Lost in Translation - Hindi to Telugu ads and one great Tamil to Hindi - Paying back in the same Coin!!

1. Po Ra Pu, Surf Excel: Sometimes I feel very annoyed that I seem to be the only person who critically analyzes the way advertisement campaigns are made and executed. Take for instance Surf Excel’s “Po Rub Pu” campaign. 

The campaign (yawn) takes the usual tack of dirty clothes becoming sparkling clean with Surf Excel. But what makes the ad annoying is the language (Hinglish). Everyone in the ad mouths the words Po Rub Pu which is the short form of the phrase “Pour Rub Pour” or saying that a a little Surf Excel is enough to make the toughest stains disappear. 

But an issue crops up when a Telugu-speaking person sees the advertisements. It sounds like Po Ra Po (పో రా పో). Po Ra Po is slang, it means “you!! Get lost”. children can never say Po Ra Po to their elders. It is quite jarring to see young kids saying Po Ra Po to elderly women. No one has even protested and it is business as usual. 

2. Na Cheez Anta - Amul Cheese Telugu Advertisement - Lost in Translation - Translation blunder!:  This advertisement was really funny, I want Hindi readers to comment (Clue the key word's meaning in Urdu), of course, Hyderabad being quite Urdu dominant many Telugu-speaking Hyderabad friends too might get it. As they say, the devil is in detail! 

Nacheez is an Urdu word that means - 'nothing'. But it is often used to describe oneself. E.g. Nacheez ko Maneesha kehte hain - I am known as Maneesha. It is used to convey or denote a sense of humility about oneself.

3. Parimatch Sports’s ఆమె ఆడుతుంది, మీరు జరుపుకోండి:  The above advertisements were on the metro pillars in Hyderabad during the WPL tournament in March. This became a talking point on social media. It means, “She plays, you celebrate” in Telugu.

I had many doubts racing in my mind. Celebrate? How should I celebrate? Why should I celebrate if she is playing? (don’t even know the person). Not my wife, daughter and I don’t even know her remotely?

The mystery was solved when I googled to find the original English version. The English version was “She plays, you win”. This app is a game and we can bet as the game progresses. The more we interact the more is the chance to win.  

4. The dosa ballebaaz (batsman): Idly/Dosa batters are the saviours in many houses. The cumbersome process of making the batter is taken out of hand with the onset of ready-made idly/Dosa batters. Very convenient and reasonably priced they are hugely popular. Wanting to take advantage of ready-made Idly/Dosa batters a Tamil company foraged into the Hindi markets ( north Indian markets). 

So far so good. The package said Idly/dosa batter in English and Tamil. Trying to attract the Hindi buyers they translated idly/Dosa batter into Hindi. Google translate feature nicely kicked the company in the rear side. 

Idly/Dosa batter became Idly/”Dosa Ballebaaz”, Literally idly/dosa batsman. The buyers would have scratched their heads in bewilderment. They must have thought that this Idly/Dosa mix was only for CSK batsmen. Jokes apart never trust Google Translate when your life, brand, and career are on the line.

Megashot smart Cricket Bat - mighty six or a first ball duck!!!

"Megashot smart Cricket Bat" - is a new offering on the Flipkart platform. We can draw a parallel with the Telugu film industry which spends 100s of crores on hero's remuneration and not on great story and gripping screenplay. The same is the case with the Megashot smart cricket bat. Seriously, "common sense is not common". not a memorable brand name.

The word Meta does not exist in cricket. The smart cricket bat has to be consumed by many who have only rudimentary knowledge about technology but still have a passion for cricket. Megashot sounds like an app for a Facebook page offering mini shots of alcohol.

ChatGPT has thrown in some interesting names, check them out (don't tell me that the makers of this smart cricket bat did not have access to ChatGPT)

1) ChakkaMaster: Combining "Chakka" (a term used in cricket for scoring runs) with "Master" to denote mastery of the game.

2) GullyGuru: Referencing the popular street cricket culture in India, where many cricket enthusiasts start their journey to become skilled players.

3) BalleBaazi: A playful name incorporating "Balle" (batting) and "Baazi" (a term often used to describe a clever or skillful move), capturing the essence of cricket strategy and skill.

4) SixerSangam: Highlighting the excitement of hitting a six (sixer) in cricket, combined with "Sangam" (meaning confluence or gathering), implying a gathering of cricket enthusiasts.

5) KhiladiKonsole: Using "Khiladi" (player) to denote the participants in the game and "Konsole" (console) to emphasize the gaming aspect, appealing to fans who aspire to play like their favorite cricket stars.

6) ChaukaChampion: Incorporating "Chauka" (four runs scored in cricket) with "Champion" to signify excellence and victory in the game.

7) HitWicketHub: Playing on the terms "hit wicket" (a mode of dismissal in cricket) and "Hub" to suggest a central place for cricket gaming enthusiasts.

8) CricCraze360: Combining "Cric" (short for cricket) with "Craze" to denote the passion for the sport and "360" to imply a comprehensive gaming experience.

9) BatBhoomi: Using "Bat" to represent the essential equipment in cricket and "Bhoomi" (meaning land or field) to signify the cricket ground, appealing to fans who love to play and watch cricket.

10) DhamaalDugout: "Dhamaal" (a Hindi term for excitement or fun) combined with "Dugout" (the area where players sit when not actively participating) to suggest a fun and engaging cricket gaming experience.

I find all the above ten names better than Megashot (somehow mind is still fixated on the banned "shot liya kya" campaign).

Moving from the name itself, I have watched the video of the Megashot Smart cricket bat on YouTube and found the gaming part to be amateurish. The animation is flat and there is not much interaction. Many free game apps give a similar or even better gaming experience. Megashot is only about hitting the ball. One can't bowl or field. So it all boils down to swinging the bat. The game can only be played by a single player at a time. 

I wish the makers of Megashot studied the daddy of interactive games Nintendo Wii carefully. There was a time when parents frowned upon video games. They were seen as the ultimate evil, a drug no less. The adults never played video games. They thought it was silly, a waste of time, and worse made players fat and lazy.

Nintendo Wii changed it all. It came as a breath of fresh air. Wii was incredibly easy to set up and play. It introduced games that everyone loved and played physically at some point in their life. Wii had games like tennis, bowling, boxing, baseball, cricket, cycling, archery etc.

So what makes Wii a much better option? The games are very interactive. Up to four players can play at a time, the action is very realistic and players experience exertion when playing the games on Wii. That was the USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Wii was a wholesome family entertainment device.

The minute exercise was mentioned, the elders took to the game as fish took to the water. Wii sold a whopping 10 crore gaming consoles throughout the world and continues to sell in North America. Wii became one of the few gaming consoles that the entire family played together and may be the only Video/TV game that parents encourage their kids to play. In 2008-2012 there was a waitlist of two months in USA for buying a Wii gaming console. Wii showed the world how to reinvent a product category.

Crystal gazing, Megashot might not do well. Sold at Rs 5,449/-, it does not offer that much value for money. Sure, people may buy it out of curiosity but my guess is the product might sell in a few hundred. Megashot needs to improve on all fronts if it wants to compete in the tough gaming business. All the best Megashot.

Playing ads in UPI sound Boxes - Interesting Concept!!!

Did you know that India clocks 41.7 crore UPI transactions per day!! The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was launched in India on April 11, 2016, by Dr. Raghuram G Rajan, Governor, of RBI in Mumbai. Just 8 years ago. This must be the fastest product diffusion in the world.

India must be the only country in the world where you can just carry a mobile phone and happily live without having any money in your pocket. From the humble beggar to buying air tickets all the transactions are on the UPI. 

Recently at the India-England cricket test match at Hyderabad, I was stunned to see the plight of English fans. Many vendors were not accepting credit and debit cards. They were also refusing to accept large currency notes like the 500 and the 2000 rupee notes. Everyone wants UPI payments, but English fans lack the magic - the UPI interface.

Behind every problem lies an opportunity for a product or a service. UPI payments were a great advantage to the customer but were a disadvantage to small businessmen who have many small ticket transactions. 

For example, a small tea stall owner might have as many as 10 to 15 transactions in as much time. Mostly managed by a single individual, there was an additional stress of making tea, serving it, taking cash, and checking the mobile to see if the payment was received.

Pay TM, Google Pay, Phone Pay, and other UPI payment gateway providers came out with a wonderful product innovation. A simple sound box. The sound box has a QR code that can be scanned. 

Once it is scanned the payment gets transferred to the seller and an audio message comes out "Received payment of Rupees 10". This relieved the stress of watching the mobile to see if the payment was received. Sold at a very affordable cost with a monthly rental of Rs 149/- sound boxes quickly found market acceptance.

Marketers wanted to up the ante. Now they are toying with the idea of introducing advertisements after every 10 transactions. There is a huge space for product promotions that can be customized and localized. For example, in Miyapur all the ads can be for the business establishments in and around Miyapur.

Great Idea. It could be a win-win for both the sound box provider and the vendor. The sound box provider can make money and share it with the vendor. The vendor need not pay any rental and could get some additional revenue. But I suspect the person who might find it irritating is you and me the poor customers.

Let us assume that a single ad will play after every ten transactions. This would irk the 11th customer as he was to wait for 10/20/30 seconds for his UPI transaction. You might say that 10/20/30 seconds is not long. I suggest you try to hold your breath. 10 seconds is a lot of time!!!

The ambiance of the store too might be disturbed by the inane advertisements. Also for high-volume vendors like tea shops, there could be advertisements coming in thick and fast adding to the chaos and confusion. Anyway, it is early days and let us wait and see how this new media evolves and adapts to the market scenario.

"Parle G - Mane Genius" - Great campaign by Parle G - The king of biscuits - throughout the world.

Think of it - what are our best memories in life?  A childhood full of happiness and being carefree. The only tension was getting to school and not coming back home. Coming back was automatic.

A beautiful moment in our lives was evening tea with our parents. As children, we were not allowed the guilty pleasure of sipping tea or coffee with our parents. But we found a way out - dip the ever-present Parle-G biscuits in their tea and have the best of two worlds, tea, and Parle-G biscuits.

Parle G unabashedly is THE INDIAN BISCUIT. It is found everywhere and is the traveling companion of all Indians who travel a lot. It is available at a very affordable Rs 5/-. 

Parle G would have satiated the hunger of many an Indian who can't afford to have something expensive when they travel. It is a biscuit available in all nooks and corners of India. It is the, "Biscuit that India eats".

As the Management gurus, Al Ries and Jack Trout have said in their seminal book "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind", Positioning is the space that the product occupies in the minds of the customer.

When asked "First man on the moon" we quickly respond  "Edmund Hillary/Tensing Norgay. " First person to score 10,000 runs in test cricket?" Sunil Gavaskar would be the quick answer. Who cares about the second person on Mount Everest or the second person to score 10,000 runs. No one knows or cares. It is the first that matters.

In all categories, we have a product or a service in the "Top of Mind (TOM)". Only TOM matters and not any other Dick or Harry (Punning from the phrase Tom, Dick, or Harry). If you ask me the best brand in chocolates, I will blurt out "5 Star".

In the expensive Detergent category, it is, "Ariel", for daily wear clothes it would be, "Surf" and for washing bedsheets and towels it is, "Nirma". Occupying the space in the mind is important.

Interestingly the space occupied by India differs from country to country. USA is the most inward-looking country in the world. They are bothered mostly about themselves. When asked about India, most would feign ignorance. Some would come out with Taj Mahal, some with the concept of "Bangalored", some might associate India with "Bollywood songs" and lately, Indians are being recognized for their prowess in Software and now India is being recognized for its food. Indian food is a rage.

Interestingly in Ethiopia Positioning about India and Indians is quite different. Indians are recognized and yelled at, "Babuji" a reference to Mahatma Gandhi. They could also holler "Namaste" as most Indians they would have encountered were teachers who taught in Ethiopian schools and later in universities.

All Indian men irrespective of size, shape, colour with or without hair on the head would become "Sha Rukh Kha (Shah Rukh Khan)" and all women would become "Ranis (Rani Mukerjee)". These were the famous film actors when we were in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia circa 2002-2006.

Parle G is a giant and it has crossed US 2 billion in sales only in biscuit sales. Its name itself was an interesting coincidence. It was started in 1929 in Vile Parle, a suburb in Mumbai and Parle derives its name from the locality. Parle added the magic word Glucose to emphasize the product's benefit, Glucose gives energy and nutrition.

Success usually spawns rivals and Parle-Glucose was no exception. Competitors climbed on the bandwagon, and everyone started using the same name "Glucose". This strategy was eating into the sales of Parle-Glucose, and it had to act fast. The shove became a push when Britannia did a campaign "Gabbar Singh ki asli Pasand". In 1980 Parle Glucose became Parle-G and it remained the same over the years.

The letter G has been used very cleverly by the company. They are already synonymous with Glucose biscuits, and they need not repeat it ad nauseum in their campaigns.

Parle did many campaigns including "Biscuit of India, You are My Parle G, Nostalgia campaign "things have changed but Parle-G remains the same” etc. But the campaign that they have stuck all along is Parle G and G means genius or now being politically correct G mane genius.

The play is on the word "genius." The positioning is that Parle-G is good for geniuses (past, present, and future). The latest set of ads focuses more on the human side of the geniuses rather than on the materialistic end results of the being geniuses. The girl and the boy ad, for example, play on the genius of the girl who longs for a toy.

But it is not for herself. Rather, it is for her brother. That is the genius part of Parle-G. Similarly, there is another very interesting ad about a couple who move into a new Mohalla (locality). The lady feels very lonely that she is not part of the Holi celebrations.

A teenage girl cleverly (another genius) makes the lady become a part of that Mohalla and helps her celebrate Holi happily. The positioning tack is slowly moving from biscuits for the kids to biscuits for everyone. Just like Cadbury Dairy Milk, which went from Cadbury for children to Cadbury for all ages and all occasions.

I am totally okay with the campaigns, but the only complaint that I have is that girls are more in focus in the advertisements, and the boys and men are used as sidekicks only. Is it because Parle-G has a picture of a girl on its packaging, or is it because girls rhyme with the "G" of the product? Your guess is good as mine. 

Anyhow, women complain of inequality and not being represented in good numbers. Parle-G has seen to it and has made girls and women its prime spokespersons!

Tick hai to Teek Hai - Google Pay Hai - what a Brilliant advertisement

It is IPL carnival time, and brilliant advertisements are being aired. It is now the turn of Google Pay UPI to come out with a 'Sab Tik/TeeK hai'. Online payments, especially UPI payments, have become the order of the day. Come to think of it, two of the best advertisements of this year's IPL have come from two UPI platforms: CRED and Google Pay.

We have always been worried about fraudulent payments using UPI. We use many UPI platforms but are still concerned. Is it safe? Google Pay is used by many, and Google's reliability is rubbed onto Google Pay UPI too. Unlike other UPI payments, Google Pay comes with double authentication: one linked with the QR code scan and another with the entry of the secret six-number password. Without the password, the transaction does not go through. There is no tick (It is not okay), or it is not Teek (Right).

India has grown comfortable with the usage of Hinglish (a mixture of Hindi and English). We see a lot of advertisements using a combination of Hindi and English, and in a way, it is quite remarkable how this lingo has become a part of us.

In the advertisement, Kajol Devgn, the film star is shown using Google Pay, and a skeptical bystander asks, 'Is it okay (Teek hai)?' The waiter who receives the payment says, 'Tik hai to Teek hai'. This, I thought, was brilliant wordplay. The waiter first puts out the tick mark with the thumb and the index finger (which becomes both a tick mark and a smiley face too). The tick mark comes in Google Pay once the payment is done. That is the mark that the Google Pay authentication has been completed successfully. The advertisement ends with 'Tik hai, Google Pay hai'.

This is Google Pay's way of countering CRED's argument about discounts. I would stay with my Google Pay UPI as I feel it is more secure, and Google Pay has never betrayed me. Tick hai tho Teek hai. 10/10 for a brilliant advertisement.