Help Me Choose The Monster By Mail Halloween Print

Hey internet, I need your help. I have created two new original images for the upcoming Halloween season at Monster By Mail. But the problem is, I can't decide which one to use. That's where you come in. Can you please vote and help me decide which one will be offered or sale as a limited edition high quality 12 x 18 canvas print. You can vote here. Thanks for your help in advance. Voting will close on Friday.

Also, another very exciting Monster By Mail Halloween exclusive is coming very soon. Stay tuned for details.

EDIT: Thanks to the 200 who voted this week. The Zombie Trick or Treat is now available for sale at Etsy.com!

Caption This: 9-29-08

Thanks for Monica for this week's entry.

Rufus Amos Adams x2

Round 3 of the QuickStop Entertainment Song Fu Challenge went up over the weekend. The challenge? Write a song in the style of a country ballad with the name "The Ballad of Rufus Amos Adams". Both masters, Paul and Storm and The Rifftones came up with their own respective versions of the song and yes, both are earworms, which is good news for all music lovers.

Over the weekend, I created two new images for each song. A few notes about each. For the Rifftones version, I had a different mind's view of the image. I wanted it to be more cartoony. more fanboyish. As I started to draw, I felt it more appropriate to do a full on painted portrait of Rufus. Something struck me as funny about a total loser dork with his own painted image. So I decided to go more realistic in the end, and it stilll kept the original flair of what I was looking to accomplish.

Originally, I planned on drawing two images that complimented one another like I did for Round Two. But as I listened to Paul and Storm's song, I felt it was more fitting to match the mundane with the mundane. So I opted to do an ID card for their version of Rufus. Those who are familiar with my art know that I have done this once before for Coulton's song "Re: Your Brains." But not a lot of people had seen that image, so I thought I could do a little recycling.

Anyway, the songs are up and votable now. So go do your part and vote today!

Snickers : For the 4'O'Clock Hunger

Brand : Snickers
Company : Mars INC

Brand Analysis Count : 351

To the joy of all chocolate lovers, the world's largest selling chocolate Snickers is now officially in India. The brand has been selling like hot cakes in India as an imported chocolate. Now Mars INC has formally launched the brand in India.

Snickers is owned by Mars Inc which is a $21 Billion company headquartered in US. The company belong to Mars Family which has a rich heritage dating back to 1911. Snickers is the largest selling chocolate in the world with a sales of over $ 2 Billion. Mars Inc is famous for its famous Mars chocolate which have a huge fan following across the world. It also markets the brands like M&M and Bounty.

Snickers has been a favorite of Indian chocolate lovers who devoured this chocolate bought either from the duty paid shops or brought in by the NRIs. But over the last two years , the brand has been available in most bakery's across the country . A report in Business Standard ( June 08) suggest that the imported Snickers and Mars outsold Cadbury's and local brands.

Snickers was born in 1930. The brand acquired the name from one of the favorite horses owned by Mars family

Snickers has been soft launched in India. There are no media reports or Press releases announcing the launch of this brand. I am not sure whether Mars Inc has started producing this chocolate from Indian factories or its still imported.

Snickers is a heavy chocolate with peanut, milk chocolate and caramel. Globally it is positioned as a snack rather than a chocolate . In India too, Snickers has been positioned as a snack.
What is interesting about Snickers launch in India is that the brand chose to localise the brand communication . The first TVC of this brand is made for India and made in India.

Watch the TVC here : Snickers India

Usually MNC brands try to import their global communications to India to create that global image. How ever Snickers chose to be Indian from the very beginning.

Snickers is positioned as a snack food. More specifically , the brand is being positioned as a snack food to fight the Four' O ' Clock hunger. The brand has the Hindi Tagline " Hunger Baja Char . Snicker Khol Yaar " , translated to " When 4'o'clock hunger strikes, open Snickers bar".

The positioning of Snickers is not very different from its competitors. Remember that CadburyPerk had the same positioning as a snack. However Snickers have a strong fan following in India even before its official launch.

For many years chocolate marketers have been struggling to teach Indians to take chocolates when you feel hungry. But so far they are not able to break into the mindset of Indian consumers. Indians don't consume chocolates when hungry. Chocolates are mostly taken after you take some food or they take it when they want some thing sweet . Why because Indian consumers don't consider chocolate as a food. So Snickers will be fighting the age old perception and will have a tough time teaching Indian consumers new lesson.

Snickers will have a tough time in India. Most of the chocolate manufacturers are faced with stagnant sales . To sustain the initial momentum is not going to be easy. Globally the brand has been trying hard to prove that Chocolates are good for health. It had undertaken many studies which prove that chocolates can be good for health. These studies are also very controversial and sparked many debates about its validity.

Snickers has the advantage of a strong cash rich parent and a strong brand equity. It will be interesting to see how this global brand breaks into Indian market.

Bacon By Mail

I just spent the balance of the morning cooking up a pound of the two pounds of Applewood Smoked Wisconsin bacon that was delivered to my house on Friday thanks to the magical Ken Plume and John Robinson. Thanks guys. You just made one bacon-lovin' family happier than all get out.

More people should get bacon deliveries. It really improves a day ten-fold.

Jawbone #222: Crushed Friends

Tonight's show: Aftermath of the storm. High School stories. The online friendship discussion continues and much more. Thanks for joining us!

RSS feed.


Download now.

Brand Update : Whisper

It has been long time I updated about the brand Whisper. Whisper has been a challenger brand . During the launch in 1989, this brand challenged the market leader Stayfree which was rather complacent from being the market creator and the leader. 

By smart brand building, Whisper made Stayfree shudder by garnering 40% share in the market. 

The last two years has seen a brilliant marketing fight between Stayfree and Whisper. Johnson & Johnson sharpened their marketing skills and regained its dominant position by waging a price war. 

J&J knew that P&G was burdened with high cost and it could not lower the price of Whisper. Further Whisper was positioned as a premium brand. The price was enabled Stayfree to retain the leadership position in the Rs 700 crore Sanitary Napkin market in India.

But Whisper did carry the fight on price by launching Whisper Choice which was the affordable variant for the price sensitive consumer. Its expected that Whisper Choice will bring in the volumes and take on the fight for leadership position.

Another significant development which prompted me to update this brand is the current campaign. 

Whisper has recently launched its global campaign "  Have a Happy Period " campaign in the Indian market. I sat in a state of disbelief when I first came across the campaign that boldly used the word " Period " ( common usage for Menstrual period) .  I think its the first time in India that some brand has expressively used this term in the mass media. 

Most of the ads for sanitary napkins shy away from the usage of  word 'Periods'  in their ads . Most used term was " Woh Din " meaning ' those days ' to denote the menstrual periods. So the new campaign made me curios as to whether Indian consumers have  matured enough to hear such terms through mass media. 

The campaign " Have a Happy Period " was created in 2005 by Ms Denise Fedowa who was a VP at Leo Burnett Chicago. This campaign is still running across various countries.  According to a report in Adweek, research shows that consumers are telling the marketers to be transparent and frank in their communications. 

The success of this campaign is a proof that consumers are  accepting frankness in marketing communication as long as it does not cross the limit of decency . 

Read a wonderful article in adweek here : Talk Dirty

P&G thinks that Indian consumers are also mature enough to understand the new found frankness with regard to Whisper. I agree because the TG of Whisper belongs to the educated sophisticated ladies who have more liberal world view. We are living in a generation where parents are not shy in telling their kids about menstrual periods and physiological changes. 

What is more interesting is that along with these campaigns, P&G is also running a below-the-line campaign called  Whisper School Health and Hygiene Education . The program tries to educate the teens about hygiene and care during these periods. The samples of Whisper is also distributed to the Teens. 

The idea behind the campaign is to catch the customers at the Point of Market Entry Stage . ( source ET). The kids are introduced to the brand at a time when they are about to use the category. And once the customer uses these kind of products, they stick to the brand. 

In order to build a community around the brand and also to encourage customers to talk about the brand, Whisper has launched a website specifically for this brand. The site is beinggirls.com which encourages the customers to interact with each other. The site also serves as a media to spread product information and new launches from the brand. 

I used to tell in marketing classes that one of the ways to increase the sales of a product is to find new uses for the product. I found an interesting report that AIIMS is planning to use sanitary napkins as bandages because its hygienic and have excellent absorbing qualities. Read here . 

Related Brand

Whisper

Bring On The Trumpets!

Thanks to Monica for this earworm.

Tic Tac : The New Hello

Brand : Tic Tac
Company : Ferrero
Agency : Orchard

Brand Analysis Count : 350

Tic Tac is world's leading mint confectionery. This brand belongs to the Italy based Ferrero Group which owns some iconic confectionery brands like Ferrero Roche and Kinder Joy.

Tic Tac is trying its luck in the Rs 180 crore mint confectionery market in India which is dominated by the likes of Polo , Chlormint and the likes.

Tic Tac is differentiated from the rest of the crowd on the following aspects :

Packaging : Tic Tac comes in a special transparent plastic box with a flip open lid. The compact box acts as a clear differentiator for the brand. The packs are easy to carry and easy for the customer to use.

Form : Tic Tac is also different in terms of the product form. The small mints are called tic tacs are uniquely shaped and looks beautiful.

Flavors : Tic Tac 's main differentiator is the flavors. The brand is available in many flavors including fruit flavors. This helps the customer to break the monotony . Since consumers exhibit variety seeking buying behavior when buying confectionery , the many flavors help the brand immensily .

Ever since the launch last year, the brand has been investing heavily in communication.The initial communication was focusing on the main benefit of freshness . The tagline of the brand was " Natural Mint , Natural Flavors ".

The ads of Tic Tac was well made which showed the rain following a young man. Rain indicating freshness. The focus of the ad was to reinforce the connection of mint and freshness.

Currently the brand has repositioned itself on a new platform. The brand is now running a commercial positioning the brand as a conversation starter. (similar to Timex )
The brand has a new tagline " The new hello ".

Watch the commercial here : the new hello
What I like about the ad ( library ad ) was that the models look very ordinary and that makes the brand more approachable.
Tic Tac also made sure that the brand is available at a reasonable price point. The brand is retailing at Rs 10 which makes it attractive .

Tic Tac in a way has made every marketing mix elements right for the Indian market. The product is good and well differentiated . The brand is at an attractive price point , the product is available at most of the outlets and the company has been investing in brand communication.
The new positioning statement also has the strength to sustain few years .

Mascara de Arlequin

Mascara de Arlequin. Cosmetic makeup for your eyes.

Gold Mascara for Your Eyes Cosmetic Solutions

Gold Mascara for Your Eyes Cosmetic Solutions.

Mascara Spree from Diorsnow

Mascara Spree from Diorsnow

Cosmetic Solutions with Mascara

Cosmetic Solutions with Mascara. More color full for your choice.

Beauty Cosmetics with Fasio Mascara

Beauty Cosmetics by Fasio Mascara, with Aya Ueto starring model.

Caption This: 9-22-08

Thanks to Knightwise for this wonderful image.

Brand Update : Titan

Titan has launched a new series of watches. The series is called Titan-WWF series. This series isbeing launched in collaboration with the International NGO -Worldwide Fund for Nature ( WWF).

Titan and WWF had entered into a tie-up to celebrate the World Environment Day. World Environment day is celebrated on June 5 every year. This year's theme is on Low Carbon Economy.

The current launch is an extension of the tie- up between Titan and WWF.

The aim of the collection is to raise the awareness about endangered species among Indian consumers. The new series is inspired by six species of animals who are fast getting endangered. The six species are

Indian Tiger
Indian Rhino
Gangetic River Dolphin
Red Panda
Whale Shark
Oliver Ridley Turtle.

The collection is targeted at the new generation consumers who wants to express their concern about animals and nature .

According to press reports, some contribution will go to the WWF from every sale of these series of watches.
More than the monetary part, this collection is aiming at the non-monetary benefit of awareness among the public. These series of watches are priced at the range of Rs 3000- 38000 and comes in 13 different styles.
Already the brand is running a series of print ads featuring the brand ambassador Aamir Khan.

The launch of this series is a good move by the brand to add a touch of social equity to the brand. Its a way for a brand to show concern to matters that affect the consumer . Another positive about this series is that the designs looks good and may prompt many customers to buy this brand because of the style rather than the cause.

On the negative side , Titan is far ahead of its time because Indian consumers are less sensitive towards Nature ( my opinion ). Hence I am doubtful about the actual number of customers who will opt for this series for the actual cause. The sale of this series will be a good indicator of Indian consumer's sensitivity towards this cause.

Related Brand
Titan

Wild Stone : Wild by Nature

Brand : Wild Stone
Company : McNroe Chemicals Ltd
Agency : Asian Shopping Club

Brand Analysis Count : 349


Sex Sells or does it ?

Well an ambitious chemicals company in West Bengal thinks that Sex sells . So when they wanted to sell deodorants they put that principle into practice.

The result speaks for itself. Their ad which is available in the youtube is watched more than 8 lakh times. A brand search in the google gives you 100 invitations to see the uncensored ads. So at times sex do sell.

Wild Stone is a market challenger. This brand from an unknown company has been able to make its presence felt in the market thanks to the controversy generated by the ad.

The ad is set in the background of Durga puja. The plot is that a homely bengali lady accidentally bumps into a stud and the Wild Stone perfume takes her into a fantasy involving the stud.
While youtube has the uncensored version, the channels are showing the heavily censored version.

Compared to the raunchy ad of Amul Innerwear, this ad is not of bad taste but ofcourse its highly suggestive ( I am talking about the censored version ).

In a report in Live Mint, the company clarified the heavy use of sex in their ads by saying that the TG which is 15-30 is highly influenced by these type of commercials.

Like in the case of Amul innerwear , these type of commercials helped these brands break the clutter. According to Live Mint, there are about 37000 television ads which are shown on every day. To make the customer discuss about the ad is not a child's play. For a small company with a limited budget, its a jackpot if their commercial is discussed and shared.

I think these controversial ads help these brands get the trial sales very fast. And for a new brand , getting trial sales is of significant importance. Because if the product is good, the customers will come back .

But there is a risk factor also. The risk comes from the regulators and civic society who will definitely cry foul. Recently Government has asked HUL to withdraw the commercial of Axe Dark Temptation.

Another risk is with the execution . The agency has to be very careful not to offend the customers. If the customer is forced to switch the channels because of the ad, its not going to help the brand.

In the case of Wild Stone Deo, the censored version has helped the brand to break the clutter and I bet many have checked out this brand. I am yet to find this in my city hence not able to comment on the price. I feel that is priced at a premium.

But there is another issue. From here to where ?

Amul Innerwear has released the follow up commercial which was again little controversial . For Wild Stone, the challenge is to bring the brand into focus.

The tagline ' Wild by Nature ' will prompt the agency to follow the current route which I feel may not do well with the brand. The brand should aim to build on the current eyeballs into developing a positive association with the brand through the follow up campaigns.

Related Brand
Amul Innerwear

Picture courtsey
Cutting the chai

No Power

We are currently without power and Internet access due to a high wind storm that came through Sunday night. Things should be more normal this afternoon but we won't be completely up until later this week optimistically. You can follow the updates on Twitter to the right. Hope everything gets back to normal soon!

UPDATE: We have internet back thanks to the brave ones at Cox Communications! So biz end of our home is working. Still no electricity though, even though I am leeching electricity off our neighbors so I can work. For those interested, you can see shots of the damage here.

UPDATE 9/18: The power company says we should be up by noon Friday. I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, unless something changes in the next 10 minutes, no show tonight. So why not do yourself a favor and listen to some of the old shows? Just flip through the archives and pick a random one. They're all good, seriously.

Ping Ping Is A Playa

What happens when the world's smallest man meets the woman with the world's longest legs? He peeks. Thanks to Skyhawk for the link.

The Backstage Beauty eyeshadow palettes

The Backstage Beauty eyeshadow palettes are limited edition and come in 2 color combination.

Liquid Illusion Foundation by MaxFactor

Max Factor Miracle Touch Liquid Illusion Foundation and VOV Cream Foundation RB asked us to bring powder foundation as well, but I think I would have to bring all my pressed mineral foundations because I am really pushing to use mineral makeup in my makeup studies, because it’s what I’m going to use if ever I get to make a career out of it. I found out that Jane redale’s Liquid Minerals are a bit sheer, so I am still scouting for that full-coverage liquid mineral foundation or try to get Jane Iredale’s Liquid Minerals to work for me first ( because I love it ! ). I’m glad that our instructor does not require us to get all high end brands , but rather, she recommends low-priced brands as they also work as well as their high-priced counterparts.

Volume Boost Mascara, Cosmetics from L’Oreal

L’Oreal Volume Boost Mascara, MAC Powerpoint Eyeliner, Artdeco Waterproof Pencil Eyeliner, and Fashion21 Liquid Eyeliner.

Lipsticks is My Fave Beauty Cosmetics

Lipsticks. Oooh this is my favorite part of the loot. Half of these are mine.

Fashion Matte Eyeshadow Palette

Palettes! Got a Fanny Serrano Blush Palette, 4U2 Contemporary Eyeshadow Palette, and Fashion21 Matte Eyeshadow Palette.

In2it Brow Palette

Beauty Cosmetics for At Long Last

At long last, my dream of going to makeup school has been fulfilled - last Friday, I was unable to sleep, all giddy, going back and forth to my room ( which I haven’t inhabited yet ) to check my makeup inventory, just because I was finally going to get formal schooling in makeup the next day.

Liquid Foundation! Bambi tells that L’Oreal True Match is really good!

Appearance On Friday Night Party Line

I meant to post this earlier in the week, but with everything else going on, it got lost in the shuffle. Plus, with the electricity situation here, this may the closest we get to a podcast this week. So anyway, last week, you know, so long ago when we had power, I made an appearance on the locally-produced podcast (who knew there were more in Cleveland?) Friday Night Party Line hosted by Thaed. It was a lot of fun and we tackled a lot of diverse topics and in some cases, I was actually forced to be serious. LIsten in here and soak up the interestingness that is me. I kid of course.

Brand Update : Air Deccan RIP (2003-2008)

On August 30 ,2008, Kingfisher officially announced the rebranding of Simplifly Deccan to Kingfisher Red. It marked the end of a wonderful brand which rewrote the aviation industry in India.

Air Deccan was India's South West Airlines. It made air travel affordable and many Indians had a chance to experience traveling in a plane. Now it is a part of history.

As a marketer , I am upset at the demise of a wonderful brand. As a consumer I worry that I will not be able to have an affordable air travel. Without Air Deccan , air travel will not be the same again. Its back to the earlier days where flying will be restricted to rich and those who travel at their employer's expenses.

When Kingfisher took over this brand followed by rebranding it as Simplifly Deccan, I thought that Air Deccan will emerge as one of the best low cost carrier in India. I did not believe media reports that Kingfisher was only looking at the overseas flying license.

Now I feel these reports were correct. Kingfisher had the following agenda :
Kill the competition
Gain market share
Get the overseas flying licence.
Many new airplanes and routes.

By taking over Deccan, Kingfisher got a larger marketshare to fight Jet Airways. More over Air Deccan was creating huge problems for full service airlines. By taking over and killing this brand,Kingfisher has made life easier for all airlines.

For Captain Gopinath, its life as usual. As an entrepreneur , he has built a business, scaled it and then sold it at a best price.

The problem for Air Deccan was that it went public too early. When the companies become public, its operations are guided by the quarterly reports and stock markets. Stock markets never understand the logic of long term sustainable business models. If the quarterly results are bad, there is media / investor frenzy calling for blood.

For Low cost carriers, one cannot survive by looking at quarterly results. The business may bleed for long before attaining break-even. Especially in Indian aviation industry where there is still confusion in terms of policies.

For a consumer, the death of this brand is a huge loss. Its visible also. All airlines have jacked up prices, cut many routes and scaled down their operations. This has prompted many consumers to depend on Railways again. If Air Deccan was alive, it could have rode this season with lower prices. That's what a low cost airlines will do when every airlines increase their prices.
Kingfisher Red will not play the game of Air Deccan. It will be a flanker brand that will fight Jetlite. But never will you be able to fly at reasonable rates.

Related brand
Air Deccan

Cosmetics Makeup by Giorgio Armani

Cosmetics Makeup by Giorgio Armani

Lipstick by Giorgio Armani for Your Sexy Lips

Lipstick for Your Sexy Lips. Beauty cosmetics by Giorgio Armani

Sasha Pivovaropa Beauty Cosmetics by Giorgio Armani

Sasha Pivovaropa with compact powder beauty cosmetics by Giorgio Armani

Bonnie Lee for Your Beauty Cosmetics

from Bonnie Lee for Your Beauty Cosmetics

Bonnie Lee Jewelery

Bonnie Lee Jewelery for beauty girls.

Bonie Lee Beauty Cosmetics

Bonie Lee Beauty Cosmetics

Consumer Insight # 5 : You are just a Number

I just had a enlightening conversation with a Vodafone Customer " care " center. The unsolicited call came and poor me attended. It went on like this

Lady : Sir, This is from Vodafone customer care center

me : yes

Lady : Sir We wanted to check whether you have activated our GPRS services.

Me : I have activated the GPRS services

Lady : Sir Do you know that you can download pictures and wallpapers from Vodafone website

me : See I don't use this service

Lady : Ok Sir.... What is your name ?

me ( Stunned ) : What ?

Lady : What is your name sir ?

me : You called me and you " should " be knowing my name !!!!!!

Lady : No sir, we only have your number.. Please give your name so that I can enter your name in the system.



I sat there wondering what is happening to marketing.

A company calling a customer and telling him that ultimate truth

Dear Customer .. You Are Just a Number.

Consumer Insight # 4 : Fish Rots From The Tail

There is a book titled " Fish Rots from the Head ", written by Bob Garratt, talks about the role of Board of Directors and the crisis in the boardroom. As the title of the book indicates, Bob feels that the decay of the company often starts with the passive attitude of the Board of Directors.


But I have a different opinion.

Yesterday I went to my bank which is India's largest private sector bank. I have limited my visits to the bank owing to the horrendous customer experience and has been relying on the passive but decent ATMs.

I have been banking with this bank for last five years and I must say that none of the officials including the Branch manager whom I have interacted during the opening of account works here now. It seems that people here changes every week.

I would say that its a clear sign of decay and decay starts with the tail . If Board of Directors are Head, then the front office ( customer service) will be the tail isn't it ?

In a classic article titled " Best Face Forward " in HBR December 2004, the authors Rayport & Jawroski clearly states that in this competitive world, customer service or rather customer experience is the only available competitive advantage.

But we can see that many companies turning a blind spot when it comes to customer service. Your company loses its competitive advantage the moment you outsource customer service. Firms spent lot of money bringing the customer to the company. But when the customer reaches out to the company, it gives a raw deal.

Why do companies do this kind of basic business stupidity ? There is only one reason - cost.

Customer service is a costly business. Its costly because it involves people. And most businesses look at human resource as a cost center . So for a business , it makes perfect sense to avail cheap labor through outsourcing its customer service. If China offers a cheap customer call center service, I bet most of the Indian companies will outsource from China.

So firms reduce the number of their customer service staffs . The existing staffs are given double workload. Often these guys forget how to smile . These people are under severe emotional labor. They have to give their best face forward irrespective of their emotional situation. These guys/gals may have their personal/professional problems but cannot afford to show it to the consumer. So their stress level will be equal or higher than those in the sales field.

How many companies are sensitive to these issues ? To add to this issue, some firms give sales target to the customer service executives.

But for a customer, what is lost is the experience . In most of the new generation banks , customers are just numbers. In a rush to reduce the human interaction ( which is costly) companies invest in technology believing that technology can replace human interaction.

Its true that when comparing to rude staff, machines are better . But not always.

What the companies need is a judicious mix of people and technology. We are forgetting that we are living in an experiential economy. Customers - whether small or big, are looking for experience especially in the service sector.

When the market is growing, all these customer service issues are set aside . Firms look at break-neck growth . The key focus is customer acquisition. But market does not grow indefinitely. At some point of time, growth will stop and what you have will be the existing customers whom you have forgotten.

When you go back to these customers who was given a raw deal, you get back what you have given them.

My Beauty Cosmetic Bath Soap

Pineapple body wash. Kids will love to lather up with this deliciously fragrant, sudsy body wash. It is gentle enough for everyday use and made with jojoba oil to leave skin clean, soft and smooth.

Go Fish Octopus Cherry Bubblegum Caddy Set. Contains Hand Soap, Bath Gel and Drinking Cup in a green wire fish-shaped caddy.

Go Fish Octopus Cherry Bubblegum Fizzing Bath Sand Envelope. Pour these sand-shaped crystals into bath water and wathc them bubble and fizz as they dissovle into a fun, fruit-fragranced ocean of colour.

Go Fish Good to Go Gift Set

Go Fish Seahorse Pineapple Punch Good to Go Gift Set. Contains Srunch & Play Shampoo, Colour Tablets, Bubble Bath, & Fizzing Bath Sand Envelope in a handle vinyl bag!!! Great Birthday Present!

Cosmetic Solutions from GMail Soap

Use GMail for a Clean and Healthy Bath - this is what one of the Soap manufacturers in Russia is trying to say to the world. A Russian soap manufacturing company is selling soaps with GMail logo on the soap case and GMail engraved on the soap.

Initially we thought these are Photoshop images. But after watching the below video which shows using of GMail soap, we believe these are real images.

Song Fu Challenge 2 Images: Dance Crazes!

The new Song Fu challenges are up at QuickStop and also new images for the masters have been done by me -- with the exception of Jonathan Coulton's who is resting comfortably after welcoming a new addition to his family. Congratulations Jonathan!

The challenge this time around was to create a song based on a dance craze inspired by a famous inventors invention. Sound confusing? It was, sort of. But the challengers came out punching. The Rifftones offered up "Do The Ballpoint" and Paul and Storm served up a muppet-esque "Me Make Fire". These images are also different in the fact that they were deliberately designed to compliment one another. Probably not a big deal for most other people, but it's a neat thing for me. So that's what counts.

Go on over and give your vote to the most deserving.

Brand Update : Yamaha

In an interview with CNBC TV18, Rajiv Bajaj was asked about competition. His reply was he get jitters with the new launch of Yamaha R15. What Pulsar done to the motorcycles, R15 may repeat it.

I did not believe that statement. I viewed the launch of R15 with cynicism because of the price tag.

Can anyone think of buying a bike for Rs 100,000..

But a conversation with my journalist friend who handles the automobile-column in a leading newspaper changed my perception. According to him, R-15 is selling like hotcakes.

In my last post on the brand Yamaha, I had suggested that the brand needs was a statement. And it did make a statement with R15

R 15 is a stunner interms of looks. Auto reviews say that it doesn't disappoint interms of the performance.

More than that ,Yamaha got the timing correct. The market was evolving and there was a need for a motorcycle which made a statement. Two factors paved the way for the wide acceptance of R 15.

First was the emergence of a new set of customers who wanted a bike and was willing to pay the price to look different. R15 gave that fillip to this segment. These guys liked fast bikes and wanted something that suited the Indian conditions.

Second was the dealer support. Price wars among the bike marketers had significantly eroded the margins. R15 gave the dealers their required margin and they gave enough support for this bike.

Pulsar was too popular to be exclusive so the bike had to be exclusive and the higher price ensured that not everyone could afford this bike.

Whether R 15 will deliver volumes or not, it has given a new lease of life to Yamaha. The brand which was once an icon now have a chance to regain its lost status.

Related Post
Yamaha

Dig This Crazy Bacon List

I would so buy the briefcase. And some of the other things on this list. Thanks much to Daryl for the link.

The Ultimate Gaming Machine

This is so awesome. If only they had developed this around 1990, things could have been so much easier in my life. Thanks to Matt for this link.