One twentysomething desi Internet millionaire throws a catered bash for the homeless for his birthday. Meanwhile his brother and cofounder tries to replace Uday Chopra as reigning Bollywood cheeseball. Click here for the wackness.
He provides nekkid wallpaper downloads, just in case we want ‘em poster-sized. And he calls his bachelor pad the G spot. Stay […]
Licensing songs for movies is cool, and the Civic is virtually a Sri Lankan car. But Maya shilling for Bud Light is completely selling out. I mean, that swill is so weak it barely qualifies as beer:
Actor Debargo Sanyal recently filmed an ad campaign for hot food bars at Holiday Inn Express. The Office-style ads make fun of cringeworthy, late-night bar behavior. In one spot, four women leer over his waiter character:
In another, he plays a gay man making fun of his coworkers’ ineffectual flirting (watch: WMV, Quicktime). Watch for his […]
A mailing list rental house owned by Clinton donor Vinod Gupta ran a Super Bowl ad featuring a Ramesh doing a straight-up Apu impersonation, complete with that fake accent and seven kids. Why would a desi-owned company run that accent, playing to a racial caricature propelled into Americana by comedians in brownface? And their panda […]
India’s military recruiting ads are earnest beyond belief:
Japan’s parade of quality seamen is a little less somber and a lot more ‘In the Navy’:
Waris Singh Ahluwalia is always searched, but it’s truly random
Rootsgear… which designs T-shirts with political and social messages and a hip-hop sensibility aimed at Punjabi Sikh youth, says its Facebook group helps the company stay connected to regulars in its ethnic community and the socially conscious rap scene… the page drives more traffic to Rootsgear… […]
Clever Rajasthani villagers thwart Hindi-speaking aliens in this glue ad (via Vinod Khare):
At the Imaginasian theater in Manhattan, the CIA’s hung a poster trying to recruit spies. Just don’t cross Dick Cheney:
Among the joys of a hill-station visit are the signboards one gets to see. Just back from Mussoorie and Landour and had to share these pictures, most of them from the long and winding Mussoorie mall:How to lure the sophisticated dinerI like the way the…
The newly-released Matchbook by Shahid Datawala catalogues a very particular form of ephemeral pop art. It’s a collection of Indian matchbox covers, and it looks beautiful:
Produced and printed chiefly in the town of Sivakasi, famed for its fireworks, matchbox and printing industry… Gods and goddesses, community and national leaders, actors and actresses, and national monuments […]
I just noticed the melodramatic Kite Runner book is being touted at NYC Starbucks outlets. The $15 paperback has a promo wrap promoting its upcoming movie.
You may also have seen for sale the reflective silver cards which represent iTunes albums. The cards have a magnetic strip across the bottom for the cashier, and a scratch-off […]
In tribute to former African-American Michael Jackson, Shah Rukh Khan endorses a skin bleaching product (thanks, Sapna). It’s a sneaky bit of reverse psychology, accusing guys of unmanliness not for using a beauty product, but for using their sister’s.
Here’s more of the India @ 60 campaign by the Indian Ministry of Tourism. This smack talk aimed at China is in Times Square:
Indian tourism is sponsoring several fairly generic cultural events in NYC over the next four days. The most interesting: a Steve McCurry photo exhibit at the Bryant Park Hotel (40 W. 40th between 5th and 6th Aves.), and a craft show + dance performances at Bryant Park (interesting for the central venue).
On one hand, the […]
‘India on the move’: the latest Indian tourism campaign, or a reference to the taxi driver?
Related posts: Incredibly off-k!lter, Incredible advert!sing
Listen to this clip from the excellent Raja Wilco track ‘The General’:
Now compare it to the background music in this morphalicious sports ad (high-quality version):
Both tracks use ‘Promentory’ by Trevor Jones, from the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. Of course, in the full track Raja welds it to some badass lines from Bollywood
This is the end…This is the end of the AdSense
(apologies to Don Henley)
As you may have noticed, our 1½-day AdSense trial has run its course. It consisted of ads with bad graphic design and low relevance being frantically blacklisted by yours truly, and waiting six hours for the blacklist to take effect while they cluttered […]
Xenophobic investigation over, these nerdy Jet Airways ads about its new NYC-Bombay route are popping up in the PATH trains connecting Jersey to Manhattan.
Related posts: The TM word, Jet chases away the Blues, Jetting to Bangalore
The first Indian TV ad for Loins of Punjab Presents is now out with a boob grab, the aftermath of a chicken choke and rampant Gujju stereotyping. Shocking, I tell you.
Related posts: Succulent ‘Loins’ opens SAIFF (updated), Fruit of the ‘Loins’, Grabbing ‘Loins’, ‘Loins of Punjab Presents’ (updated), ‘Flavors,’ you’re on notice
That Rangpur liquor ad campaign is now giving out four different mixes of yet another hip hop / Hindi track. It’s running on stories posted on Yahoo News:
Listen here:
Related post: Dry vice (updated)