Telemarketing stardom

Aamir Khan did a good job selling us patriotism of his own kind in Rang De Basanti; he8217;s doing an even better one selling us Coke.

Aamir Khan did a good job selling us patriotism of his own kind in Rang De Basanti; he8217;s doing an even better one selling us Coke. Tulsi, otherwise known as Smriti Irani, does a wonderful job promoting the values of the best bahu in the nation; she8217;s equally successful in selling us Coke. Saurav Ganguly did a great job of cocking a snook at the empire or undressing in public at the Lord8217;s one-day international match; he8217;s doing a little worse at selling us India during the Champions8217; Trophy.

Here are two icons of today in Ganguly8217;s case it8217;s perhaps of yesterday, who have sold us an image of ourselves, the idea of India or what India symbolises in different ways, now selling us a soft drink. Well, Brian Lara sells MRF tyres. And Shah Rukh Khan himself. Nothing wrong with that. Amitabh Bachchan sells every role that he comes across and does a marvelous job in most cases and every product that he can lay his hands on. The fact that he also sells us polio drops is something we should never forget when we sneer at star personalities8217; weakness for appearing in commercials. The next time you do sneer think of the many people who might in fact have responded to Bachchan8217;s appeal and had their children inoculated against polio.

So there is everything right with Aamir and Smriti selling Coke. After all, Aamir has been selling it for a long time, much before he took to selling patriotism, Titan watches and the plight of the Narmada refugees. However, do we detect a difference here? Well, there is something more to the story. The fact is that Aamir and Smriti provide personal testimonials in their capacity as successful Bollywood and Tellywood stars to the soft drink. They are using the goodwill they have accumulated over the years to give a clean chit to Coca Cola. We all know that things have not being going well for the latter: ever since the CSE found high levels of toxic substances in the liquid refreshener, there has been a question mark hanging over the famous bottle.

How does Coke respond? By recruiting two popular stars and using their personal creditability to vouchsafe the purity8217; of the drink. They both sell their reputations along with the safety of the contents of the bottle. It is done in a scientific manner with a visit to the Coke factory, etc., and a sip of Coke. Enjoy. Thus, the country8217;s best bahu is telling us that Coke is safe to drink so it must be, right?

Might be and may not be. What8217;s clear is that she is being used to counter scientific findings and it is up to us, as consumers, to decide whether or not she is more convincing than technical data. The question for Aamir and Smriti is simple: what if the data is correct? What, then, of their credibility? Would we believe that they have simply sold out or would we conclude that to err is human?

Ganguly8217;s promise to support the Indian team regardless of whether or not he is in it, is a brave effort, although not entirely convincing. He8217;s still selling patriotism unlike Aamir and Smriti but he looks too wooden-faced for the rousing cry to the ramparts. Could it be that he doesn8217;t quite believe what he is made to say or is it that he is just wooden-faced? It is something he should ask himself before he chooses his next TV commercial.

Lastly, a word about soccer. Zee Sports telecast of the sport as it is played in India has been more successful than we would have assumed. Of course, it could do with a few more camera angles but the commentary, for a change, is a revelation. It8217;s fluent, and the byplay between members of the commentary team, amusing and informative. Hockey commentators, please note.