely on Buddhism and studying the writings of Mandela and Gandhi.

Michael was allowed only two visits during that period. Yet this was a very particular kind of imprisonment, since at any time Suu could have asked to be driven to the airport and flown back to her family.

But neither of them ever contemplated her doing such a thing. In fact, as a historian, even as Michael agonised and continued to pressurise politicians behind the scenes, he was aware she was part of history in the making. He kept on display the book she had been reading when she received the phone call summoning her to Burma. He decorated the walls with the certificates of the many prizes she had by now won, including the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. And above his bed he hung a huge photograph of her.

Inevitably, during the long periods when no communication was possible, he would fear Suu might be dead, and it was only the odd report from passers-by who heard the sound of her piano-playing drifting from the house that brought him peace of mind. But when the south-east Asian humidity eventually destroyed the piano, even this fragile reassurance was lost to him.

Then, in 1995, Michael quite unexpectedly received a phone call from Suu. She was ringing from the British embassy, she said. She was free again! Michael and the boys were granted visas and flew to Burma.

When Suu saw Kim, her younger son, she was astonished to see he had grown into a young man. She admitted she might have passed him in the street. But Suu had become a fully politicised woman whose years of isolation had given her a hardened resolve, and she was determined to remain in her country, even if the cost was further separation from her family.

The journalist Fergal Keane, who has met Suu several times, describes her as having a core of steel. It was the sheer resilience of her moral courage that filled me with awe as I wrote my screenplay for The Lady. The first question many women ask when they hear Suu’s story is how she could have left her children. Kim has said simply: “She did what she had to do.” Suu Kyi herself refuses to be drawn on the subject, though she has conceded that her darkest hours were when “I feared the boys might be needing me”.

That 1995 visit was the last time Michael and Suu were ever allowed to see one another. Three years later, he learnt he had terminal cancer. He called Suu to break the bad news and immediately applied for a visa so that he could say goodbye in person. When his application was rejected, he made over 30 more as his strength rapidly dwindled. A number of eminent figures -- among them the Pope and President Clinton -- wrote letters of appeal, but all in vain. Finally, a military official came to see Suu. Of course she could say goodbye, he said, but to do so she would have to return to Oxford.

The implicit choice that had haunted her throughout those 10 years of marital separation had now become an explicit ultimatum: your country or your family. She was distraught. If she left Burma, they both knew it would mean permanent exile -- that everything they had jointly fought for would have been for nothing. Suu would call Michael from the British embassy when she could, and he was adamant that she was not even to consider it.

When I met Michael’s twin brother, Anthony, he told me something he said he had never told anyone before. He said that once Suu realised she would never see Michael again, she put on a dress of his favourite colour, tied a rose in her hair, and went to the British embassy, where she recorded a farewell film for him in which she told him that his love for her had been her mainstay. The film was smuggled out, only to arrive two days after Michael died.

For many years, as Burma’s human rights record deteriorated, it seemed the Aris family’s great self-sacrifice might have been in vain. Yet in recent weeks the military have finally announced their desire for political change. And Suu’s 22-year vigil means she is uniquely positioned to facilitate such a transition -- if and when it comes -- exactly as Mandela did so successfully for South Africa.

As they always believed it would, Suu and Michael’s dream of democracy may yet become a reality.

A fish made of bottles

As I was browsing through my Facebook News Feeds recently, something distinctly creative caught my attention. It had a very intriguing concept, relating to a very real problem that our world has been dealing with for a while now. 

A fish sculpture was constructed from discarded plastic bottles on the Botafogo beach at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The obvious message being driven here is recycling and reusing items to help create a sustainable environment, one where our activities do not harm the nature and our co-inhabitants. 

It is known all around the world, that our seas are severely polluted and many marine animals are dying and close to extinction because of this. Many people choose to be ignorant of this. What really intrigued me was how they chose to portray this message - with a beautifully sculpted fish. These kind of pictures and messages are worth sharing. If we all did our part, a greener world is just within our reach. All we need to do is just throw our rubbish into the bins, and recycle what we can.

A fish sculpture constructed from discarded plastic bottles rises out of the sand at Botafogo beach in Rio de Janeiro. The city hosted the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, 

in June 2012.

If you like what you see..

Nothing great. 

Nothing avant-garde...yet. 

That's because this blog is just taking shape. 

However, if you like what you see, 

Do come back soon.. 

and check out the things,

I have to say :)

Have a great day! Thank you for visiting a writer's blog.