There are 3 ads which are responsible for my hair loss these days because every time I see one of them I tear out a clump of my hair in frustration :-(

The first one has to be the new Fair & Lovely ad. The lesser said about the national obsession with fair skin the better. They make it worse by implying that a girl needs to have a fair complexion so she can either impress guys or win sponsorships - as is shown in this latest ad. So we see a girl who wants to win a cycling tournament and shift the family to a bigger house. Her kid brother (seriously, I never heard of an elder sibling taking a younger one seriously!) remarks that winning the tournament is not enough for raking in the money - she needs to have a 'peaches & cream complexion'. So this girl reaches for the fairness cream and voila! She wins the race, some photographer notices her flawless skin and calls someone. Our girl gets a call and she is the brand ambassador of some Sports brand. She then takes mommy dearest on a tour of the neighborhood for selecting their new bungalow. Bye bye hard work and Adios dedication! What rot, I say!

Then there is this Lenovo ad which has such a lousy presentation that I reach for remote control's Mute button in a rush of panic every time it airs. That's why I don't know (and don't ever want to know!) why that guy is clinging to the feet of another man, probably his dad. This ad has "Low Budget" written all over it!

The last one is Priyanka Chopra's Hero Honda ad. I must confess that the concept is good - especially in the Indian society where a girl has to be answerable for lot of things whereas her male siblings enjoy more freedom. But they have fouled up the execution big time. I am not sure why Priyanka has made such a loud attempt at being bubbly. And I feel the ad has failed to bring out the connection between riding Hero Honda and having fun. :-(