July 27, 2022
TV advertisements, to my eye, are becoming stranger by the day. I find it increasingly difficult to believe that they are not parodies—a form of practical joke being played on the public at large. I will use this Amul advertisement to make my point. Going through 30 seconds of this advertisement is a feat in itself.
First, the entire setting of the advertisement is a white room. Next, they somehow make a transition from their studious and playful kids to the growth of India as a whole: they also relate this to India's drinking Amul milk. All this plays out while the actors make embarrassing expressions at the camera. Then the advertisement takes us to the "benefits" Amul milk confers: health-creation and setting up of conditions for success. Although that could be true for other milk brands as well, so the differentiating factor still remains a mystery. All the while, the advertisement rapidly switches between random actors pretending to play different sports, with painfully cringe-worthy facial contortions, and music in the backdrop.
Is this propaganda in plain sight, or is it a parody? I do not know!
Advertisements found on podcasts are usually far better, and most importantly, reasonable. If you listen to one of the advertisements on the Lex Fridman Podcast, you will find that it is a rational listing of the benefits of the product being advertised, what differentiates it from other similar products, and other information of rational nature. No music (mostly), no facial contortions, and (apparently) no propaganda. I wish all advertisements were made that way.