The Best Advertisement Award Goes To

Some years ago whenever I picked up the daily news paper I  used to wiggle it thoroughly and advertisement notices of various shapes and sizes tumble down from the innards of the main paper. Satisfied with my methodical job I sit in peace to read the paper. But today the newspapers themselves have become advertisements and I search for the news in between them! Sometimes they pop up outside too irritating the reader beyond words who is unable to fold the paper properly!

But there are some advertisements which makes you smile and never an annoyance. If there is an originality and ingenuity award for effective and interesting presentation I would definitely award it to the scooter man who collects old silk clothes with jari. The scooter man never does the talking, It is a prerecorded message fitted to his vehicle with a microphone and it goes thus": Come ladies..... come..... If you possess old Kanchipuram,  Dharmavaram,  Arni,  Banarasi silk saris, silk skirts or stoles we will buy it from you. Please don't bother if they are torn beyond redemption. We will buy it on the spot for a very good price and you can get a good money then and there" The endearing at the same time assuring voice with the right modulation was his asset  and the frequency with which he raided our street was the indicator of the business he created for himself!

Usually the old jari saris are taken to a shop where they were torn into pieces and burnt leaving the silver or gold as the case may be and then melted again. I had the chance to witness the process when my mother in law's wedding sari which had seen many moons and rendered great service went into bits and she had graciously asked me to sell it and get new saris for self and my sister in law. Both of us sitting in that hole in the wall  shop witnessing the sari going into a blast furnace ominously  decided once is enough! The joy of buying a new sari was lost somewhere in the process. If only the scooter man existed  then.........!

The other day there was a semi covered  truck meandering through our street. I was surprised to hear similar coaxing advertisement but with a wee bit of difference. Then I remembered Bernard Shaw who said "Imitation is not just sincere form of flattery- it's the sincerest form of learning." This truck man had not only learnt from the scooter man asking for old jari clothes but improvised and improved upon the old form and the announcement went thus :" Come mother....... Come father...... come brothers....... Come sisters....... Come grandpa ......Come grandma ....... All of you know how important is onion in our cooking and how good it is for our health  and the taste it adds to the dish is mouth watering. We are selling the best sun dried onions for the cheapest price of three kilogram packs just for 50 rupees. You cannot get this price except in whole sale markets and we are delivering the same at your door step. we are stopping the vehicle at your place, please come and enjoy this cheap price and the best product!

When I was young the advertisements were few but still today I can remember the enjoyment it gave and along with my siblings we had a great time with them.

One advertisement  where young boys carrying some placards walk through our street shouting;

"Gopala..."

"Yes... sir.."

"Where do you go?"

"To the shop to the shop sir..."

"What do you buy..?

"To buy some beedi sir.."

"To buy what...?

"To buy some beedi sir.."

"What beedi are you buying...?

"Of course Kaaja beedi sir..."

"What beedi?"

"Kaaja beedi sir"

 There were no organisations then condemning the use of children in advertising for such an obnoxious substance. The advertisement so fascinated us that we used to repeat this chorus in the house almost on a daily basis!

One day dad was furious when he heard this refrain. The elder siblings were taken to task . Dad is a well known school master in the Kumbakonam town and  from the crème de la crème to the lowest rung were his friends and he wielded his unspoken authority to put the populace in the right way  and one aspect is his advice was to avoid tobacco products. If anyone sees him coming across  he would stamp his cigarette underneath his feet and folding his hand  in a submissive way and wish him.  It was no wonder that he was angry that his own children were enjoying the beedi advertisement however enticing the chorus was!

But in our own ingenious way the advertisement metamorphosed into a better jingle

"Gopala..."

"Yes... sir.."

" Where do you go...?"

"To the shop to the shop sir..."

" What do you buy..?

" To buy some sweets sir.."

" To buy what...?

" To buy some sweets  sir.."

" What sweets  are you buying...?

" Of course  honey sweets sir..."

"What sweets?"

" Honey sweets  sir "

Honey sweets were replaced by peanut sweets, coconut sweets, sesame sweets, lizard egg sweets and a very obnoxious named sweet called ‘rat dropping sweets’ (so called because of the shapes) in accordance with the purchase. And other articles like Vincent cool drinks, Kali mark sodas, Rexona soap, Sun light washing soap, 505 bar soap joined in this advertisement  fun game!

After India's independence in 1947 the first Indian election for the Indian people was held in 1951 and this 'Gopala advertisement' was exhaustively used by the parties especially the Congress and it went on like this:

"Gopala..."

"Yes... sir.."

" Where do you go...?"

"To the voting booth sir..."

" Where do you go...?"

"To the voting booth sir..."

"Which is your symbol?"

" Plough and peasant sir.."

"Which is your symbol?"

"Plough and peasant sir.."

With this measly advertisement the Congress party won 354 seats of the 484 seats. But the independence movement of which the Congress played the prime role was the main motivating force for this victory . The poems of the great poet Bharathiar, the sacrificing spirits of the great patriots  played a major role in the win but our 'Gopala' played his role to motivating us and informing us of the birth of a new Independent India!