Adverse Advertising

Haven't we noticed that Advertisers are getting blatantly bolder and use loopholes in the law and not so subtle dialogues and methods to convey their messages, publicising goods or services that otherwise could not have been legally advertised. Watching Television,I feel that my intelligence is being questioned. Diageo - the worlds largest alcohol producer and seller, champions the cause of drinking and at the same time tells you to park your car!!

While I agree that drunken driving could be dangerous, I believe the root cause is elsewhere. Responsible people with good up bringing will drink and drive responsibly. Getting drunk is all about upbringing. But we shall save this discussion for another blog.

This discussion on advertising ethics has awoken questions, more recently after Uber were served an FIR for deception and cheating since their web site promised security to all its users!!  I found this absurd, especially while watching Indian television.

My sister brought a ketchup advert to my notice and the comments generally voice similar sentiments.

I presently (un fortunately) have access to only NDTV from India. I not only find the advertisements dishonest, but the very presentation of News, edited with sound effects, is a deception in itself. Paid news, biased reporting seems to go hand in hand with these deceptive advertisements.

Not only should the advertisers be subject to investigation, but so should the directors, producers and actors of these untruths be held to answer for their adverts.

As in criminal cases, they should be classified as to the dangers they could be responsible for resulting in.

FAIR & LOVELY and FAIR & HANDSOME
In my opinion, racist and discriminatory. Our kids in India growing up believing that it is OK to discriminate on colour of the skin.
Secondly would like to understand how these work and if they actually guarantee skin tone change without long term or hidden effects.
The Company, the Advertising company and more shamefully Shah Rukh and John Abraham.
Since it concerns Racism, what would their reaction be if an FIR  be lodged against them.

DIAGEO and its DONT DRINK & DRIVE Hashtag!!!
Like Walther PPK advertising that guns are unsafe!!!
NDTV should be found guilty for the advertisement campaign involving the largest seller of alcohol in the world who use this social issue for advertising.

SEAGRAMS, McDOWELL and all other Alcohol and Cigarette Manufacturers who have been permitted to promote Drinking ICE, SODA and Music. Legally very little against them, but blatant promotion of Brands famous for Alcohol and Cigarettes.

ADVERTS that promote CHEATING are quite dangerous when they teach our young that its OK to cheat for fun!

A recent Ketchup Adverts shows a Team Captain choosing a player who offers him a bottle of Ketchup

A VW Car Advert that advertises speed as a means to move from point A to B to please a waiting girlfriend.

Another Car Advert that uses wild driving to make a milk shake

A Cell Phone company that promotes a good selfie camera to cheat on a friend

THe Coke or Pepsi Advert sayings its Macho to steal someones drink.

Sensodyne and other Toothpaste adverts : How many of these Doctors are actually doctors or are the adverts doctored??

I was surprised to see a silly Mahindra Advert that shows a airplane drop a couple of thousand litres of water to wash a Scorpio with a suggestive female pilot suggesting she give the driver a wash too. Nothing deserving an FIR here, but didn't expect this from Anand Mahindras stable!!

The number of adverts that lie are far too many to list out and it would be easier to list those that exhibit ethics.
AAMIR Khans Athithi Devo Bhava from Incredible India is one that comes to mind of positive ethical advertising.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a Television PRogramme on the lines of Satyameva Jayate, which dissects each advertisement for its Truth versus Bluff factors? Whether a Shampoo actually got her hair smooth and silky, whether your Car Engine actually gets cleaned using a specific brand of oil, Whether a tyre manufacturer actually guarantees the performance of the tyre, if using AXE actually has an effect on all their targets!! How many of these adverts were

Or a forum that discusses each advert that does so and try to highlight them?

Try and launch a Chage.Org Online Petition to hold false advertisers liable?

Any Suggestions?

No U Turns Please!!

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Uber

Uber Who?

U ber-rah be careful boarding any Cab!!!

 I just cannot believe what I'm hearing

1. A Cab Driver has got a forged Police Certificate.
2. He uses the forged certificate to get a Cab Operators & Driving Licence from the Licensing Authority
3. He gets a Job based on the clearence from the Licensing Authority
4. He commits a crime. A heinous crime.
5. And the first thing the Government does is Ban the Cab Company.

Are we living or Mars or what?

Logic says suspend the Licensing Officer. Investigate the number of fake Licences. If every employer has to run police checks on their employees police certificates, why have the police? Why pay taxes?

Am not seeking Utopia. But this is not really nuclear science.

When a corporate employs, they ask for a Police clearance certificate. If your licensing authority has loopholes, then please sort them out. Not slap the employer with an FIR. When a motorist falls into an open manhole, you sue the Road Authority, not the motorist and neither the manufacturer of the automobile.

Yes, there has been a twist. The media have been able to do better investigations than the Police.

Now we know someone else has complained about the same driver. Yes here please do pull up Uber for being a lousy service provider. But BANNING the company for a screw up by the Police and Licensing Authority , and for our poor civic sense is the wrong way to go about it.

This FIR seems to have been filed quicker than Quickr could have sold my car.

Guys !! Govt!! Give us a break!!

I've used Uber and several other taxis and services and found them to be exceptional. The Govt Pre Paid Taxi Service from Bangalore Airport quoted 1400/- Rs for a drop to Central Bangalore and a Uber Cab ( Innova) cost me 546 - Rs. With far better service.

Ive used Uber in Italy, The Hague, Dubai, Barcelona, India ( Mumbai, Bangalore & Chennai) after being introduced to the service in Brazil and found them to be life savers. And in todays world, please use due diligence before boarding any cab. Always note the Drivers name, phone number and the number plate. If you use Uber, track the car and if youre female, alone and have had a few drinks and likely to sleep, then please call a family member before boarding any taxi. Yes, we believe that every citizen should be safe, but lets not take chances until the government makes the city safe... And even then, take precautions. You wouldnt walk around with a rolex in Harlem at 2 AM and then blame it on the chap who sold the mugger a knife!!

I do feel sorry for the victim and animals like this driver should face maximum penalties the law provides. 

In this case, the law themselves have let him go on two or three ocassions. And the law wants to penalise Uber??

Yes Uber may have made some exagerated claims while advertising. Come on folks.. fair & Lovely, or Fair & Handsome, Shampoo adverts, Bacardi Soda, McDowells No 1 Soda, all our Automobile and Motorcycle adverts have done nothing but bluff. And the paid news on TV Channels do nothing but hoodwink gullible viewers.  So give Uber a break. Yes let them comply with regulations. Let the government comply too with its promises to the people. Make sure that the Licensing Authority is brought to task for negligence and corruption.

Let us as people also realise that we live in a real world and thus take care of ourselves too.

While I am not condoning the dastardly act, I would advise my own mother, sister and daughter and my son too, to always excercise caution in this big bad bad world... Whether theyre boarding a train, bus, plane, taxi, auto or any cab!!