The United Colors of Unhate

My following article is by far the most successful article written by me, published by 4 publications! Governance Now Magazine, Greater Kashmir Newspaper, Economistan( a think thank based in Islamabad), and Yuva magazine.

http://www.governancenow.com/news/public-reporter/don-t-hate-unhate-campaign

http://epaper.greaterkashmir.com/showtext.aspx?parentid=16865&boxid=222624312&issuedate=28112011

http://www.economistan.com/?data_id=361

Article:

When a clothing company struggling for survival, campaigns for world peace, people are bound to suspect the campaign and look at it as a desperate attempt to seek attention, But the Italian clothing company is holding its own and insists that the controversial ads of world leaders kissing on the lips are about tolerance and love. The controversial ad campaign features digitally altered photos. Among them are images of President Obama kissing Chinese President Hu Jintao and Hugo Chavez, German chancellor Angela Marker kissing French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

It would be unfair to sit in the judgment chair and declare that the Benetton clothing limited is being insensitive to use world peace for gobbling eyeballs. Looking back in its history we all agree that Benetton did mark their spot in the advertising world with their famous ‘United Colors of Benetton’ campaign. Be it an ad where a white infant suckling a black woman's breast; the naked pulsing hearts of three different races or a black stallion mounting a white mare. The campaigns so strong that the company decided to immortalize the slogan by adopting it as its official logo. All those several succinct, colorful and sometimes controversial ads carried a single deep rooted message of unity. The ads so powerful in its appeal and message that it made the world stop and take notice.

So why all hell broke loose when Benetton launched its ‘Unhate’ campaign? For me the timing of the campaign couldn’t have been better. Today when the world is engulfed in crisis from wall street to Melbourne’s city center, there is an urgent need for the world leaders to rise above their domestic politics and see the light of the day. Benetton’s Unhate campaign embodies that message with lots of creativity, talent and courage. Kissing is not a taboo at least in the western civilization and Benetton is not among the first to display people kissing, what’s different is that brands are not expected to take the route that Benetton has. It’s ironic in a sense that the Vatican is upset with Benetton for doing what was Vatican’s duty.

Even from a marketers’ point of view this campaign places the brand Benetton at the center stage of the world media and furthers its image as a maverick brand. Benetton is a fry cry from other apparel marques who can only harp on the coolness factor of their fabric and design. The notion that such campaigns are offensive to the sentiments of the faithful is a farfetched. The cynics turn a blind eye to the fact that it is leaders like President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI that can change the status quo and no one else can do it for them. The campaign is well within its rights and does not overstep its boundaries. Ads for long have only degraded the people it appealed to and underestimated them for their lack of choices.

Benetton conveys the message of Unhate brilliantly through it ads amidst the global strife. Experts believe that these marketing stunts can get the company eyeballs but converting these eyeballs in to actual sales is difficult, but isn’t this argument myopic? It may well be possible that sales may not hit the roof but in the long run ‘Unhate’ campaign will establish Benetton as a revolutionary brand. Nobody except people at Benetton know the actual sales figures and if history is to be believed then we all know how certain brands have taken great pains to be in news. Publicity gimmicks for the sake of boosting the top line can deliver only limited success, as you can’t exactly control that deluge of attention and it can fall back on you. Marketers are accused of playing on the worst of people's instincts, if a brand is provoking people with issues that matter to our society, so what’s the harm? It’s important that the marketers today understand the difference between a Product and a Brand. Single minded focus to push the top line can bring more harm than success. Marketers should endeavor to make brands and not products as products are always sold and a brand is always brought.

The haters of the ‘Unhate’ campaign fail to see the liberal subtext of tolerance and brotherhood among faith, religion and countries. The campaign features icons of various race and religion kissing each other to drive the point that Hate cannot be in just a part of them without having an effect on the rest of people they represent.

For long we have discounted marketers and brands for being acquisitive through their antics that have only added to the problem of prejudice and hate. If Benetton reminds people to love each other while expecting us to pick its pair of scarves and sweaters then I don’t mind picking one.

The Current Indian Economy: Walking the tightrope…

My following Article was published by Financial World Newspaper, a newspaper based in Delhi brought under the editorial leadership of Tehelka.

The Article was also carried by Issues and Concern magazine..

Article:

As the cliché goes ‘Ignorance is Bliss’, Indian policy makers need Dr.Nouriel Roubini, popularly known as Dr.Doom, who predicted the 2008 meltdown, to wake them out of their slumber and get their acts together.

Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek singh Ahluwalia, said he is not expecting the economy to grow at 8 per cent during this year, sharply lower than the 9 per cent rate it had forecast first in July 2010 and reaffirmed in January 2011. The US is struggling with its deficits and credit ratings while the eurozone is precariously poised to default by one of its peripheral countries. The lowering of the US sovereign rating from AAA to AA+ sent shock waves across the global stock markets, the scene is redolent with the grim affairs of 2009. With the downgrading of the world’s economic super power, the experts, with their daggers out, are predicting a second wave of economic slowdown across the globe including India.

Inflation is the biggest headwind for the Indian economy as increasing income, coupled with more government spending and rising crude prices, will keep pressure on the price front, Fuel alone accounts for over 15 percent of the headline inflation index (Wholesale Price Index), according to the ‘Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific’ by Escap, a $10 increase in oil prices will raise inflation by 0.52%, a $25 increase in oil prices increase inflation by almost 1.5%, thereby neutralizing Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s efforts to contain inflation. This doesn’t bode well for the inflation which has been dangerously close to a double-digit figure for almost one year now.

The RBI’s attempts to tackle inflation, through monetary policy, fundamental mistakes in our fiscal policies, is leading to all sorts of further problems for the economy in the form of higher interest rates meant to suppress demand. The RBI has tightened policy 11 times since February 2010 owing to high inflation; this sledge hammer approach erodes the very cornerstone on which our economy flourishes – growth.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are likely to infuse only $14 billion (PMEAC Report) into the Indian stock markets during this fiscal year as Indian stocks lose their sheen. This $14 billion is less than half of the $30.3 billion FIIs pumped into the country in the previous fiscal. The automobile sector is an indicator of the robustness of an economy. For long, India’s auto sector has been roaring like never before. But, for the first time in 30 months, Indian vehicle sales dipped by over 15 per cent (PMEAC Report), in July, indicating a slowdown in the economy. Despite all the above indicators which suggest that our economy may hit a black spot there is a silver lining.

The speed at which India’s exports grew in the period that followed the financial meltdown in the West is astonishing. This was possible on account of the change in the composition and the direction of India’s trade. The US and EU which used to account for 46 per cent of India’s exports in 1995, accounted for 32 per cent of exports in 2009(PMEAC Report).

Stunted growth in the west is likely to have a major significance here in India, albeit a positive one i.e. the pressure on commodity prices might ease. Crude oil had fallen to $99.68 on August 8, down from a peak of above $127 in April 2011. On the one hand, if commodity prices soften further or are maintained around the present levels because of growth deceleration in advanced economies, a potential source of inflation in the Indian context might ease.

India attracted the highest ever foreign portfolio inflows in the year 2010 just after the global meltdown. One of the key reasons for the northward surge in capital flows during 2010 was the loose monetary policy being maintained by many central banks in the developed world. Given the fragile economic conditions in the rich world, the loose money policy is unlikely to reverse any time soon and therefore capital flows will continue to remain strong

During the previous global recession, the Indian economy posted a respectable growth of 6.9 per cent in 2008-09. This was possible because growth is fuelled by strong domestic demand. The forces driving domestic demand continue to be in good form in 2011-12, despite the central bank trying hard to contain demand by raising interest rates. We are lucky in that we have a predominantly well cushioned economy, we don’t depend upon others for our growth.

The Indian economy is walking a tightrope not because of the impending global slowdown, but due to the policy paralysis. Policymaking has hit a deadlock in the absence of strong leadership in the government. The government is occupied with issues such as Anna Hazare, Corruption scams or simply fending off the Opposition. For far too long the government is busy defending itself from various attacks and engaged in fruitless rhetoric, rather than undertaking big ticket reforms and taking the country forward. Crucial bills such as the DTC and the GST are embroiled in a political brinkmanship. Key infrastructural reforms, the multi brand retail FDI, mining applications, land and environmental approvals are perennially in the queue on the government’s to-do list. In the past, experts have written obituaries of our economy, but we survived - not just survived but also helped others on our way. Our economy is not so tenuous that every time the US sneezes we catch a cold! We may be growing slower than expected or rather, at a lower rate than we fancied, but definitely recession isn’t staring us in the face anywhere in the near future.

We have a unique opportunity of taking advantage of the current uncertain global environment and differentiating ourselves from the lot, but the onus lies largely with the country’s leadership.