In history of marketing no other product has borne greater wrath of regulators or has created more iconic stories then cigarettes. Although with increasing control cigarette advertising has become more subtle, the past century has been marked with enough thrills to make the story a marketing best seller. So let’s take a look at few instances from world of tobacco, a few of which might even leave a bad taste in mouth.

Marlboro Man – Arguably one of the most recognized figures in marketing was this rugged cow boy who stood …

Among all the hullabaloo and talk about good brands targeting the youth in India, I think one brand just did not get its true share (till this post was written that is! ). This company launched its brand of mobile phones sometime back and really created a lot of churn. Here was a company giving the user cutting edge features at a competitive price. And the innovation was really well targeted, most of the features based on current market needs and trends. But we are not here to discuss …

There is a famous Scottish proverb about procrastination – “What may be done at any time will be done at no time”. Months ago I started researching on this topic which caught my fancy and found out a few half-baked ideas. That idea of course required the explanation of a concept – The Concept of Increasing Returns and I did it. After that though one thing led to another and I never ended up presenting the thought in its totality to readers. Here I intend to bring that task I …

Statutory Warning – This highly opinionated article you are reading is from a man deeply hurt by the recent exercise undertaken by Airtel. To me Airtel is about everything that is great about Indian marketing. It is about us getting it right, making all the right noises and building a brand over the period of 15 years brick-by-brick. As a student of strategy, finance and brands what has been done to it in the name of rebranding as I see it is nothing short of blasphemy towards an iconic and …

On a balmy evening in August, two men on stilts parade down Jawaharlal Nehru Road in Kolkata swathed in Big Bazaar banners, shouting through a megaphone. People with multiple polythene bags weave in and out of the traffic, wiping their brows and searching for taxis. The Kolkata LIC BB store heaves and swells and people spill out, even as security personnel usher in waves of others who have lined up outside.
Inside, the atmosphere is absolute pandemonium. There is barely room to move, and in some sections like Personal Care, there is …

“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about” – Oscar Wilde.
Benetton took the world by storm in 1984 with its ‘All the Colors of the World’ campaign which later evolved into the ‘United Colors of Benetton’ trademark. The ads started with the theme of racial equality and later went on to address a host of other burning issues. Their controversial and hard-hitting portrayal often landed them in trouble but more often than not, they also managed to be heard and thus make their presence felt. …