My Own Project Thesis: Fruit hai re- Viral Marketing at its best

This is the viral marketing initiative of the brand 'Fruttare' by Hindustan Unilever Ltd. This innovative campaign was launched on March 19, 2012, and was structured so that it will reveal the product identity on 25^th March, 2012. The viral campaign was a unique one amongst the existing viral campaigns. The buzz word was ‘Fruit hai re’, and this phrase was aired on television as an advertisement, and was all over the internet through videos and posts on social networking sites.

It has a catch phrase- Not a bird, not a TV show, not a clothing range and definitely not a lipstick! This was circulated widely. It garnered immense word of mouth publicity because in this time span everyone was asking each other ‘What is fruit hai re?’ It got 46,587 likes on Facebook on its facebook community.

Currently it has two advertisements running on television on all major channels at prime time slots. One is Fruit hai re kya hai, which now has 2000 views on YouTube, another one ‘Fruit hai re Juggalbandi’ which has 1,104 views until now and Fruit hai re Annual Day which has almost a 1000 views. It has a twitter account dedicated to it too.

Buzz Creation Contest

It had a contest running where people had to guess what product fruit hai re is endorsing. The winning prize of which was a Blackberry Curve. This contest too helped in creating a lot of buzz in the social networking space. This contest required a social networking id to participate.

People posted lot of answers for it. The most common of which was a fruit drink. There were many unique answers like of it being a Blackberry application (because of the winner prize being Blackerry Curve), a show on Sony Channel, a publicity stunt for IPL, clothing line, Shampoo, etc. The facebook community ‘Fruit hai re’ further intensified the curiosity by posting curious questions itself which had the public guessing and impatient.

Some of which were:

The electronic industry is abuzz with news that Fruit Hai Re is a mobile phone range which will take on Berries and Apples.

Newsflash: An amateur Indian band is taking the credit for Fruit Hai Re saying it’s a song they’ve created for a Hollywood film. Sure guys, we’re still waiting for an actual hit from you!

Newsflash: 14 youngsters detained at CST station for disrupting the crowd in a Mumbai Local. Eyewitnesses say all they did was chant Fruit Hai Re. Were any of you there when this happened?

It is that global phenomenon which is taking over India. No one knows what “Fruit Hai Re” is, but we know for sure, it’s going to change many lives; it’s going to surprise us, delight us and leave us smiling! Are you ready to find out what Fruit Hai Re is all about?

Hence, It was an amazing hype that it did to vow the public. Now finally on 25^th March 2012, the suspense is finally over, and it was a good move that it ended its suspense in a few days only so as to not let the efforts fizzle out because of waiting too long. Fruithaire has posted that it is indeed an Ice Cream. Its description is as follows:

Kwality Wall’s Fruttare is made with 100% real fruit juice and pulp. Fruttare is free from artificial flavours and colours, is naturally fat free and less than 70 kcals per serving. Its available in 3 yummy varities – Mango, Litchi and Grape. Every bite is a refreshing delight.

It was a brilliant marketing move, and a successful viral marketing campaign for launching a completely new brand and instantly familiarize the audience with it.

Mr. Per(Fict)

Recently I read Ramayana (the abridged version by C.Rajagopalachari) and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, two books which couldn’t be more different to one another. Rama is such a beautifully etched character. Every person loves Rama as their hero. I would say, compare it to Edward Cullen. Both were awe-inspiring to me, but both two different characters, one a God and the other, a vampire. I found a serene mysterious beauty in them.

So that makes me think, why do women fall for men in literature, fiction, movies and plays. What makes them so appealing? So exciting? The reason is that they are not like the men we encounter in real life, who according to me, have at least one major ‘Tragic flaw’ (originally used in Julius Caesar, work of Shakespeare, meaning, a flaw in the character of the protagonist of a tragedy that brings the protagonist to ruin or sorrow) that overshadows all other qualities. We see a guy, fall for him, then comes the getting to know each other part. That is the time we get to know, “hey this dude is quite different from what I thought he would be like!”/ “what I fell for in the first place is not as appealing as I thought”. We still make-do and move on, liking and relishing the differentness, somewhere within, even accepting it.

Then later, in most cases, after considerable time, the guy unleashes his ‘tragic flaw’, which catches you off guard and makes you miserable. Anything that is very hard to accept at that stage, qualifies as a tragic flaw. Something you have not paid attention to earlier perhaps, but has always been there. And of course, all guys have one. Talks with friends, reading extensively have revealed certain traits, for example, some could be compulsive liars (these guys would lie extravagantly like there’s no tomorrow), some brag endlessly, some are too fake (read wannabes), some penny pinchers, some with funny ‘engliss’, some don’t know how to treat girls, some are addicts (could be anything), some hide an inferiority complex that consumes him whole..phew..the list would never end.

Every guy possesses one or more of these traits in different combinations. The basic fact is that at some point in time, any of this, to a girl, does become a problem. That is when a girls heart squeaks, “Maybe he is not the right one..” As to a girl who has grown up reading about Rama, Prince Charming, Darcy, Peter Parker, Edward Cullen, the standards for the perfect guy are set too high. It’s best we stay happy with a few qualities out of the skill set, a subset. But is there actually something as the Perfect man? A myth in all probability.

Love aaj kal- Decline of the Romantic Era

Listening to Ajab Prem ki gazab kahani, a thought struck me. In the yesteryears, movies, soaps and songs used to be about yearning for your love, waiting for it.

Episode in Rishtey, where a man falls in love with a girl working in the CD shop. He comes there everyday, not garnering enough courage to profess his love for her. She sells him a CD everyday. He returns home frustrated. Once he altogether stops coming. Doesn't come for days.

She gets concerned, goes to his house. Someone tells her hes left for heavenly abode. She is shocked. Goes to the CD collection and finds all the CD's hes purchased lying unopened over there. Opens it and theres a note in each one that she had put telling him she likes him now. He never came to know about her love.

Now, its all about conquering your love. If not, hard luck, move to the next one please. Its easily available too, with people no longer shying away from having multiple relationships. Movies are catering to the growth of this trend. Sad state.

Liberating Verses

Hello tears,
you are back again,
my heart pierced,
with a familiar pain.

Lie low,
so no one can see,
but I know,
noticed I would never be.

Sob for a reason,
sulk in vain,
you cannot replenish,
the scars that remain.

Never again will I do this,
to myself. I promise,
people unworthy I will dissmiss,
and the beautiful true ones I maintain with a kiss.

Muah! Muah! Muah!

Don't waste a tear,
it is precious,
causal factors gain several jeers,
Now I'm strong, against you I am cautious.

Not a girl..Am a woman..

I am 21! In a few hours I will be 22. I don't know why, am feeling overtly emotional about this. I can't leave 21 behind. It meant so much to me. I feel I am transitioning from a vulnerable kidult to the unknown, unfamiliar age of 22. What it holds, I do not know.

I also feel, maybe, this is because of the great times I've had in 21, The work experience at The PRactice, time spent at Bangalore, staying alone in a PG, time spent with real tight friends, loooong night walks, my first trip with friends to Pondicherry, trying out for zillion jobs of all kinds..read journalism, advertising, content writing, public relations, airlines ground staff, business development executive...all kinds. I loved every it, every minute was thrilling, tantalizing at every step. It was a beautiful year indeed. New beginnings happened in the later phase.

On the flip side, I could be feeling so strongly about it, owing to things that were lacking. Maybe I feel I didn't do justice to my age of 21. Why? As I let myself quit a job where I couldve tried to pass through a very rough patch. The job hunt was rough on me. I was living on the edge all through. I let my fitness go, in the later phase, getting an inch increase on my tummy. Tshirts tighter, jeans turn snug fit. Deprived myself from buying new clothes for so many months, walking out like a slob. Messing with my hair so much.

With this new year in my life, a new year of my existence, I promise myself, that I will be positive, self-sufficient, hardworking and confident. I have to learn new things with an open mind, take better care of myself, so that at the end of the year, I dont regret this. Regret over things I did not do, regret over the unattainable.

Thanks conscience, for bringing this to my mind. I love you 21. In my hearts of hearts I'll always be 21.

A Disquiet Mind

Poetry is liberating,
And so I’ve heard,
It unlocks your disquiet mind,
And lets the thoughts unfurl.

I have been heart sunken,
For a long time now,
The tragedy of the known,
Is the worst of the kind.

Taking refuge in activities unrelated,
I had to divert my mind,
How long I can hold the dam,
I had yet to find.

When it hurts from within,
There is a restlessness developed,
Your heart feels sore,
And your hatred swells from inside.

Wear striking colours on nails,
They glitz away your attention,
As you gaze in admiration,
It’s in your mind...Sweet, sweet flirtation.

Do justice to your life,
See most places, talk to all,
Have gala of a time,
While, as they term, you are in your prime.

While you cannot essay an unquiet thought,
You can verse away the blues,
You have the rhymes in place,
If not, it still brings out utter grace.

Days I spend in agony,
Are the worst days of all.

Modern day virtues, and their slow death

What makes me title my new post this, goes beyond me, but, I want to make this work.
I feel inspired by 'Sex and the City' to take up blogging again. Carrie Bradshaw is someone, any modern day girl would identify with. The sexcapades are a little too much to identify with, but her confused demeanour and messed up love life strikes a chord.
In our modern lives, we are all Carrie Bradshaws, who are struggling to find the right guy. Who would depend on their friends for every advice. Who would open up their lives to their friends. She makes mistakes, and she gets up and moves on. Its the spirit, one must have.
Let us hope this strong-willed character does not bring about change in an uncalled for way among the conservative Indian lot. However, the wheels are in motion, change is in the air.