Vaseline- A Brandnomer!

According to Wikipedia (Yes, bless these people. I owe them half of my knowledge),

The word is believed to come from German Wasser (water) + Greek έλαιον [elaion] (oil) + scientific-sounded ending -ine.

Who cares, right? It's winter and all our drawers and bedside tables are loaded with this magically comforting substance called Vaseline...oops...petroleum jelly! Little can we deny that 'Vaseline' has become a brandnomer or generic trademark which simply means that a brand name that has become the generic name for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, against the usual intentions of the trademark's holder.

Vaseline is something that has become a part of my life since I was little kid. The big containers that we bought back in Dubai and the little pots of tk30 that we buy now- Vaseline is here to stay. And I have read in many places that Vaseline is considered to be a case of trademark erosion because the name has become so generic that other companies use the term 'Vaseline' too.  But somehow I have noticed that people are extremely careful when purchasing Vaseline. They specifically see the logo of Unilever to be sure that this is the original Vaseline. I don't know about the purchasing pattern outside Bangladesh but even the lower income class people check, recheck and check again for the Unilever logo.

...I just took a pause to apply Vaseline on my lips and oo, that does feel good! 

Take the Land Decision!

'Fixed assets' sounded so scary when I was a kid. I thought it was some sort of a phrase only bankers understood. For the rest of us, throw it out of your head. The next time I came across this word was when I did my Introduction to Finance course. Ignored it then too. Ignored it even I got the result of the course too (*too old to be embarrassed about grades anymore*). But now, life is becoming what my mother calls 'reality' and is no longer a teenager's whimsical, fantasy-filled chocolaty, average life. The time has come when I need to make some serious decisions in life (like which dress to wear tomorrow morning to office...kidding).

Surfing through the Bangla channels, I came across an advertisement of Bashundhara Baridhara which actually got me thinking about my future too. Thanks to youtube censorship in Bangladesh, I cannot post the link here but the advertisement is a torture to the auditory senses. Given the fact that two such popular actors of Bangladeshi silver screen acted here, I expected technical dexterity. Oh well, ignoring the glitches, the storyline was simple and captures the attention of future worriers (not warrior, mind it) like me. Shimul and Mahfuz are college friends and Shimul takes the decision to invest in land purchase. Mahfuz finds this naive, considering his own investment in share market and having a stable job. Years later, they meet at a reunion and Shimul is seen have become a hotshot rich guy while Mahfuz is the typical Bangladeshi middle class bread earner. Mahfuz tries to avoid Shimul but ultimately end up talking when he admits that Shimul's decision was the best decision.

Simple yet grasping storyline. Story of every middle class Bangladeshi. I have just started my initiatives on saving but had no idea why I was saving. I mean, definitely not for a grand wedding (I want a court marriage). After seeing this ad, I think I know what I want in the nearer future. A fixed asset.

And then I shall become true to my name, Bhuiyan...the family of Jomidars (Zamindars)

Deshi Chips make me smack my lips!

I am a chips lover. I just can't stop myself from buying a crackling packet of fried potatoes. I just can't. I was an ardent lover of Lay's (Lay's chips has been marketed as a division of Frito-Lay, a company owned by PepsiCo since 1965) until the amount of air defeated the amount of chips in a single packet. I mean I do admit we all pay for the air when buying chips but there is a limit to the amount of air I want. Then started my boycott of Lay's and switching to Doritos ( brand of seasoned tortilla chips produced since 1964 by the North American food company Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, Inc.). Sadly enough, Doritos left a tragic dent in my pocket. 

Dramatically, deshi chips came to my rescue. Today, I had the privilege of tasting another magical production of Bombay Sweets (God bless them)- Alooz. Due to lack of careful observation, I missed the Bombay Sweets logo and due to preconceived notion, I assumed Alooz to be an Indian brand of chips. Somehow, the shop opposite to my office sells Alooz like people never had chips before. The shelves are adorned with the colorful wrappers and I decided to finally give it a try after months of ignorance. 

Yum. The taste made me look at the wrapper again. Bombay Sweets does it again! And the best part? 15tk worth of a packet filled with chips. Yes, my friends, chips..not air!

Munching on the chips, I got lost in thoughts of reverence for Bombay Sweets. I wish this company lasts forever and ever. But I wonder who does their creative work! Cricketer Mahmudullah misses a flight for the chips? Puh-leez!

Honey Bunny brings in more money!

Yes, the jingle has been running and racing in my mind for the last 3 days. What the tune! I mean, IDEA Cellular just brought about a serious competitor against Kolaveri-D. It's all over social networking websites so beware, the Honey Bunny song is freakingly contagious. Bless my brains!

The Ad

To be honest, I loved the ad. Not only is it a big big big change from the over the board Abhishek ads, it's a fun loving, totally-makes-sense piece of tvc. The tune is catchy, cute and bang-on material for the young and the old.
Sadly, many did not understand the concept. The concept is as simple as it can be. IDEA Cellular is a network with pan-India coverage and thus, everyone sings its jingles in every possible accent of the Indian subcontinent. Most importantly, people use IDEA to call up their Honey Bunnies and call them lovable names. 

Idea Rings all India- a simple, absolutely comprehensible slogan. The bright yellow colors and the representation of the network bar by the letters of Honey Bunny makes it an ad impossible not to notice.

I don't know the revenue this brought to IDEA but let me share one piece of its success. I caught my mother humming 'Honey Bunny' absentmindedly while doing the dishes. What an IDEA, sir jee!

Sir jee= Lowe, India