JUNKSORTIE

Life with an Ukulele

2023-02-11T03:12:00.003-08:00

Over the past few years, I've been flirting with the Ukulele. Making very little progress, learning a chord overnight, struggling to remember the same. Forgetting everything I learnt in over a week of no practice. This cycle continued for weeks and months. All this resulting in frustration more than the peaceful and comfortable distraction that it was aimed at.

Juarez Ukulele

But, it has kept me in good humour on days without much to do. Its been a constant companion. And I can't complain about it being boring.

TAJ INNERCIRCLE

2015-07-04T05:06:00.001-07:00

This is a very pleasant thing to write about. I get to relax and spend some good time in me while letting you know of this great customer engagement and loyalty building programme that the Taj group of hotels are running - The Innercircle.

There are not many people who read about this topic as the vast majority of people me included prefer budget travel. But when I get to the cities I've started to build a liking for staying at The Vivanta's spread across the nation. Affordable and comfortable and the similar layout across all the hotels means you feel like you are all familiar with the place once you step into the lobby.

THE GRAIL OF THE TRAIL!!

2014-06-08T04:54:00.001-07:00

I have always been fascinated by the 'hippie trail', the thought that people travel thousands of kilometers over land from their homeland to come explore the Indian subcontinent. I wanted to do this!!! Or at least the last bit of the trail - Delhi to Katmandu and Pokhara.

On the first instance called up my regular travel partner, fixed up our leaves, and just waited for the day. We never have enough money to travel, so we needed to be frugal. We had saved up some money since we last went broke so there was some money between us.

Delhi, 06 June 2014

Reaching Delhi, I wanted to find some friends place where I could stay the night; 'Facebook' showed me one of its benefits that day, other than the random hours I lose on it. Pavel, a friend from my times in Hyderabad asked me to come 'home'. So there I was, finding a place to stay even after reaching Delhi at the dead of the night. My travel partner (Livin) had also similarly hitched up a place to stay with a school friend of his.

We met the same night and sat around and planned to plan the travel next day. And went away after a good long discussion on gender and the various institutions that are gender blind (Pavel is a gender sciences student).

The DLF confusion and Hauz Khaz solution

The next day I was supposed to meet up with Julie aka Jules aka Annie, and also my peer from work, Prashanth and his family. He suggested to meet at DLF and so I set up to meet Julie at DLF as well. So me and Livin got together and took an auto rickshaw (auto, not as in auto pilot) and left for DLF. Fast forward through the Delhi traffic and we are in front of the DLF place, I spot the huge DLF logo on the side of the building and anticipate it to be the place. I ask the auto guy, is this what I'm looking for and he says no, where you need to go is still ahead. And he drops us across the street to another huge building with DLF insignia on it (the first DLF building is in the background) and we walk in. I ring Jules and let her know that we've just walked into DLF and she asks us to come straight up to the food court on top and that she had be waiting by the elevator. So we quickly elevated ourselves to the top floor, and we find Jules right about nowhere. I call jules up again and walk around the whole food court looking for her, but to no avail. And Jules confirms to me that she is standing right there by the elevator, and I start thinking if Harry Potters invisible cloak really exist (no sane person would wear a cloak in summertime Delhi). And i get another call from Jules and this time she has a probable explanation to this mystery where we can't find each other in the same time and space. Its like we went through a portal while walking through that scanning machine at the entrance to another time and space. We were in two different buildings with both having food courts at the top.

The mystery solved we walked to the other building and met up. Already mentally exhausted from all the problem solving that involved time and space relations ( Einstein would have been happy!), I call up Prashanth. To my utter exhaustion, he is at yet another DLF place which is in another part of town. DLF WTF! They seem to have built landmark concrete trees all over the city of Delhi. I politely explain to him my helplessness in navigating through the jungles of Delhi and promise to meet him the time I am back from my small wandering trip.

The heat had given way to a thriving thirst and we wanted beer. Annie suggested the Beer place within the DLF building only to find the watering hole crowded with fellow thirsty beings who had loitered there to have a quenching gulp of the gold tinted bubbly miracle water that was my favorite in the summer heat. Disappointed on the Beer front, now I was craving for beef. The memory from my previous trip to Delhi relishingly kicked in . Along with the Beef stranganoff, the place was also very fresh in my mind. HAUZ KHAZ. Wild spirits and energies roamed and love floated through the streets in perfect harmony like mild dew on green grass. In the jungle I'd just come to the point of frustration in gave way to hope.

For all the evil of growth and development we were put through that day, at Hauz Khaz, how growth and need for commerce space and culture can all be in a strange way be harmonized. And it brought cheer into our hearts to be amidst this cranky swanky town within the city.

Hut overlooking Phewa Lake high in the hills.

The road comes to an end here. But I'll come again for more.

Nagarjuna Reserve Forest.

NO CAMERA YET!

2013-05-22T18:49:00.001-07:00

I have an interest in photography. I like to know how some of those amazing and incredible pics are shot. My experience in the advertising industry has further strengthened that desire to click and appreciate a good SHOT.

But to date I do not own a camera. The first good camera I laid hands on after understanding basics of exposures, apertures and lenses was a Nikon D60. As always is the case with me borrowed from a friend, Sobin K Baby. And took some of my first shots on it. The topics were the usual suspects; restaurants, beaches, sunsets, children. And another of my friends also started with photography, Jayesh Mohan. He too bought a D60 and this was the other D60 that I used. The lens used then was the ubiquitous 18-55.

My interest in photography might have emanated from the fact that I do not have a single picture of my childhood. Maybe a few may exist in the photo albums of some of my cousins, all I can remember are of three images, one in traditional Kerala attire with a slate in hand and a graphite stick in the other. Destroyed by fungus on the right bottom part. Another, of a naughty looking boy whom everyone claims is me and ruffled hair, unlike now I was very particular about my hair when I was a child. Now I have few left on my head, that it really doesn't bother. But even though it might have emanated from having no photographs of mine. I still do not like being in front of a camera.

Submerged in

Microsoft Office 365 - Innovative Advertising

2013-04-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Selected readers of the Forbes magazine were treated to this hi-tech ad courtesy of Microsoft. To promote their Microsoft Office 365, they slipped into a cardboard insert a fully functional T-mobile wi-fi router. Once activated it would connect 5 devices for 15 days.

The rechargeable battery attached would last 3 hours on a full charge. This is one ad that will make readers sit down and Connect.

BULLET IN MY HEAD

2013-04-17T18:25:00.002-07:00

BANGALORE METRO - NAMMA METRO (LOOKING FORWARD TO A ROCKING LAUNCH CAMPAIGN)

2012-03-22T02:33:00.000-07:00

NAMMA METRO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

I am looking forward to the LAUNCH CAMPAIGN for the newly launched Bangalore Metro. For a city that has its place everywhere including the Oxford English Dictionary, seriously how many cities can claim that - you just got BANGALORED. I am expecting nothing less than a world class launch campaign for the latest Metro in the Silicon Valley of India.

Last time at the launch of the DELHI METRO, I was dissapointed, except for the good work of photojournalists, no creatives went into work on the launch campaign or the ads thereafter. This disappointment I want washed away with the new Metro in Bengaluru. Some consolation in that regards is the non-use of the detestably liked/disliked new name of the city, "Bengaluru".

What am I expecting?

To look at a few other launches that appealed to me

DUBAI METRO

The TVC is an inspired ad from the Copenhagen Metro service ad. But the intention to package is nice.

( DUBAI METRO - OOH )
I liked the outdoor work though.

DUBAI METRO IMPORTS INSPIRATION FROM COPENHAGEN ?

2012-03-21T07:04:00.001-07:00

When it comes to inspired ads, "More than words" is all I have to do .... so here goes

COPENHAGEN METRO

Grey Worldwide

Pedigree cuts

(not certain about the credits, pls let me knw if u do )

DUBAI METRO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Dubai
Marc Lineveldt (Executive Creative Director)
Danny Higgins (Creative Director)
Darren Jardine (Senior Art Director)
Neil Harrison (Senior Copywriter)
Tara Atkinson (Photographer)
Chandresh Rughani (Account manager)
Hema Patel (Account manager)

Guitar and Me

2011-12-06T07:10:00.001-08:00

For a while now, I have been trying to learn to play the guitar. I seem to be picking up quite well, but don't quite see myself giving it enough time and priority to end up playing, as well as I intend to.

MIDDLE PATH

2011-12-06T06:28:00.001-08:00

Life is a resultant of choices we make.

There is the striving for perfection. But a little bit too much of that lands up in what is today acknowledged as a compulsive disorder. And a total disregard for things is also not an ideal act.

Just tried to depict that here. Just a dump of an idea here.

JOS ALUKKAS & KALYAN JEWELLERS ADS. IS THERE A DISTINCTION?

2010-08-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

JOS ALUKKAS AD

The ad says "Ponnil Theertha Bandham" which translates very closely to "A bond made of gold" . And the video goes onto say what it says. It portrays a not so very common relationship of a school student and the bell man cum peon at school. See for yourself and gather your thoughts...

The ad wants to say that such as this realtionship, is our relationship with our customers. Well, but for the watching customer whom should he relate to Vijay (school kid, ad successful man) or the bell man? If the customer relates to Vijay, then the bell man would be the Brand ( Jos Alukkas) who is today unshaven and miserable. And if taken vice versa, the miserable bell man is the customer.

Well, if we just take this as an example for the kind of bond that the customer and the brand takes, then I guess the idea has been already taken by someone else in the same market. Watch the below for confirmation.

KALYAN JEWELLERS AD

The ad tries to define the bond between the customer and the Brand as similar to the bond between the a girl and a father.... which also infamously heard an uproar of the Boys Welfare Association ;) ( watch the end portion carefully)

the SVO says "Vishwasam athallaey ellam" which translates closely to "Trust. Isnt that all." (please forgive the quick translation).

MUDRA AD FOR BANGALORE TRAFFIC POLICE ||||||||| Has a precedent

2010-07-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Reading through Campaign India, I learn that MUDRA DDB has won Bronze at Cannes for the ad it produced for Bangalore City Traffic Police. Its a highly effective ad, very strong with the communication, very good art direction with very good attention to details, such as the mehendi on the womans hand indicating that she be newly married. Precisely on target copy, ¨Don´t talk while he drives¨, with the sufficient extra meanings for the prying ones.

So, that makes it one worthy and wonderful campaign.
Advertising Agency: Mudra Group, India
Executive Creative Director: Joono Simon
Art Director: Vinci Raj
Copywriter: Akhilesh Bagri
Photographer: Mallikarjun
Retouching : Sathish
Published: 2009

Its very impressive, until you have a look at the below ad. Although they have their differences, the basic concept remains the same. And I must say, the copy is more elegant in the original one below. I cannot classify it as a copied ad. But, well the Bangalore ad is just an extended work on this one.

Ad Agency: Leo Burnett, Dubai, UAE
Creative Director: Munah Zahr
Art Director: Tushar Mahajan
Copywriter: Zaid Alwan
Project Manager: Mays Shakhshir

The unknown resides opposite the strict plant.

INSPIRED - ISLAND CUTOUTS!

2010-05-26T05:43:00.000-07:00

The above ad is by ABSOLUT, something that came along in their work on the lines of ABSOLUT WORLD. I have seen a better print that could have shown the inspiration, but really cant find it. Would put it up, when I get it.

Well, the execution and idea of the below print is awesome, but just curious at the way we are towed in our thoughts by what we have seen. Or things that are around, mostly unconsciously.

DENVER DEO - I KNOW YOUR INSPIRATION

2010-05-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Seen the new ads for DENVER DEO?? Look like a rip off from AXE ADS??? Even I thought so, but with about what you are about to see ..... you will see its a complete shot by shot copy of .. ah aah .. wait and watch below. I shouldn't be spoiling the pleasurable experiencing of spotting a copy.

TIP: for maximum effect, watch both ads together.

THE DENVER AD

BAVARIA BEER AD

STOP THE WARS

2010-04-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Life was unsettled, chaotic, catastrophic and disrupted on 9/11. To bring order, the leaders that be of US & its other allies all over the world, set about making every day of the calendar a 9/11 for people in Afghanistan and Iraq. And these posters below are my protest slogans.

Its my speak for peace.

Simply FO!!!

2010-04-28T04:14:00.000-07:00

FACEBOOK & ORKUT together make for a great message!

LAWRECE & MAYO ADS ||||||||||| MALAYALA MANORAMA MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

2010-04-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

very innovative ad for Lawrence and Mayo. But there is a disturbing prospect, there has been an AD for Malayala Manorama that has an uncanny similarity to the work in this ad. I believe the ad was created by Stark Tvm ...... dont know which came out first.
Advertising Agency: Eleven Brandworks, Mumbai, India
Creative Directors: Puneet Kapoor, Prateek Bhardwaj
Art Director: Puneet Kapoor
Copywriter: Prateek BhardwajIllustrators: Puneet Kapoor, Anand Chodankar
Photographer: Altaf Khan
Planner: Imran Khan
Published: December 2009

I was really impressed by the work of Stark TVM for MM, but now, after seeing the above work, it seems diminished. Here's what I saw from Stark, its not a perfect copy, but you see similarity in art work. Which to my opinion is better done by Eleven Brandworks, Mumbai, India.

AD for CCFD

2010-04-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

Very well done ad for CCFD.. to spread more awareness on third world countries. And to break stereotypes. Something like the message on TED by Chimamanda Adichie.

2010-01-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

Incomplete Memory

2010-01-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

oh! i remember how we met
how you stood waiting
in front of the church
and how i drew crazy
through the traffic to
reach before you moved on
oh i remember how we met again
you had a swatch to repair
and i, a heart that needed care
And we walked like strangers
so as to not draw attention
from our hometown rangers
ah! what a memory!
it delights the moment
every time i think about it
its a memory of no regret
something i cant forget

(i dont know if this poem is complete, or has more to be written, hence leaving it the way it is without punctuations, full stops or a proper title...

JIFFY WEDS DINNA Vaduthala St Antony's Church

2010-01-08T05:00:00.001-08:00

View Larger Map

LOCATION OF THE EVENT -JIFFY WEDS DINNA

2010-01-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

2010-01-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

2010-01-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

Ad*Access

2009-12-28T00:24:00.001-08:00

Ad*Access

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