Redelivering. High performance.

It was a wise thing to do certainly. After all, when your brand ambassador is busy delivering all other kinds of “performances” with steadily changing “clients”, you’ve got to move on. And what astonishing performances they were. 18 at the last count. Couldn’t stay away from the magic number of golf, I guess. And they say it’s now 19. Achieving higher goals no doubt.

To have elephants and deer and trees conveying the same message is much safer. For one, you break away from the whole concept of brand ambassador entirely. After all, you don’t know what antics might these special people be up to. They are after all, still human beings. It’s ironical that perhaps only animals are the ones who are not prone to animal instincts these days.

Two, your costs go down drastically. Only paying the animal trainers perhaps; with no more multi-million dollar deals down the 18 holes. And they are easier to capture on film as well. Easy flowing, natural movements, no pretensions. None required. Because with the more evolved two-legged species, it’s always a  case of who is wearing a better mask.

And no tantrums, no where’s-my-one-third-cranberry-and-two-third-pomengrate-juice expectations, no touch-ups, no sunscreens, no mascara, no brushes, no lip-gloss, no nothing.

Now would you say that that’s what all marketing teams should be thinking? Can’t be. If you are selling a beauty soap, you need an Aishwarya or Priyanka to get the impact. Can’t show animals there really. Even though some of them are more good-looking. Same is true if you sell branded clothes for that matter. You can’t have peacocks wearing Reid & Taylor suits. A Gandalf-like Amitabh is your best bet.

So here’s the moral of the story – If your brand can do without a human face/body to convey the message, then it might be worthwhile taking that route. The Zoo-zoo is another wonderful success story. Same principles apply there as well. It’s a phone service. And if you can avoid associating a personality trait to your brand, then that’s your solution. No doubt humans are more easily identifiable with personality traits and that’s where the strength of that technique lies. And that’s what they were trying with Woods.  Though unfortunately, that’s where lies it’s biggest weakness as well.

The “animal” cure is good, but lesson for others – prevention is still a better strategy.

Home again…

This is going to be a short one. Like many other super critical things in life.

Just visit www.backtohome.com, and you will see what I mean. A healthy dose everyday (once you register) to keep your mind on that one track where it should always be, but where it is seldom allowed to be.

Home, it seems, is within reach again.

The Hangman

The day has come, for another one,

To be sent across to the other side

And I am called, to do my part

To pull the lever, to end the ride

 

His eyes meet mine, as he is brought

Onto the pole of final redemption

And I am answering, through that glance

Those last doubts, that closing question

 

He is asked, to say his prayers,

Before the veil covers his face

And I am forced, to listen again

To an unknown God, he makes his case

 

They place the noose, around his neck,

As he says sorry for a life of crime

And I get ready, to clasp my hands

Another blood, on these hands of mine

 

They give the signal, to move the lever,

He moves a little a few more times

And I close my eyes, as those muscles flex

Some unfinished words, many unheard lines

 

His soul departs, and crosses mine

His last breath mingles with my sigh

And I am left, confused as ever,

The purpose of my life, is to make sure they die

 

Is there a retribution, for what I do?

Is there a place for me up there?

As I am still, struggling to find,

In this world of sin, my sinful share

Worthwhile?

Peaches, melons, and dark purple grapes,
Our life should be crystals, pearls and heavy drapes
Trapped in the pile of past, untamed desires
Burning through our million lives' funeral pyres

Writ by us, and un-writ by us as well,
Our destiny follows us, but we can't tell
For our beliefs, are turned upside down
Did our smile come first? Or was it the frown?

The tidal waves of multiple dreams so colorful
Wash us away, with overwhelming push and pull
And we allow ourselves to be dragged around
By random thoughts that are lost and found

It might hurt, but imagine this way,
Your Merc and BMW, if they take it all away
Would you still be defined by what you really are?
Or are you just the total, of a yacht, a house, and a hand-crafted car?

Strange it may seem, that you will leave it all behind,
All that you have fought for, this life full of grind
And then you return, to the same river with a different bend
A million uncertain dreams, and one certain end

So will this end be the actual final departure?
Or will I be searching again for a greener pasture?
I know the choice rests right here in me
But when the light shines, will I be there to see?

Secrets...

I am currently reading four somewhat inter-related books these days (though on the face of it, they may not necessarily appear to be linked) -- Bhagavad Gita, The Secret, The Science of getting rich, and Master-key-System. Our religions and probably our elders would not obviously allow us to associate the words "rich" and "Gita" very closely. But if we go a little deeper, we realize that no God has ever been against the concept of prosperity in a positive sense. Or abundance, which is actually what really being rich is all about.

And that is where these four texts seem to merge. A common theme running across all of them is the presence of an Omnipotent, Omnipresence power existing all across this universe. A power that is actually very favorable to us (if we believe it to be). A power that strongly advocates lavish abundance. Look at the way Mother Nature creates things -- the vast expanse of really lofty mountains, the unending Oceans, the extremely, over-the-top greenery of trees, and not to mention the millions of species present only on this Earth, which is but a very small component in the entire universe. And the Bhagavad Gita clearly articulates that the owner of this entire creation (Lord Krishna) is present everywhere and anywhere (Omnipotent, Omnipresent). The other three books have a very simple premise (and something which we keep hearing in various shapes and forms) -- "The answer lies within". Very simple, very powerful, yet something which we all keep forgetting.

This infact, takes me back to an earlier post where we were discussing choices, and that there are really no accidents. These books actually delve deeper into why there can actually be no accidents, and that every single thing or event that happens around us, has it's origin inside us. And this is precisely where they become contradictory to all that we have experienced and been taught. We are happy when something good happens to us, and we are not so happy otherwise. In short, our beliefs tell us that the cause is outside us, and the effect is what happens inside us. These books (including the Gita) clearly turn this illogical concept upside down and point at the final truth -- The cause is inside us, the effect is what happens outside. And if we are in tune with the Universe (or God, or Nature, or whatever it is that we believe runs all across), then this Omnipotent entity will definitely cause things to happen in accordance with whatever thoughts we harbor).

This simple thing is actually the only Secret we will ever need to know...