Not even Abdulla

In the early Sixties a cigarette named Abdulla appeared in New Delhi, and since it had done well in the USA the more fashionable Delhiites d...

In the early Sixties a cigarette named Abdulla appeared in New Delhi, and since it had done well in the USA the more fashionable Delhiites didn8217;t hesitate to try it out. I lit one too. It tasted like hay. But for years Abdulla continued to smoulder between smokers8217; lips.

Once when I was waiting for my turn in the barber8217;s chair and wanted to divert my attention from the constant kach-kach of the scissors, I picked up an old American magazine. Pretty soon I found myself engrossed in the story of the rise and fall of Abdulla. Apparently, the cigarette had had a bad start in the United States and its maker sacked a couple of ad agencies before settling for a genius named Hoffer I can8217;t recollect the exact name who operated from a dingy one-room office in New York. Hoffer had learnt one important thing in his life: there is no difference between a child and an adult; tell either not to do something and he8217;ll do it.

Just after signing the Abdulla contract a 100-watt bulb lit up inside Hoffer8217;s skull and hedecided that his ad campaign would be simple but devastatingly effective. He immediately had thousands of stickers printed with just three words on them. Armed with this sticker his men fanned out into the cities and, wherever they came across a No Smoking8217; sign, the sticker went up. It read: Not even Abdulla. The impact of this message was remarkable. For weeks New York was covered with smoke created by the people puffing away at Abdullas. Such is the power of the ad.

Today propaganda is a pejorative word. We immediately link it to our lying netas who can trick the people. But advertisement, propaganda8217;s twin, goes down the throat smoothly because it only nibbles at our pockets. The papa of these twins was Hitler8217;s propaganda minister Joseph Paul Goebbels, a genius who used cinema, art, sports, parades, festivals, public functions, posters, uniforms, architecture, national emblems and even the swastika to control the thinking of the people of Germany. It was an awesome experiment in mind control and mythmaking. Therefore, some of Goebbels8217; tenets deserve to be mentioned:

1. Propaganda read advertisement must first be entertaining. Remember that pure entertainment also works as propaganda.

2. It must be simple and centered No Smoking. Not Even Abdulla!8230;Eat Cricket, Dream Cricket But Drink only Coca-Cola.

3. A lie told again and again is believed by the masses Give US Your Vote and We8217;ll Remove Your Poverty!.

4. When there is a battle between the eye and the ear, the eye wins Radio is out, TV is in.

5. Music is a useful tool for a propagandist and ad-man. The effect of the pictures on the screen is greatly enhanced when accompanied by appropriate music.

6. The masses do not understand irony.

In hell, I8217;m told, fires have been extinguished and the inmates are now tortured by TV. Goebbels8217; daily punishment comprises of watching Indian channels. But I suspect he still managed a chuckle or two when he watched his principle No. 3 scoring a high point.

A casehistory: My house-maid is a dark-skinned girl, and not exactly a beauty. She has been desperately looking for a spouse, and one day she noticed the ad of a well-known beauty8217; cream on TV and fell for it. I told her there8217;s no cream in the world which can make you fair or lovelier, but she wouldn8217;t listen. Five tubes and eighteen months later the poor girl is still a spinster, and the cream continues to sell. It vindicates Goebbels8217; principles. 8220;A lie,8221; Mark Twain had also warned us, 8220;can travel around the world while the truth is still tying its shoe-laces.8221;